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Maybe You Wondered ...
Nude or Clothing-Optional?
Nudity, even at a "nude" public beach, is never a requirement or an exclusionary designation. It's a
personal option that many people choose when they're permitted to do so. Places where such a choice exists are often called "clothing-optional."
Private Resorts / Public Land
Private naturist parks, camps and resorts are wonderful places. They are businesses that cater to selected segments of the nude recreation industry. Nudist facilities range from tiny
to large, rustic to posh, and inexpensive to pricey. They typically offer amenities not found at a beach. But for many people who seek a natural experience that doesn't involve a concrete swimming pool behind
fences, walls and gates, nothing comes close to the open freedom of a clothing-optional beach.
Who Chose the Questions?
The questions were
selected by a subcommittee of NEF board members, inspired by the original 1983 questions of Lee Baxandall, founder of The Naturist Society, and informed and refined by the experience of subsequent NEF polls.
Questions were reviewed for form by Zogby International, the independent polling organization that conducted the survey.
Naturist Education Foundation
Board of Directors - 2009
•Bob Morton, Chair - Austin, TX
•Bill Schroer, Treas - Battle Creek, MI
•Mark Storey, Sec'y - Seattle, WA
•Morley Schloss - Loxahatchee, FL
•Judy Williams - Vancouver, BC
•Allen Baylis - Huntington Beach, CA
•Virginia Schnee - Auburn, MA
•Don Zirbel - Canby, OR
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Notable successes already exist where agencies have responded positively to this increasing demand. Among its positive efforts to manage for nude recreation, the National Park Service counts recognized clothing-optional areas at the Gateway National Recreation Area in New Jersey and at Canaveral National Seashore in Florida. At the state level, Oregon has designated a portion of Rooster Rock State Parks as clothing-optional, and Collins Beach on Sauvie Island has official clothing-optional signage supplied by the State Department of Fish & Wildlife. Miami-Dade County in Florida has shown vision and has reaped economic rewards by setting aside a portion of Haulover Beach for clothing-optional use.
- ADDITIONAL DETAIL FOR QUESTION 2: The majority of all identified racial and ethnic groups favor designation, but support is highest among African-Americans (78.4%) and Hispanics (72.4%). Note 1.
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QUESTION number 3
Do you agree or disagree that people have the right to be nude in their homes or on their property, even if they may occasionally be
visible to others?
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NEF-COMMISSIONED ZOGBY INT'L POLL OF 889 CALIFORNIA ADULTS - NOVEMBER, 2009. MARGIN OF ERROR IS ±3.4 PERCENTAGE POINTS
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Californians see nudity as a personal right
In a time of eroding personal freedoms,
Californians affirm their support for nudity as a personal right. By a margin of more than two to one, Californians believe that people have the right to be nude in their homes or on their property, even if they may
occasionally be visible to others.
The responses to this question are significant, not only in the consideration of personal liberties, but also in the context of a creeping intrusion of "morality" laws into
the private spaces and lives of individuals. California state statutes (like the disorderly conduct law, section 647 of the Penal Code) refer to activities that happen in "any public place or in any place open to
the public or exposed to public view." This NEF California Poll survey result clearly challenges the acceptability of extending the reach of the law, as it pertains to nudity on one's own property.
- ADDITIONAL DETAIL FOR QUESTION 3: Agreement throughout the state is almost equally high among women (67.7%) and men (68.5%). Note 1.
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