Living an Openly Naked Life - Naked Comfort Scale

M:  Gee Ken, in your latest post you completely ignore the inconvenient fact that being seen naked in public can get you both jail time and on the sexual offenders list of your state.  "Coming out" is not as easy as you pretend.

K:  Perhaps true in some states, in some places, but maybe one solution is to move to a more friendly state and location.  {I know, some can do this, others can't.}  But just because being openly naked "can" result in jail time and the sexual offender's list, doesn't mean it "will."

My concern is that some are so risk adverse that they never come out as the naked people they are and instead miss the valuable benefits of living a full naturist life, while helping others understand.

Risk is a continuum.  Everything is life carries risk at some level.  Just walking down the street carries risk - you may get hit by a car, but that risk is low, whereas just talking about naturism is high risk in states like Arkansas.

Some people are so risk adverse that they imagine that everything, including more open nakedness, is high risk, so they hide behind the walls of naturist resorts thinking their nudity is risk-free.  It's not - someone can still find out.

And with this approach, they are never able to introduce the naturist lifestyle to others, who only imagine the worst.

So, it's good to assess the risk involved in being an open naturist.  Sometimes you may need to wear a little something, sometimes more, but a moderate risk is worth the benefits of being open.

I grew up in a very conservative state (Utah), but still found freehiking, even in groups, low risk.  However, I still lived a hidden, conservative life, hiding in the bushes if someone unexpectedly came along.

I moved to a more open state, to a more open culture, and now I let others know my naked preference.  I live mostly naked at home and in my yard, I greet clothed people when freehiking, I drive naked whenever possible (my wife and I just finished a 2500 mile vacation driving naked most of the way through Utah and back), and I ate in a t-shirt and short kilt at restaurants.  Was there some risk?  Probably yes, everything carries some risk, but the risk was low.

Don't be risk adverse!

M:  The opposite of risk averse may be foolhardy.  As for me, I intend to continue to be careful.  I am naked every day, weather permitting, but I live protected by dense woods and, where necessary, a high fence. I value my time and money too much to want to challenge the system in court, but I recognize that any hope of social change requires people who are willing to expend that time and money, win or lose.  I am reminded of the movie, "Loving."

K:  I understand.  Perhaps we should create a measure of Comfort Being Seen Naked.  Here’s a shot at that called the Naked Comfort Scale.  Each individual can score themselves based on their own comfort level and place, and the result for each is one simple score that can be used to compare people and places.

Naked Comfort Scale

10 = Risk Free   9 =   8 =   7=   6=   5 = Ambivalent   4 =   3 =   2 =   1 = Foolhardy      

Naked Activity                                                                              My Rating

Being naked at home alone.  (Including sleeping).                                          __________

Getting naked when entering the house and being naked at home.                 __________

Decorating the house with naked statues, paintings, family photos,
magazines, books, and photo albums.                                                              __________

Telling neighbors you’re a naturist.                                                                  __________

Playing indoor games with family and friends naked.                                     __________

Posting “naked” warning signs near your door and driveway.                         __________

Sitting outside nude on your deck with family and friends.                             __________

Enjoying naked activities “outside” - eating, spa, sunbathing, games.          __________  

Working outdoors naked i.e. mowing the lawn, working on and washing
cars, gardening, taking out garbage.                                                                 __________

Skinny dipping and hot springing                                                                    __________

Visiting nude beaches (with others present).                                                    __________

Driving naked.                                                                                                  __________

Hiking and camping naked.                                                                              __________

Doing outdoor activities such as biking.                                                          __________

Joining a nude sports team.                                                                              __________

Shopping when scantily dressed.                                                                     __________         

Eating out when scantily dressed.                                                                    __________

Visiting a naturist resort.                                                                                  __________

My Score (Add the above to get your score.)                                               __________

A perfect naked comfort score is 180.

Here are my ratings and score for now:  10, 9, 9, 4, 10, 6, 8, 7, 5, 9, 10, 8, 9, 6, 7, 7, 7, 10 = 141

How comfortable are you being naked?  Rate yourself and let us know.