Lack of nudity on nude beaches and resorts
 

This is a companion thread to the "Lack of toplessness on beaches" thread.

My wife and I have been nudists for decades and it seems as though there are fewer and fewer nude women on "nude" beaches. Our local nude beach used to be 90% nude 25 years ago. It's now about 30% nude. I've seen this at other nude beaches also, both in the US and Europe. Young women especially don't seem willing to be nude, even though they have gone out of their way to go to what is known as a nude beach. It's the same at nudist resorts and campgrounds. Women used to walk around nude everywhere back in the day. Nowadays they are constantly putting on sarongs and towels whenever they have to walk to the bathroom, restaurant, etc. The only place they are usually nude is at the pool. There are exceptions, of course, but they are the minority. It seems a real head scratcher to me to go to a nudist resort and then wear clothes. On the toplessness thread people have opined that it is the ubiquity of cell phones that is causing women to keep their clothes on, and that might also be the case on nude beaches, but at resorts camera phones are strictly forbidden.

Has anyone else noticed this trend on beaches and at resorts?

My wife and I used to go to clothing-optional resorts; and indeed this was the case more often than not. Everyone is naked in the pool area because it's mandatory; but then women cover up whenever leaving the pool area in many cases.

But we were lucky enough to come across a "nude-obligatory" resort. I don't know what percentage of resorts have full nudity as a rule; but it's fairly small I think. It's more financially viable for resorts to be C/O because women don't feel "forced" to stay naked; as they might not want to come back afterwards if they do.
It was definitely a stretch for my wife at first because she was not used to hanging out completely naked all day. I didn't think she'd want to go back after our first time; but to my surprise she did. I think it was not only because she liked the resort itself, but mostly because she liked the fact that the people that could see her naked at any time were also all naked themselves - so there is no "imbalance." Now she doesn't care to visit C/O resorts anymore because she enjoys just leaving everything in the trunk of the car after checking in, and doing everything (socializing, paddleboarding, hiking) naked the entire time. I think there are a lot of nudists like us that prefer that "totally naked" experience and are not looking for a bunch of people hanging out covered up.

I've only been to one nude beach since Mazo closed; so I don't know the current state of them.

My wife would walk around the resort with some sort of cover up, but I asked her just to go totally nude. I enjoy it more that way, so now we take walks and we are both nude. We stop and chat to various people we encounter and the men enjoy looking at my wife. I can tell she enjoys it also. She doesn't try to hide anything now. If I can just get her to sit with her legs spread wide apart!

I see the same thing at our resort. We have a place there and Mrs. NoShoCo will walk nude from it up to the pool area and go for walks around the camp nude (some other women won't even do that). If we stop at someone's place she stays nude. But when we go to the dances she wears a sarong. It is usually a sheer one so I am still happy, but I don't get the point either. I wait for one of the songs that has lyrics saying to take your clothes off (always popular at nude dances) and will sometimes try to untie her sarong and take it off. It helps that the songs will get some of the other women to take their sarongs off as well.

We are heading to Cypress Cove for their Nude-A-Palooza music festival in a couple of weeks. I'll see what the cover-up situation is there.

Please report back. We haven't been there in years. Thanks.

No, I have not noticed this. We were at Gunnison Beach in New Jersey this past September and almost everyone was nude, including the younger beachgoers. As an example, there were four women in their twenties together about 50 feet in front of us. Two blondes, one redhead, and one brunette. All were nude (and shaved) with the exception of one who was wearing a tiny black thong. Two naked male friends eventually joined them, and before they left for the day, they were using one of the women's smart phones to pose for what seemed like 50 naked selfies. Thong-wearing friend even got naked for the photos.

That same day, there were two twenty-somethings on the beach about 30 feet from them. Both brunettes. One was nude, and one was topless. They were with a young guy who had a shaved head and a small dog. The topless one eventually got naked. They then, proceeded to walk together just past us (we were up against the dunes), and past the dunes. Behind the dunes they took what must have been 100 pics of each other playing around, riding piggyback, etc. before they went back to their towels.

To the left of us was a Hispanic couple who were closer to our ages (my guess was that they were in their 40's). Both were naked, and the wife had an utterly killer, fit body.

These were just some of the many nude people we saw on the nude beach that day.

Women at nudist venues will often "vibe" off what they see other women doing. So if they see other women covering up every time they leave the pool area, or every time they get up to walk around the beach, they'll be inclined to follow suite. They don't want to be that "only woman" who walks around naked.

It works the other way around too. When my wife saw that other women were getting naked in the parking lot and checking in nude - and then not covering up again - at the "nudity-obligatory" resort, she didn't want to be that "only woman" hiding/covering up. Hence her decision to leave the sarong in the car and stay naked. The same goes with shaving/open legs. My wife was not a smoothie until she saw that most women at our resort were bald. And we have friends there who lounge with their legs open; and when she's around them she lets the kitty be seen. It actually comes naturally when you're naked and socializing all day.

It's been said that "sarongs are the enemy of nudism." A few women put them on...and before you know it most women have it on. They tend to emulate each other.

So true
 

I've noticed this also. Many women don't want to be seen as the one who walks around naked (at a freakin' nudist resort!). Plus, we all know how much women love clothing. Nudity is so much more fun for them if they can still wear clothes. At the clubhouse dances there is hardly ever a naked woman; it's all about sexy clothes. Judging by the "vintage nudist" photos on this site, and by my memory, things used to be different.

good to hear
 

This is good to hear. Maybe it's just our local beach. It's reached the point where at times my wife will be the only nude woman for hours. It is odd, sometimes I'll see a group of young women (college-aged) and all are wearing bikinis except for one. Maybe she's the exchange student?

Lack of nudity
 

My wife and I went for a short getaway to Virginia. Stayed at a resort that said it was a nudist resort, not a clothing optional resort. They expected you to be nude,weather permitting. Everyone was nude, even the workers in the office. That was a surprise, as most places those in the office are dressed. Nice place.

Now that you mention recent beach trips, I did get to Black's Beach in San Diego this summer. It was a Monday afternoon and not super busy, but nudity did seem to be the norm. A group of 20-something girls set up next to me and two immediately got nude while the third kept a bikini on. A few couples as well were nude. The beach was getting busier around dinner time, but that's when I left. I assume nudity would remain the norm, if only because the hike down a 300'+ hill to get to the beach would make Black's Beach more of a pain than it's worth if you are looking for a clothed beach, of which there are hundreds in So Cal. Nudists don't really have a choice, so you hike down to Black's or you don't go nude.

Was that White Tail in Igor, VA? We've heard good things about it.

Yes, it was White Tail. Nice place. We stayed in a mobile home. It was nice, except the bed was uncomfortable. The restaurant was closed, but the snack bar was open on the weekend.

Cypress is great. Was there earlier this year. Most women went totally nude, although a some did wear some kind of coverup in Cheeks. Cheeks was expanded recently. The Lakeside Restaurant was closed. The Cove is my favorite place. First class all the way!

We heard from friends who are members that they were looking to close the Lakeside anyway and Covid gave them a good excuse. We used to go to the Lakeside on Thursdays when you could get a free glass of wine if you dined nude. Even Mrs. NoShoCo was happy to walk in nude for the free glass of wine! That they had to bribe nudists to have dinner nude shows the problem with lack of nudity was real. Thankfully we saw it reversing at the Cove by the time Covid shut everything down.

When My wife and I were there earlier this year, we were told that the Lakeside was to be torn down. Possibly to be rebuilt. Checking at the Cove's web site it reports they just finished pouring a new concrete deck, that replaced the old worn out deck. Could they getting ready to reopen the Lakeside? On a previous trip to the Cove, we ate breakfast at the Lakeside. My wife just a tiny wrap around her bottom, to sit on. It was small and didn't make it completely around her body. One side, where it tied, was open. She had to covering part on her rear so she could properly sit on her chair, so the knot was in her front, exposing for pussy. That is IMO, keeping we body mostly naked but following the rules for hygiene.

They need something, because 3 meals/day for 5 days of bar food doesn’t cut it. I’d rather hang out naked with a nice view of naked women all around me than get dressed to go eat, but when the Taco Bell across the street starts looking good compared to the fried food options at the bar even I have to go with putting clothes on for a meal here and there.

I agree, I hope they finally reopen the Lakeside restaurant as if had better food options. I would enjoy having my wife walk in totally nude and have a waiter take our order. The fact is that it is a hassle when one is at a nudist resort to get dressed and leave the resort looking for a nice restaurant. We vacation in Florida for a couple of weeks and go out to different eateries the first week and stay at the Cove for the second week. As to the lack of nudity at these resorts, even at Cap d"Agde women "dress for dinner. They don't wear much, and they dress to titillate.

Name?
 

Care to share the name of the place? You can PM me if you'd rather.

White Tail Park, In Ivor Virginia. When we were there, the restaurant was closed and the snack ar was only open on weekends for lunch and dinner..

We don’t plan on getting a car, so a “nice” dinner will also involve the cost and hassle of getting an Uber. We probably will get dressed at some point and walk across the street to the new Tropical Smoothie Cafe, though. This could all be avoided if the Lakeside were still open. And getting that free glass of wine was like taking candy from a baby. We plan on being nude at the restaurant anyway and they reward us for it. Doesn’t get better than that.

Food at the Cove
 

Last spring we were told we could order food from outside the resort and have it delivered. We might do that next time. I would have my wife answer the door and accept the delivery. I always enjoy the interaction between a nude woman and a clothed man.

It looks like the Tropical Smoothie isn’t opening until November now, so we may have to order a pizza to be delivered to our room. We did that in the spring at Lake Como but did get dressed for the delivery. We were told the Marco's near Como was well aware that it was a nudist resort and had drivers who were ok with delivering there. Especially when the delivery was to the Butt Hut bar where it was almost guaranteed there would be multiple nude people when the delivery was made.

There is a Domino’s around the corner from the Cove and I’m sure they are also well aware there is a nudist resort and have drivers who are ok with delivering there. Maybe I can talk Mrs. NoShoCo into answering the door nude for our pizza.

Our go-to clothing optional beach has a mix of nude/non-nude. We have only been going for the last couple of years, so it is hard for me to know if it is a new trend or the way it has always been.

My wife is young, and we occasionally see women her age, but most are older. The guys by themselves range all over the age spectrum, though. Going off memory, I'd say those that stay clothed are in their 30s and older. It might just be a numbers thing, though. Like many of you have mentioned, it seems to be a shy one that is part of a group (3+) that stays dressed. We have a fair amount of gawkers that pass through that I don't count, though.

Now that it has been mentioned, I do think it is funny that people cover up to go to the restroom or walk around after being spread out nude for the last hour. I guess habit, or it feels more vulnerable walking around.

They feel more "exposed." At least that's how my wife explained it to me. When they're walking around naked, gravity takes effect; with "parts" jiggling and bouncing, and cellulite being more visible. After they cover up for a while it just becomes a habit.

My wife started out that way at resorts. "Never naked" outside the pool area; and then only naked to swim or tan. And it became a habit; which it seemed she would never "snap" out of.
Then we came across a "nude-obligatory" resort, where everyone was staying naked in and out of the pool area. I got her to agree to "dropping the habit" just once to take a walk around the resort. And in doing so she came to the realization that it didn't make much sense anymore to cover up "every five minutes" to go to the bathroom or leave the pool area; and that people seeing her naked "up and down and all the way around" wasn't as uncomfortable as she'd imagined. As a matter of fact it was actually fun. That day happened a few years back; and she not only does not cover up anymore; but she actually enjoys doing activities and socializing naked anywhere in the resort.

But; if women do not find an environment conducive to staying naked, they are likely to stick with their habit.

We were first-timers, as a couple, a few years ago and it was her first time ever doing something like it. We know how we felt the first time, and we've taken several others with us over the last couple of years. This thread made me think about it, but all of our new people follow pretty much the same pattern... it seems to be "oh my God, I can't believe I'm doing this" to "oh my God, I can't believe I'm nude," and finally relaxed. :). We were the same way.

It's hard not to be self-conscious, so I agree with what you've said.

lack of nudity
 

I feel women think that wearing something is sexier, than just being naked. Wearing a wrap around your waist can add a bit of mystery. My wife has a coverup that is open on both sides so side boobs can be seen, and is connected at the waist and open the rest o the way down. It just covers her front and back. My preference is complete nudity, but men think different from women.

Considering it barely hit 70, the sun wasn’t out all afternoon, and it is still a weekday, there was still a good amount of nude women by the pool today. Hopefully it warms up and the sun comes out for the weekend. The concert is usually a draw for losing the clothes if the cold doesn’t kill that. If not, we will be spending the weekend at the hot tub.

True
 

Hence the invention of negligees and other forms of lingerie! :D

Before my (first) wife decided to go "full naked" and was still hung up on wearing a sarong, she would wear it in "creative" ways. Like with a single knot tied over her boobs, and the sarong left completely open in the front. Or tied under her armpit with one boob hanging out of the side. It never made sense to me considering how squeamish she was about being seen naked; as "flashing" bits was certainly more attention-grabbing than full nudity. I think it was about being able to control the "level" of nudity she was presenting to others. With a swift hand movement she could immediately pull the sarong over her or close it up. Or just leave it open if she felt no one was paying attention to her. It gave her "options."

It's like my wife walking around a nudist campground wearing only a sleeveless top. It got much more attention than full nudity.

We ended up meeting up with a couple we knew from our nude cruises who gave us a ride to Publix where we could buy some food to break up the monotony of continuous bar food, so no pizza delivery. Instead I got to enjoy the opposite. I was in the shower and heard voices in our room. I finished my shower and walked out to find our housekeeper beginning to make up our room. My wife went to take her shower and the housekeeper continued talking with me, telling me a little about her family and that she had just moved from Philly to Orlando this summer. I was looking for a place to hang my towel to dry and she said not to bother, she would get us new towels. So I dropped the towel and we continued to talk while she made the bed. She knew my birthday was coming up so as she walked by she gave me a head to toe scan and guessed a nice low age which was nice to hear, but even nicer to get checked out while nude.

The door to our room was open and as a nude couple walked by one of the other housekeepers in the courtyard they wrapped their towels around themselves. Our housekeeper asked why nudists always do that. We do it not to offend the clothed workers, but after hearing that I didn’t cover up at all when interacting with the staff. We always assume the bartenders and waitresses expect to see nudity (plus we know most of them are nudists themselves) but don’t know what the housekeepers think about it.

In the end it is hard to tell if there was a lack of nudity at the Cove. Breakfast and dinner had quite a few clothed guests, but that was probably due to the cold weather outside. At lunch when the weather outside was nice almost everyone in the bar was nude, although some of the women were putting on sarongs to walk from the bar back to the pool where they would take the sarong back off just as others in this thread were describing. It seems like a waste of time to me, but I don’t know their nudist story. Maybe they are still new to social nudity or maybe they are trying to not offend the staff.

In my experience, this whole sarong thing never happened back in the good old days. Nowadays even long time nudist women seem to do it. As far as offending staff, if a person takes a job at a nudist venue they have to expect to see nude people, right? We were at a nudist resort in Greece a while back, and their rule was you had to cover up in the lobby. Why? It seemed totally stupid to me.

That started happening at larger, more commercial venues hiring non-nudist staff. I don't get it either. It's like a vegan taking a job at a butcher's shop. Are these people that desperate for work and can't find anything else?

There is a large resort in Canada that only hires people willing to be completely naked on the job. But I think these hiring practices are actually illegal in the U.S (discrimination laws).

You see that a lot less at the smaller "rustic" resorts. Probably because the "help" (notwithstanding contractors) are actually nudist volunteers. I prefer these resorts anyway. It's more enjoyable to me when you can just leave your clothes in the car, and go check in naked when everyone else is also naked.

I too am puzzled by these rules and practices.

My guess is that it is easier to hire and retain casual staff if they "don't have to see nudity". The pool of shortlistable applicants is much bigger.

- Some employment agencies might flag naturist resorts as "adult" and not advertize these jobs openly.

- I can imagine some parents and spouses worring about the moral safety of a loved one who was considering working at "such an establishment". They might wrongly fear it was only a step away from a strip club or brothel (as some fantasies on this site about naturist beaches and resorts indicate).

- I can also imagine some people starting work at a naturist place and imagining they can take it, but on the first day, find they can't or are later embarassed (especially if female) to tell others where they work and have to explain that they themselves are fully clothed.

- Casual staff leaving mid-season might take longer to replace, vet, induct and train at busy times. Even in places of high general unemployment it might be difficult to get reliable staff at short notice during peak vacation times. I can imagine a (textile) manager at a commercial site "playing it safe".

Having said that, the clothed staff I have spoken to about this, say that although many were initally wary, they later found that the general behaviour and atmosphere at genuine naturist clubs, events and resorts is generally much better that textile ones.

That's typically the "run of things" at clothing-optional resorts. I've seen it where almost no one was fully naked outside the pool area.
I see it as a bit of a "catch 22." On the one hand, women (and sometimes men) not feeling forced to be naked at all times can make them feel less "pressured" and therefore more comfortable. On the other hand, if no one is naked outside the pool area, this can de-incentivize other people from staying naked (my wife once remarked that she "certainly wasn't going to be the only woman walking around naked" when no one else was.)

The best resorts I've been to, whether large or small, or clothing optional or nude-mandatory, did a good job promoting nudity; whether by the owner/manager being nude themselves, setting expectations upon arrival by explaining "nudist philosophy", or even proposing that "newbies" disrobe before being given the introductory tour. Nothing "forced", just "encouraged."

Yes, this
 

"my wife once remarked that she "certainly wasn't going to be the only woman walking around naked" when no one else was."

Yep, and that's the issue. Women don't like to be seen as "that woman," i.e. a show off. Resorts promote the "clothing optional" thing to encourage people to come who are hesitant, and it eventually becomes "nudity optional," except at the pool. I've been to a campground where there were groups of clothed people sitting around. Maybe the state campgrounds were full? Some posters above say that nude beaches are more nude than ever, I certainly am not seeing that. Even at Haulover a couple years back there were lots of people in swim suits. Odd, because textile beaches are next door. Maybe I just hit a bad day.

Yeap. And it often works the other way around too. Not wanting to be the only woman covered up when all the others are naked.

I've told the story before about how and why my wife decided to stay naked at a resort for the first time.
The person who checked us in was naked. The people waiting behind us to check in were also already naked. After we returned to the parking lot she noticed that most everyone was leaving their clothes in the car and proceeding to the lake/pool naked. Her "sense of pride" kicked in; she wasn't look like she was ashamed of her body when most of the other women looked "totally open" about being seen naked everywhere and anywhere. Thus her decision to drop her cover-up, "look confident", and proceed naked around the entire resort. Knowing that the people who were seeing her naked were also naked themselves around her made it "easy."
I've seen many similar situations play out almost exactly the same.

"Pro-nudity resorts" understand this and promote nudity accordingly. "Pro-dollar resorts" often choose to ignore it to keep the revenue stream flowing.

I seem to recall watching the movie Educating Julie back in '84 which was a kind of nudist documentary and they went to visit Paradise Lakes in Florida. The movie showed the lady bartender and waitresses at least topless, and the lady showing Julie around the resort was totally nude. Could it be the work rules imposed either state or local prevent it today? I agree, I wish everyone was naked all the time, even the staff, but some resorts wish to appeal to as many people as possible, and allow some degree of clothes in order to achieve that goal. I saw that Cypress Cove have a music festival recently, and it was billed as clothing optional. I wonder if some regulars would be self-conscious with a bunch of dressed people in a nudist resort. Would the nudist ladies be uncomfortable with dressed men looking at them?

Yes! - based on my conversations.

Because:
1. Many women would feel they are being gawped at, like in a strip show (even if they were not). cf relatively few (and fewer) women at most WNBR events, largely due to clothed male photographers mobbing them, and their pics (suitably cropped) ending up on porn sites for perves like us.

2. Women tend to be more insecure and worry more about being judged (often by other women) for their appearance than men

3. There is a physical power imbalance between the sexes (women are physically more vulnerable to sexual assault than men).

As previously discussed on this thread - if (almost) all other women are naked, the remaining women will follow suit - if the men are also naked and behaving properly and part of a couple or "safely gay".

Yeap. Correct on all counts.

My wife's attitude towards men will vary depending on status and behavior; and from I'm what I've seen and heard, other nudist women feel the same way.
- A nude guy with his naked partner doesn't automatically elicit trust; but if he is clearly more mindful of his wife than other women, it's a good start.
- A naked single guy will "earn" her trust after several instance of proven appropriate behavior (friendliness and no oggling).
- A single covered guy: she's going to steer clear of him.
- Several covered guys: she's putting something on or is going to want to leave.

Notwithstanding our married male nudist friends whom my wife has no problem being naked around, we also have a single male/divorced friend at the resort. We've known him for a couple years and has always displayed "gentleman-like" behavior and friendliness towards my wife. She's got no problem interacting and being openly naked around him; because he's earned her trust.
On the other hand there's a married male whom she's "caught looking" while she was bent over or had her legs open. She is now careful around him. So "observable behavior" often trumps marital status.