It's learned behavior.
My wife, like many women, was taught from a young age that "good girls keep their legs crossed." The implication is that open legs will "invite" boys to misbehave and cause some mischief - harassment or worse.
Some women are able to "kick" that notion when they get into nudism; others not. I've known experienced nudists that still got self-conscious and kept their legs closed at all times. On the other hand I have a friend who rarely ever keeps her legs closed. It depends on how much their upbringing has a hold on them.
My wife started out self-conscious. She sunbathed with her legs closed and covered her bottom when hanging out outside the pool area. But over time and little by little, she started growing more confident and less worried about getting "too much attention."
Now...it depends on who is around. If she's sunbathing in front of the lake, she lets her legs flop open because, as she says, the people on the water are too far to see her cookie "in detail." If we're hanging out with our nudist friends, she's so used to them seeing her naked that she'll stand or sit in front of them "comfortably"; which means with no self-consciousness as to how open her legs are. She's admitted that it "feels nice" to stretch out legs open. I think that a lot of nudist women would; but not all have the confidence to do it.
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