Nudist Phone Use

I feel like this photograph should be accompanied by a study or discussion of nudist cell phone use, but I'm not sure there's that much to say (edit: I'm about to prove myself wrong, lol). The only reason nudists treat cell phones differently than textile society is because they have cameras. And, ostensibly contrary to their openness about their bodies, nudists are paranoid about having their picture taken, for one of two reasons:

1) They want to keep their involvement in nudism a secret, to avoid work/family conflicts, or

2) they're afraid of being targeted by "gawkers" who have either a sexual or judgmental (in the sense of pointing and laughing) motivation.

The first reason is understandable, if unfortunate - personally, I believe that nudists ought to live out in the open, not necessarily in the sense of being naked in textile society (which, under certain circumstances, could be illegal, in addition to being considered eccentric), but in the sense of not hiding the fact that they participate in the lifestyle, owing to a more visible and transparent public image. But, I understand that human beings are imperfect, and not everyone is in a position to be honest and open in this cutthroat, dog-eat-dog world. C'est la vie.

I believe the second reason, however, is overblown. Cameras don't capture souls, and if somebody happens to masturbate over an image of your naked body - excuse me for having lost my sensitivity on this issue, but - big deal. I subscribe to the philosophy of "no harm, no foul".

If somebody walks up to you and starts jacking off in your face (not necessarily literally, but that, too), then by all means, ban him from the park and put his name on a blacklist. Did you hear me? I said ban him from the park and put his name on a blacklist. That kind of behavior isn't acceptable. If he's following you around taking pictures of you (regardless of the reason) and this bothers you, then he needs a stern talking to (if not by you or your protector/guardian, then by a staff member or kind stranger), and if he persists, then by all means, ban him from the park. I don't know that blacklisting is appropriate for a first offense of this sort, but let's not quibble about the details.

But if you're minding your business and somebody innocuously snaps a picture of you because they like what they see, then what's the problem? The benefit of being less anal about anyone who whips out a camera at a nudist function is that the people who are actually interested in requesting and obtaining consent (as necessary) for taking and posing in pictures (e.g., families and friends documenting their vacations, or professional photographers interested in documenting the lifestyle) will be able to go about their business without undue hassle.

I suppose it's a matter of either safe or sorry. Play it safe, and ban all cameras, so that good photography is sacrificed. Or take the permissive approach, and run the risk that somebody might abuse the house's good will and snap a surreptitious picture here or there. All I'm saying is let's do a cost-benefit analysis. Somebody takes a nonconsensual picture of you and that hurts you exactly how? If they do anything with it that does hurt you (like out you as a nudist, or make fun of your body, or "submit" you to the shame of being the target of impure thoughts), then reparative actions can be taken.

But unless you're actually losing a job or custody of a child, or something serious like that (and these are battles that need to be fought in society so that injustices can stop being done against people just for engaging in a nudist lifestyle), you brush it off and move on with your life. I understand that it's not politically correct right now to tell somebody that they're overreacting, but all this fear of somebody taking your picture against your "consent" - even if we're considering people fully dressed in full view of public and outside of any nudist environment - is ridiculous, and that's where I stand on the issue.

And all that ignores what people spend the most time doing on their phones: namely, communicating with people, surfing the net, listening to music, and playing games. The latter is what I was doing when I thought to myself, "huh, a nudist using a cell phone, how quaint - I should take a picture of this!" Imagine you're a kid growing up in the nineties, and your family spends their vacation at a resort that outlaws Gameboys, Walkmans, computers, and telephones. I know you're supposed to be there to enjoy the vacation, but we're living in an increasingly technological society, and this sort of attitude is bound to turn young people away.