My Undressed
Quest

by Barry B.

T^{he freedom and openness I}
experience in nude events lead me

to ask the question, "Do Designer

Labels have anything to do with starting

wars?" People gathered together in nude

environments are warmer, more inviting,

less defensive, have less need to be
protective, and generally are more secure

and able to love and share one another's

humanity, than in clothed environments.

My travels to this enlightenment

started out as an adventure to promote an

exciting new relationship, over fourteen

years ago. After securing jobs and settling

down to create a new home, my lover and

I started to research our surroundings.
Vancouver provided a strange home for
this transported New Yorker. My partner

had been there many times on business

a n dbeing a take-charge kind of guy, he
led me to the most shocking of places,

Wreck Beach.

He gallantly disrobed

I'm a nice Jewish boy from puritanical

N.Y.C. who only got undressed when the

occasion called for it. Getting undressed

just to be undressed was not in the List of

Occasions. My lover was hell bent on

making sure the List was rewritten. He

gallantly disrobed while I looked on in

horror. The thought of exposing myself,

and being exposed to people with whom I

had not as yet become intimate friends

(for at least twenty minutes) did not fit

my agenda. Women, men, children and

who-knows-what animals were watching

as he said, "What are you waiting for?"

I'm sure all the beach turned to watch

me peel off the clothing that had become
glued to my body. Not one piece came off

comfortably. I don't know how many

colours I turned as each layer struggled to
remain in its place.

Natural Phenomena

I agreed to finish undressing if we sat

in a secluded place, at least until I could

get used to the idea. We found a sandy
section within a three-sided rock forma-

tion to set ourselves down. We faced

downhill to the water without obstruction.

I was sure no one could see me.

All of a sudden, down at the water's

edge, two young boys ran by, chasing

each other. They must have been about

eight or nine years old. I was shocked:
they both w e re sporting erections. Of
course I br o u g h tmy adult bias to the occa-
sion. I strained to look over the rock for-
mation to see how others reacted. Most of

them were laughing.

I woke my lover from his short nap to

see the spectacle. To my surprise he also

laughed. I tried my darndest to accept the

phenomenon as normal, as the boys kept
running back and forth, with a wonderful

freedom--a freedom I coveted and had

yet to experience. He just lay back and let
the sun wash over his nude body.

Over exposure

Feeling somewhat safe in our secluded
spot I too dozed off. Wrong thing to do.

Sun Block was not something we used

back then. There are parts of my body that

had never been exposed to the elements.

This led to many uncomfortable days and

nights for the next two weeks. Wearing pants

was something I did not relish. Dressing
to the right, left, or upright in the centre

had no benefit to my comfort zones.

Forget and use of family jewellery!

Thank the heavens above we have

since found many nude groups and places

to enjoy ourselves and others without the

encumbrance of clothing. I must say, find

-

ingT N T ! M E Nhas strengthened my beliefs.

Clothes cause problems

Now, having become a great champion of

the undressed, my position on nudity was

challenged at a clothed dinner party. One

of the guests, who has been to many

European nude environments, suggested

that to come to an event just to be able to
take your clothes off was purposeless. Boy,

did he say the wrong thing at the wrong

time! He believed that the only value in

being nude was being exposed to the

elements. What about the people? I think

he missed the issue. Sure, it's great to be

nude in a warm climate. Removing our

clothes is in itself the reason.

When we are all equally nude, people

only judge each other for their thoughts or

actions, not image-enhancing clothing or

dressed impressions. With that in mind, I

leave you to prepare for our next occasion

of undress. Don't forget it is the only body

you have, and you bring your mind with

you where ever it goes.

How can one ever be over-dressed or

unprepared when you are like that? I for

one am trying to find as many places and

times as possible to relive these feelings.

Now what accessories should I wear tonight?