We have entered Pride month 2021 and around the world, we will see various Pride events taking place. One of the more controversial aspects of a Pride parade can be the nudity that is sometimes seen.
Nudity has been a pretty common thing to find at Pride parades in my experience. Now being a naturist I can appreciate the liberating feeling of being nude. People at Pride events often have varying thoughts on nudity at the events because many view it as being a family friendly event.
In naturism, we see non-sexual nudity as being a family friendly thing. In an article from July 2020, a member of the public expressed concerns about the nudity taking place at a Pride parade stating, “[Pride] is supposed to be a family-friendly event. If you went to any other ward in the city on that day and paraded around naked, you would likely be arrested,” said Sam Sotiropoulos.
Now I do admit that not all nudity at Pride is family friendly and often takes up more of a sexual nature. Nudity itself is not the issue, it is what people do with it. Being comfortable by being nude is one thing, but making it into something totally focused on sex and making others uncomfortable is another issue. I’m not saying that myself or other naturists out there are not sex positive, but there is a proper time and place for such actions.
The way that we as naturists act in a public setting can set the tone for how people react to us being comfortable and enjoying our natural selves. A totally nude person at a Pride parade is not unheard of but often many who tend to enjoy partial nudity will cover up what the general public sees as offensive. In a poll conducted by Bobby Box (@bybobbybox) on twitter, he found that the majority of respondents had no issue with people being able to “strut their stuff in the buff.”
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsNudity at Pride has been a long-standing issue, and I'm writing about it. LGBTQ+ peeps, what's your take?
— Bobby Box (he/him) (@bybobbybox) April 19, 2020
(As always, I love commentary and DMs are open)
Now in my own personal opinion, I think it is fine for people to enjoy the Pride events and the parades nude. To me, it helps to affirm body positivity among the community. When people can see all different body types nude with all their imperfections, they begin to see that we are all unique. That is one of the best aspects of naturism. Every persons body has a story to tell about their life and who they are. Allowing for full expression at a public event helps to tell their story.
Now I am still kind of new to public nudity myself and I probably am not ready to go march in a Pride parade in the buff but that does not mean that it won’t happen some today. Who knows, maybe I’ll get a group of people together from the LGBTQ+ community who are nudists/naturists and we’ll go naked on a float in a parade.
If you plan to enjoy Pride in the buff, be mindful and keep your dress and actions family friendly to uphold the values of naturism. Enjoy Pride month and have fun at the upcoming events! For more information about Pride month, visit Pride online!
HAPPY PRIDE 2021! 🏳️🌈
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