BAC K to Nature
AS FAR BACK AS TED THOMPSON CAN REMEMBER, HE HAS BEEN
A NUDIST. Sorry, naturist. Nudists are more comfortable with that term, since it more accurately speaks to the concept of being at one with nature. After all, they argue, why does society feel the need to cover up when every other creature is comfortable au naturel? Moreover, we’re born naked. So what’s more natural than being nude?
Specifically, Thompson’s nudist tendencies surfaced when he was eight or nine years old, “mucking about” on his family’s farm in southern Ontario. To avoid getting his clothes dirty, for which he typically would be scolded, he — and his chums — would take them off. “My mother didn’t seem to notice that I never had tan lines,” he says, chuckling as he sits (barefoot but other- wise clothed) in his Greely home. “Normally, I don’t wear clothes around the house,” he notes.
A retired aviation engineer, the 67-year-old is the president of the Ottawa Naturists/Naturistes de l’Outaouais (ON/NO). The group was created in 1993 — around the time when chat rooms were becoming popular, allowing people who frequented the nude beach at Meech Lake to connect in the winter. Its first event? A nude swim at a rented pool. Back in ’93, there were only about 80 members. It has since grown to include 280 naturists, and that’s not counting kids.
The club does boast some families whose children, ranging in age from newborns to teens (when that awkward phase temporarily makes them uncomfortable in their own skin), regularly attend
swims, five-pin bowling, camping, and other social activities. Mention of kids may raise red flags. After all, a typical misconception about naturists is that it’s all about sex. But as Thompson is quick to clear up, “Nudists don’t prance around nude.” Nor is event a code word for orgies and the like, adds Thompson. And when it comes to kids, “Everyone looks out for the children.”
That’s not to say there haven’t been incidents, though he points out that none have included inappropriate behaviour toward children. In the club’s 20-year history, Thompson says, there has been a “handful” of cases where people have been asked to leave and not return. One was even arrested — but for incidents that took place outside of club activities.
The club’s raison d’être is to ensure that everyone feels comfortable and safe, Thompson explains. That means a no-tolerance policy when it comes to complaints. Cultivating this kind of atmosphere provides a social outlet for people who are often forced to hide their naturist lifestyle from their friends, families, and colleagues — ironic, considering the last thing naturists want to do is conceal.
In fact, that is one of the hardest things about being a naturist. “It’s not having as many opportunities as I’d like to be who I am,” says Thompson. That’s why ON/NO is so important. While it might be easy to find a crew of people who enjoy knitting or running, seeking out naturists can be, well, awkward.
As hard as it might be to be a naturist, the freedom and casualness outweigh any downsides. And perhaps above all, Thompson says, “The lack of clothes means you can’t make snap decisions about someone based on their looks or the clothes they wear.”
In other words, naturism is really about freeing oneself from prejudices, which inhibit our interactions with others and ourselves; this allows naturists to get on with the business of simply being comfortable with who they are. Maybe Baloo put it best: “Forget about your worries and your strife/I mean the bare necessities/Old Mother Nature’s recipes/That brings the bare necessities of life.”