Virus sees more dare to go bare
Some South Africans have been keeping only their mouths and noses covered since Covid-19 hit our shores. Clothing has been optional as naked gardening, nude yoga and working from home in the buff took off.
Naturist associations worldwide have reported a surge in interest, and the SA naturist movement said it was attracting younger members after years of being ridiculed for displaying only “sagging boobs and drooping buttocks”.
Seventy naturists spent part of the lockdown at SunEden, a Gauteng nudist game farm, and since provincial borders were opened the resort has seen an increase in vistor numbers compared with last year.
“British naturism doubled because so many people were nudewhile working from home, and SA was no different as the number of visitors to SunEden rocketed the moment travel was allowed,” said spokesperson Athol Lange.
“Bookings of accommodation reached levels never seen before and nudism suddenly became cool, especially among younger adults.”
Lange said the resort had never had as many first-time visitors as the number that arrived when tourism establishments reopened.
“Our followers and likes on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook tripled since March.”
A 50-year-old training institute CEO who was locked down at SunEden said baring it all for months had been liberating.
“I believe the lockdown increased the number of people practising naturism, as they were at home and had the chance to walk around naked in their own privacy and get used to the feeling,” he said.
South African National Naturist Association chair Christo Bothma said more people started experimenting during the lockdown by stripping off at home.
“We now have to see if they will want to practise naturism in a social setting. I am confident that they will as our numbers are growing,” he said.