Belgium does not have enough areas where naturists can go to experience their nudity undisturbed due to the country's outdated low, the taboo on nude recreation and a "new prudishness," showed new VUB research.
An estimated 500,000 people engage in nude recreation in Belgium, going from people who occasionally go to a nude sauna and recreationalists who seek out nude beaches or other places where they can experience naturism. However, not enough of those places exist.
"Naturism is more than just walking around naked," Liesa Schoukens, who wrote a master thesis entitled 'Is nudity still a taboo? An exploratory study on the definition and perception of naturism in Flanders by naturists and nude recreationists', said in a press release.
"It has to do with the experience of freedom, connection with nature, and sometimes also with very practical matters, such as not having to drag a swimming costume along," she said. "For others, it is a way to interact with like-minded people in a clean environment. Many respondents indicated that there is a lot of respect for others at nude domains and nude beaches and that naturism can boost self-esteem and self-confidence."
Restriction of freedom
Although the group of nude recreationists in Belgium seems pretty large, only 7,000 members are currently affiliated with the Federation of Belgian Naturists. This is partly due to many naturists' desire for freedom leading them to feel that membership is more of a restriction than an expansion of their horizons.
"Additionally, many naturists shy away from making themselves known as naturists," said Schoukens. "This sometimes has to do with their close environment not responding well to it. In fact, more than half of the respondents reported that their partner had no desire to engage in nude recreation or naturism."
Due to their partner's lack of motivation, a number of naturists sometimes feel inhibited in their own experience, but children can also be a barrier.
"Several respondents said that they had involved their children in the experience of naturism from an early age. In several cases, the children went along with it until they entered their teenage and adolescent years. After this, they often stopped seeing it, which also reduced parental activity," she added.
Flemish prudishness
Still, the survey showed that the biggest barrier remains Belgium's old-fashioned legislation for naturists, where all nudity beyond the private sphere can be considered public indecency: there are few places where naturists can go outside that private sphere.
"In Belgium, there are barely seven recreational areas and a nude beach where they can go," Schoukens said. "Of these, five are in Flanders. The best-known one is without a doubt the nude beach in Bredene."
However, more than half of the respondents said they did not want to go there, because they find it too, too crowded or felt that little or no accommodation, such as toilets or a stall to buy food, was provided. Additionally, a lot of voyeurs – mostly men, the respondents said – go to the nude beach in Bredene to spy on the other beachgoers.
"Several respondents have had some issues with this: one respondent was accosted and followed there, another was spied on with binoculars. Due to the presence of these peeping Toms on Bredene's nude beach, one respondent felt it was not safe for children."
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As an alternative, many naturists frequent beaches just across the border in the Netherlands. According to some, Flemish people are much more prudish than the French, Dutch or Germans.
Additionally, Belgium's language barrier is even felt in the naturist experience as Walloons are apparently a lot less shy than their Flemish compatriots, Schoukens found. "Respondents tell us that in Flanders there is still a big taboo around naturism. This is partly because of a 'new Flemish prudishness.' Unlike in the 1960s, a lot of people find the practice of naturism strange."
