BNA GUNNISON BEACH TAKEOVERNaturism has always been important to me. Way before I ever became famili

BNA GUNNISON BEACH TAKEOVERNaturism has always been important to me. Way before I ever became familiar with the term and made a connection with the lifestyle, I have always enjoyed living clothes free.There’s something about being and feeling completely free to enjoy the warmth the sun provides to my skin and feeling the air hit all my parts equally that I love. At one time this was something that I felt the need to keep to myself. As I began to embrace the title of naturist or nudist, I felt myself becoming more secretive about my chosen lifestyle out of fear of being judged. This was the exact opposite of what naturism is and was intended to do. When I was googling naturism/ nudism, I never saw people who looked like me so this further more gave me the impression that I would be judged for my new interest. In my circles, being naked was something that has always been directly linked to sex. Whenever I’ve found ways to spark a conversation about being naked, somehow the conversation always ends up sexual. So to open up and tell people that I enjoyed being nude and in social settings, this was out of the question. Or sooo I thought!Many of you who have been following my blog for some time now are familiar with my story. You are aware that I created this blog years ago to provide content that spoke to people who looked like me and were interested in naturism. While looking for community on the East coast and thinking about creating my own, I came across the Black Naturist Association one day while doing research. This group was literally everything that I had been searching for and low key wanting to create, so joining their ranks was a no brainer. Before joining BNA, I had been apart of several successful nudist communities. We would meet regularly and there were always interactive events to participate in. I love my communities, but it was often hard to look past the fact that I was usually the only person within my age group present and I was one of few persons of color attending events. This caused me to become obsessed with finding my own community. It’s like you never know how much you need something, until you don’t have it and desperately want it. REPRESENTATION TRULY MATTERS! This “fact” was even more apparent on Saturday, June 8th when the Black Naturist Association decided to host a meetup at Gunnison beach in Highlands, New Jersey. I’ve been living on the east coast for about three years now. One of the first things that I did upon preparing to move was research naturist friendly spaces in the area and Gunnison beach was one of the first places that popped up. Prior to BNA planning a meetup at Gunnison, I had been to the beach several times by myself. Every summer since moving to the Baltimore County area, I have planned day trips to Gunnison to enjoy the beach and a little time free of clothing. I have to say, from the moment that I walked up to the beach a few weekends ago, it just felt different. From the moment I could see people on the beach and noticed there was a small section of color there, I was certain that was my tribe. The feeling of excitement magnified when I started to see people I  recognized from the group chat and my previous Florida trip. This was the first time I’d been to Gunnison with people I knew and feelings of pride and support was immediate. In that moment, I thought about every follower who has ever questioned why I had to bring race into naturism. For those who have to ask, I’m convinced they may never understand but I hope they will read my stories and be open to learning a new perspective. Seeing black people unified on a nude beach was EVERYTHING for me. I’ve been a naturist for years, but I’ve never been this comfortable being naked around a group of people. Regardless of what group you join, I would encourage you to build community. Having a group of supportive, fun, and like-minded people around makes life better. It definitely makes naturism more enjoyable.  -- source link

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