Clothing Optional Resorts
Thoughts from Members of the WGT Community
Most of us struggle with self-confidence and have body-image issues so the idea of being naked in front of others can cause anxiety and fear. This post is an off-shoot of our podcast episode 113 featuring live recordings from Desire Pearl, where our guests discussed their personal unique perspectives, perceptions and realities of the term ‘clothing optional.’ After hearing stories from other real people, we can better understand what it’s all about and how it can help us discover and grow into our real selves.
We had a lot of folks with us who are new to the swinger lifestyle during our last community outing to Desire Pearl. Many of those who were with us were experiencing a clothing-optional resort for the very first time. Here are some of our thoughts and our community members’ take-aways.
Mr. Jones shared that the first time we went to a resort, he was hyper aware of the “clothing optional” possibility and not a little daunted by the idea that this was perhaps marketed more toward younger people who spend a lot of time at the gym. “You feel like everyone is watching you, that the spotlight is on you.” After about 30 minutes of sitting poolside in his board shorts, Mr. Jones wriggled out of them as nonchalantly as he could muster. “10–15 minutes in, it felt both normal and good. I started to pick my head up and look around. That’s when I noticed that there were a whole lot of people there who didn’t look much different than we did.”
Mrs. Jones would like to point out that the way she has felt about and approached vacationing at a clothing-optional resort has absolutely evolved over time. As her comfort level and experience level has increased, her clothing (or not) decision making has become more intuitive and come to feel much more natural. Rather than agonizing about what to wear, or not to wear, she goes with her mood and feeling at the moment.
Here are our community members’ paraphrased thoughts:
The main thing to remember is that nobody is a perfect ten.
It gives a sense of self-confidence when you can get OK with your body. It doesn’t have to be perfect. And you realize the guys like your body….It’s just an appreciation for the human form. You become less critical of yourself and others.
We were surprised by how incredibly quickly we went from apprehensive about having our clothes off to taking part in sexy naked games and events poolside.
The very first time we went to a nude beach, we were trying to make ourselves small and unseen. It wasn’t long before we were running around like it was nothing.
Coming here gave me permission to be who I really actually am. I have spent a lot of my adult life hiding who I really am at heart. Being part of this community and take part here, feeling free to take my clothes off, was a way for me to feel completely me and completely accepted as me.
Antithetically, being naked here makes me feel like I am not just a body. I’m a person and someone that others want to get to know for me, not for what’s on the outside.
Feeling the sun, the wind, and air on your body feels natural, amazing, and liberating. Not having to think about clothing or deal with it bunching up, wrinkling, itching, binding, etc. is great.
Guys, if you’re worried about below-the-belt embarrassing stuff happening while you’re naked, I can tell you that it’s not as likely to happen as you think. It does happen, and that’s natural and fine, but it’s not as frequent or as problematic as you are likely imagining.
Being naked here is like being given permission to just be yourself.
Last year I brought what I thought we were “supposed” to wear, and ended up being uncomfortable a lot of the time. This year, I brought and am wearing — or not wearing — what feels good and right for me.
To my surprise, I’ve learned that often the things that I don’t like about my body turn out to be what others do.
The common refrain as we listen to our community members talk about coming to a clothing-optional resort is that it IS emotionally daunting at first because it’s new and different from what we encounter in our usual day-to-day world.
The other common refrain is that it’s incredibly good for our confidence and comfort level with whatever shape we are in. Cliche as it sounds, it really can be liberating and lead to greater self acceptance, as well as more genuine interactions with others.
Want to know more? Tune in to Episode 113 of We Gotta Thing.
We are Mr. & Mrs. Jones, swinger lifestyle podcasters. If you like what you read here and want to learn more about the swinger lifestyle and/or We Gotta Thing, you can find our podcast episodes and much more at WeGottaThing.com.
