Nudism: Mendoza stripped their clothes and prejudices

“Nudism is for me an experience of freedom.  Naked swimming is one of the most liberating experiences I've ever had in life .Getting rid of clothes is much more than that, it's dropping  prejudices , taboos, forgetting what they'll say, whether I have panties or not. It is to accept and understand that the body is just the 'container', it is to connect with something much deeper than the outside. I know that many people don't understand it like that and I respect it,” describes Victoria, a 46-year-old Mendoza. 

 It's about shaking the impositions to be yourself, without labels, without social category or shame.  This is what is defined by those who practice nudism that, in fact, is done in  Mendoza . However, they doubt that Mendoza society is prepared for these practices and one example is that accessing testimonials is not so easy.

 Be natural 

Naturism is a way of life in harmony with nature, characterized by the practice of nude in common, with the aim of promoting respect for oneself, others and the environment. This is what is defined by  Apanna , the Association for Argentine Naturist Nudism.

 There are not many meeting spaces for those who choose to walk with their skin in the wind so it is left for the private sphere or travel outside the province . Even so, there is an organization that brings together followers via Facebook: “Nudismo Mendoza”, also a closed group and where they were not very predisposed to tell experiences.

“They call it naturalism because we are born naked, it is the natural but humans have been carrying the act of undressing a lot of connotations and even embarrassing,” he considered who every so often travels to feel free in places where the norm is the body without fabrics.

 “ The prejudice that there is to do with nudity and sex, something associated with the collective imagination, but when you go you realize that there are very clear rules : you can't have sex in common places, it's something inside, it's about getting rid of prejudices,” he said.

 For Gustavo (46), her husband, Mendoza is a complex province for this. Consider that somehow his experience is also associated with the society in which we live, full of prejudice: “With nudism you are free, you are who you are, nobody questions you, nor asks you,” he summarized.

 Then he elaborated on his breastplate theory. He explained that when one wakes up, he chooses the clothes he considers appropriate for the activity he has to perform, it is like the weapon to go out to battle, a breastplate that covers the real being. “You are who it is when you are naked,” she stressed.

 An act of courage 

The couple has been together for 26 years and have practiced nudism since 2015.They referred to their first experience, on a  beach  in Mexico, about what — they agree — was not easy. It had been Gustavo's idea and she had some qualms, as he said, about possible relationships with other people. However, he clarified that the rules were laid by them and thus they could take the step.

It was necessary only a moment of  courage - to take out the mesh, but, after, everything flowed, it was natural.

“I had already done to the idea, it was also an internal trip,  I was a little afraid of my own reaction, my poor and attending social mandates, so I thought 'openly, 'I got a little over it until I believed it,”  she recalls.

He said that the decision was by desire to experiment: “The first moment is very sexual because it is the burden we give to nudism, crack makes it your head until you remove the mesh,” he said.

In these spaces it is usual to perform other activities such as games or exercise and they say that already in that situation contact with people also flows more.

 They have three daughters, aged 10, 12 and 17. They don't walk naked in front of them, but Gustavo said if they accidentally saw him he thinks they would take it naturally.  They seek to have a few Sundays just for them and it is in those occasions that they can hardly choose to get rid of their clothes.

Source:  Los Andes Newspaper