Private Spaces

What might come as a surprise to people is just how invisible they are despite their convictions to the contrary. Particularly when nude.

When most people are clothed, they barely give a thought to whether they are being seen or not. When nude, the opposite is often true. To the untrained mind, it seems as though the whole world can see you. As if you’re a glowing red beacon flashing brightly trying to draw everyone’s attention.

What I’ve observed over the years from becoming more and more comfortable with my own nudity. While at the same time, becoming less concerned with whether I can be seen or not. Is a realisation of how much free-range and private space you have in and around your home and elsewhere.

A major factor contributing to this realisation is observation. Not so much looking out with the perspective of what can be seen. It’s a matter of looking in and seeing what can’t be seen.

People are generally far less observant than most assume. Unless something particularly catches people’s attention, the majority of the world goes by unnoticed. These days with so many people glued to their phones, oblivion to the world is greater than it ever was.

Our property is on a main road surrounded by houses on either side. With no front fence, by choice, people on the street can glance in. Few if any do. The houses on either side have decks that look over our backyard. One side of the house can be seen by the neighbours, but only if they happen to look out their bathroom window.

With this in mind I can happily walk around inside the house completely nude. If the neighbour looked out their bathroom window while I was in the kitchen, they may see something but I doubt it would be much. It honestly doesn’t bother me even if they did notice my state of undress.

Partially through design, but also thanks to a vigorously productive vegetable garden, the backyard contains a pleasantly private space that I can take full advantage of in the mornings to soak up the sun.

To my earlier point about observation, walking to and from the garden nude is entirely possible. Despite the path being out in the open, visibility and neighbours’ presence to observe are scarce and rare. Enough for me to walk to and fro confidently with no more than a towel over my shoulder.

I often see and hear people in naturist forums and other social media lament the fact they have nowhere to be nude. From personal experience, I’m suggesting you might be surprised how many places there actually are.

One of the biggest barriers I personally needed to overcome when I reignited my interest in naturism many years ago as an adult. Was the stigma of being seen nude. I had no problem visiting nude venues and beaches and being seen. I’d even go bare at empty non-nudist beaches and free-hike on regular walking tracks. Albeit with some trepidation of being seen nude in the latter case. Early on.

What I realised from encountering clothed people on regular walking tracks when I was nude, is that a lot of the time they didn’t notice, or pretended not to notice. This seemed even more the case on regular public beaches where I’d skinny dip even if regular beach goers were around.

It helped me reach a place where being seen naked didn’t bother me. This expanded my horizons immensely. I’m not limited to specific out-of-the-way places and it reveals how many private spaces exist in your home. You just need to discover them. An upstairs balcony that can’t be seen from the street for example.

As a general rule it’s actually quite difficult to observe people in their homes. Because we have such a clear and obvious view out, we assume that goes both ways. It doesn’t. Especially if you have tinted house windows or dark rooms.

My advice therefore is as follows.

1. Examine your resistance and reluctance to be seen nude. It’s a huge social stigma we’re all programmed with from early childhood. When you slowly realise how little anyone truly takes notice, it’s far easier to overcome.
2. Don’t look from the inside out. Look from the outside in and see how little can be seen. If your neighbour’s house goes on the market, go to the open home and look at your place. Take photos of your house. You’d be surprised how little they can actually see.
3. Look for private little spaces in your garden and create them with fast-growing plants. Build a gazebo. It’s not difficult to create your own little oasis. You get a tranquil place to relax nude in at the same time.

Now that I have built a private space in the backyard, my next goal is an outdoor shower. If you’ve never experienced one, out in the open, sun shining brightly, you really don’t know what you’ve been missing.