“Naturists must show flag”

Free body culture and security are current theme

Security issues are increasingly relevant to nudists. The threat of technical possibilities, but also a reduced willingness to accept the limits of the other, are phenomena against which nudists have to arm themselves. The President of the International Naturist Federation (INF-FNI), Sieglinde Ivo, has taken up the discussion.
Dear Sieglinde, security is thought of as risk poverty or risk-free. What risks do nudists have to face?
An obvious risk lies in contemporary technical equipment. In previous years we went to the nudist beach and had our peace. When people took photos on the beach, it has usually been a matter of course to accept the limits of others. If someone has his smartphone with him today, no one knows if there are photos or movies on the net seconds later. This is a major threat to free-body culture. Children and young people in particular absolutely need protection and zero tolerance in this context.

How can this be achieved? It’s almost impossible, isn’t it?
In my view, safety is a very individual task. I think it’s about the flag when something seems scary. Showing the flag, for example, can mean calling the police if you suspect that someone is filming with a camera hidden in a bag. This has happened many times before, so I come back to it. It may be necessary to simply approach someone if she or her is tinkering with their smartphone on the beach too often. I need the feeling of a very subjective security; otherwise I don’t feel comfortable on a beach.

This means security retiring to a nudist area. Would that be the solution?
For individual people, this is certainly the solution. Individuals need the shelter of a club grounds or a nudist campsite. However, this cannot be the general solution. In recent decades, we have won freedoms to be unclothed on lakes and beaches, in swimming pools and wherever. We usually justify this freedom with a naturistic attitude to life. I am not prepared to let this freedom be taken away from me. I enjoy being able to experience nature unclothed. I like to lie topless in the sun. This should remain so.

This now sounds like selfishness. Is this a good sight for naturists?
Of course. As naturists, we are children of our time. During this time, we shape a culture and a free-body culture. This is also a good thing. When we see different cultural influences and perhaps also the discussion of free-body culture, I can only say: ‘We must be worth not letting ourselves be deprived of the freedom to be unclothed’. The conviction of something and about something also leads to security, at least subjectively.