Dear DOMAI

Being a naturist and involving myself in naturist activities affords me the opportunity to meet and socialize with lots of naked people. Many of them are beautiful women, of course, and I am glad that they are comfortable with their own selves to socialize with a 54 year old guy.

My first real naturist experiences were in college, back in the 70's. Barbara (my first wife, that is) was a student of dance at the University of Michigan. Dancers, not surprisingly, get pretty comfortable with their bodies. One day, I was asked to help out in the green room. While I was in there, the dancers would run in to change outfits, stripping naked, completely unconcerned of my presence.

But the best occurred out at the property of the parents of Mary, one of the dance students. Mary, Barbara, and six of their friends formed their own little company and would often meet out at Mary's to practice. This property was only one of several properties that Mary's parents owned. It was a large, old, farm house on several hundred acres outside of Ann Arbor. An old farm trail led from the house, along old farm fields, through some woods, to a lovely, one acre pond fed by an artesian well. An A-frame cottage stood by the pond with a massive deck that extended out over the pond. A small deck graced the opposite shore. A tennis court was within sight of the pond.

Once in a while, the dancers would invite their boyfriends/husbands to join them there. Well, with a great swimming pond, we were soon all skinnydipping. I do not remember a big deal made about the initial nudity. It was just, "Let's go swimming" and off came the clothes. No hesitation, no gawking, no introversion.

The young ladies were all fit and beautiful, being dancers. To my disappointment, Susan and Martha never showed up for these swims, for I was especially fond of Susan. Ah well. Mary was about 5'11", broad shouldered, big hipped. Barbara was a strong moderately built firecracker of energy. Ruth was the elder in the group, a mother in her early 30's and just as lovely as the others. Sue S. was thin and tall. Andrea was built like the proverbial brick house --way more nearly perfectly formed than any woman needs to be. Jean was very small breasted; she was selfconscious about her breasts when dressed, but totally relaxed about them when in the nude. Besides, Jean had the best legs and butt of any woman I have ever seen.

A bit of a digression here, writing of Jean and her lack of concern, when nude, about her small breasts reminds me of one woman on my visit to Gunnison Beach at Sandy Hook National Seashore in New Jersey several years ago. She was in her early forties, fit, pretty faced, blond hair curling to her shoulders. On her approach along the shoreline, her engaging smile attracted attention even from a distance; yet there was something odd about her lovely carriage. Only when I got close to her did I realize what it was. She had no nipples, no breasts at all, having had them removed due to cancer. Yet what a cheer, delightful person she was and no less physically lovely. Something about social nudity that once a woman accepts it she begins to really accept her own body. End of digression.

These lovely ladies cavorting with us young men did not shave their pubic hair --not even armpits. That was the style in the 70's, at least amongst some college girls. I wish that women still eschewed the razor for the natural look. And why do women feel they need nowadays to shave their armpits?

Well, the guys, being young and fit themselves, provided the girls with plenty of nice visions too. It was great fun to be swimming, playing king of the innertube or tennis stark naked with a bunch of other naked students. Most satisfying though, was when we would congregate in the cottage for potluck and conversation, still naked and without any selfconsciousness. Sitting naked with a group of beautiful naked women, talking and laughing, is an experience that every guy should enjoy -- and vice-versa.

One discussion was particularly memorable for its demonstration of the reduction of negative tension between men and women when socializing together naked. The subject of our first sexual experience came up and we all in turn told about our own. I related my own abysmally awkward first. Andrea laughed throughout. "I thought all guys knew instinctively what to do," she chortled appreciatively,"I thought it was just me that was clumsy with my first sex!" Bear in mind that we were all naked during this discussion and not unexpectedly the guys were sporting erections. The ladies carried on in conversation as if both the nudity and the erections (given the discussion) were perfectly natural and unremarkable. Which in fact, they were.

What seems odd to to some of those who have not had such experiences is that we did not get involved sexually with each other (except exclusively with our own spouse or significant other in the privacy of our own homes). Here was group of good looking, young people, hormones flowing madly, often naked together ; yet there was no promiscuity -- in stark contrast to our peers. At the time I did not interrupt my enjoyment by analysis, I simply allowed myself to flow in the utter joy it. In retrospect, I realized that the nudity produced a great sense of camaraderie and an equanimity --no need to get physical to feel accepted.

Jean, Barbara, and I shared an apartment for awhile. Since we had gotten use to nudity at the pond, we saw no reason not to be naked, when it suited us, in our own home. So Jean would sit around naked and share the bathroom with us with never a bit of concern from my wife. Talk about joy, living with two naked women -myself naked too! Such are the joys of connecting with women who are comfortable with nudity.

Years later, long after we had all gone our own ways, I reconnected to social nudity when I discovered the existence of organized naturist groups and have actually formed a group here in Ann Arbor. Alas, we are not so fortunate to have genuine, public, nude beaches in Michigan, but we rent the entirety of a recreation building and there enjoy nude swims, potlucks, and volleyball on a regular basis. It is a great way to continue enjoying the company of beautiful naked folk.

Matthew K

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