Recently an article made the rounds about a house for sale:
It's about a nice little house for sale. It's very cheap - probably about half the asking price if it were in the nearest city (Hamilton, Ontario - my home town). And! If you can believe this! It's in a nudist resort!
I've seen the article reposted numerous times lately on Facebook, reddit, twitter, and the like, and I noted it because it's located near me and I've visited the Ponderosa Family Nudist Resort many times.
The writer of the piece, Lauren O'Neil, clearly spent a lot of time poring over the Ponderosa's website. She found a fair amount of information about the resort and its amenities and policies. But there is a certain amount of vagueness in the article too: "the listing does not specify", "leading one to assume", and the like.
The areas of question are all quite straightforward. So why not contact the club and ask them? That's what a journalist would do. Is this not supposed to be real journalism?
The article's publisher, BlogTO, is a reasonably reputable website in the Toronto area. Their coverage of local events is widely followed, though their style has given rise to a number of parodies over the years. But they do purport to be a legitimate news website. O'Neil is a senior editor and staff writer. She is an experienced journalist.
So why didn't O'Neil call or email the Ponderosa?
It's the usual, I think: the deep fear in our society of anything associated with nudity. Even the idea of phoning or emailing the club was too much, although it made the article much weaker.
I'm glad that the article got so much attention, because it tells people that nudism is a thing, and for many that there is a club in their area. But it's another disappointing example of the kind of journalism that we nudists have to put up with.
At least there were no stupid jokes or puns about nudity - it could have been worse.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: journalism about nudism is, in general, terrible.
News sites know that nudity is compelling. It invites clicks, whether because people are generally interested in possibly getting a glimpse of skin, or because they're outraged and want to vent their disgust.
But for some reason, news sites often add a stupid, childish slant to the content as well. Puns about body parts are common (how often do you see the word "abreast" or "cheeky" in other news articles?) as well as wordplay about nudity with terms like "exposure" and "bare".
More problematic are the narratives that these articles play into. The general public tends to think nudity is inherently weird or silly; the extension of that idea is that nudists are weird, ridiculous people (and thus not deserving of journalistic objectivity or respect). And of course the association of nudity with sex means that nudists are secretly perverts and exhibitionists.
All nonsense, of course, but you'd be hard pressed to find an article about nudists that doesn't take at least some of these tired, cliched jokes and mistruths and stick them in. Sometimes it’s just an editor adding a stupid title, and sometimes the journalist peppers idiotic jokes throughout the piece.
And that’s why I created the Nudism Journalism Bingo Card - so that you can see just how enthusiastically an article on a nudist topic embraces these features!
Okay, we’re not seriously playing bingo here. But it is rare for an article about nudists not to check at least a few of these squares off.
As I’ve said before, journalism about nudism is terrible. Let’s keep up the pressure on newspapers and news sites to cover nudity fairly, ethically, and positively.
What squares did I miss on my bingo card? Are there any cliches that drive you especially crazy when journalists write about nudism? Tell me in the comments - I might even update my bingo card with your suggestions!
Journalism about nudists is terrible.
Newspapers and websites love nudism. The nudity taboo is so strong in our society that anything involving naked people is a reader magnet. Journalists play straight into this narrative with articles that are designed to tap into readers’ naughty thrills.
The result: terrible writing about nudists and nudism. Articles treat nudists like an alien species, or like a gang of lunatics ostracized in “colonies”. They use childish jokes, unfunny references to body parts, and the most tired cliches imaginable. How often does an article promise the “bare facts” about nudism?
As nudists, we can we can start to influence how nudist topics are covered. Society is probably not going to start to respect, or even accept, nudists any time soon. But we can take positive, constructive action to shift the standard narrative away from its childish, sniggering shamefulness, and towards a positive, accepting view of nudism.
Here are some actions we can take any time we encounter poor coverage of nudists in the news.
Wherever we respond, though, attitude is crucial to getting our message across. The general public already believes the narrative about nudists being slightly deranged, out of touch with social norms, and oversexed or perverted. It’s extremely damaging to nudists to play into this narrative.
A common mistake is to try to turn others into nudists. You won’t convert anyone; you’re likely to come off as a weird crank who wants to see other people naked. Don’t say “If you only tried it...” Leave non-nudists out of it.
And do not escalate the dispute. Accusatory language (“How dare you!”), victimhood (“We’re being persecuted!”), and anger (“You fool!”) will all weaken your argument.
Instead, concentrate on the positive nature of nudist philosophy. Less shame, more body positivity. People from all walks of life enjoy nudism. We’re not harming anyone. We welcome an opportunity to discuss our values.
One of the benefits of the nudist culture is the exceptionally friendly individuals involved in the lifestyle promoting well-being and healthy life choices.
This is a great message to put out into the world! Incorporate those positive values as much as you can when you call out poor coverage of nudism.
The search for acceptance of nudism in our nudity-averse society is an uphill battle. If all nudists become active, positive advocates for the nudist philosophy, though, we can’t fail to improve others’ attitudes as well, even if they choose not to take part in the lifestyle themselves.
Have you found any examples of good journalism about nudism? Post links in the comments below!
