Is naturism a hobby? Sometimes naturists look at other groups that have experienced discrimination, by race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, and wonder why naturism shouldn't benefit from a similar emancipation. In each case there has been a prolonged campaign including direct, sometimes offensive action as well as softer methods. Often it is said that in these cases there was good reason for forcing change, membership of these groups is involuntary so discrimination is unfair; naturism is just a hobby, a matter of choice, so does not justify causing any offence in its promotion. I don't believe that naturism is just a hobby, like stamp collecting. Maybe for some people it is, but for me it is an expression of a moral view; not a religion, but certainly a belief, and a saner moral view than I see around me. I want to get its values more widely understood, accepted and even encouraged, and I believe this would benefit everyone. Looking at that list above, we see that only two of the groups really have no choice: race and sex. The other two, religion and sexual orientation, can and often do behave in ways that deny their beliefs or emotions, they are suppressed rather than discriminated against. To me naturism fits this category. I imagine most naturists have some of this feeling. Naturism is not a hobby. It's a belief. The freedom to practice it should be balanced fairly to the degree of offence it arouses.
What is a hobby? It's an activity of some sort. What is naturism? It's being naked, or it's a belief in a connection with nature. It's not an activity. The activities that can be done while naked can be and usually are also done by non-naturists. Non-naturists can sunbathe, they can play volleyball, they can clean beaches, they can walk in the countryside, they can camp, they can swim, they can sing round bonfires. Is there anything a naturist can do that no-one else can? Naturism is either a belief or a comfortable dress style. It's not a hobby.
