Nudist Group Concerned of Lack of Young Members

From Monday, June 18 through Sunday June 24, the 10th annual Eastern Naturist Gathering will be meeting at the Eastover Resort in Lenox in the Berkshires. They will be the sole guests at the resort for the week. While the nudist group is enjoying such activities as nude hiking and limbo, they'll also be talking about how the median age of their group is creeping up. Young people aren't joining nudist groups as much these days, as reported by the Boston Herald.

Up to 800 nudists will gather together. Among them is board member of the national Naturist Action Committee, George Winlock, 65, of Everett, who has been a nudist since 1994. He stated about the matter, "We're looking to get younger people into it, but they just don't see the advantage. They say, 'Why should I pay to join a club when I can go to the beach for free?' " Winlock is a retired corporate tax accountant, and advises that if a person is curious about whether or not they would enjoy nudity, to try to clean their house naked. He also suggests an easiness about people interacting together when nude: "It's just the comfort of being your natural self as you really are and not having to have a phony aura about you," Winlock said. "When I'm talking to someone who's nude, I don't know if I'm talking to the president of the bank or the janitor."

Nicky Hoffman Lee, 58, is the organizer of the event and also the editor of "N - The Magazine of Naturist Living." She said that nudists are mostly male and about 98% Caucasian. There is, however, a few families signed up for this year's event and there is a kid's camp. The age group of the attendees this year will be primarily 35 - 65. Lee attributes the lack of young members to be a result of their lack of community, no matter what kind of club is considered. "I think they're just not joiners," Lee said. "When kids get done with college they want their job and their car."