First it was the ladies of Rylstone WI, then came the firemen
from Salford, the farmers from Biggar and the female
footballers from Bristol. And now the backlash.
Naturists, the champions of the naked human form regardless
of shape or size, are urging the stars of the myriad naked
calendars to put their clothes back on.
"We have lost sympathy with it," said Mark Nisbet, editor of
Health & Efficiency magazine, the 101-year-old monthly bible
of naturism.
"Nearly all of these calendars opt for the coy approach to
nudity. Breasts are covered up and bottoms half-hidden."
The phenomenon began two years ago when Rylstone and
District Women's Institute in the Yorkshire Dales published a
dozen sepia-tinted nudes of its members, nipples and all,
raising £500,000 for a leukemia charity.
After decades of listening to sniggering about their pastime,
naturists were chuffed. But their delight has turned to dismay,
as inferior copycat calendars followed.
Mr Nisbet believes these calendars are closer to Full
Monty-style striptease than true nudism. He has banned nude
calendars by "textiles" – naturist slang for non-nudists – from
his magazine. "They are irritating and slightly dishonest," he
said. "They feature stilted and titillating poses, which don't
truly celebrate the naked body."
Several naturist clubs and organisations, including the British
Naturism Society, have considered retaliating by producing
their own calendars featuring nudists with their clothes on.
The Edinburgh Naturist Swimming Club even invented a hoax
calendar to underline the point. Robbie Baldock, the club's
founder, said that although the nude calendar phenomenon
had helped push back the boundaries, such calendars are a
con. "They're just Carry on Camping calendars with a flower
pot or jam jar judiciously placed," he said.
posted on January 9, 2002 07:48:18 AM
Well, the naturists should be happier with calendars in general at this time of year, after all, everything is now at least half off!
