Well, it’s a nice piece of PR from the AANR.
But forgive me, AANR, for I have been cynical, and still am.
To begin with, why is the woman in this image at the top of the AANR home page holding a large hat in front of herself, as if she’s ashamed of something? Is that the message you want to send?
Now for some comments on the PR article itself. First of all, congratulations on getting it picked up by some of the news media. You do that pretty well.
It is called a vacation “au naturel,” using a French expression as a fig leaf to cover up its more common name of naturism.
I’m trying to understand why someone thought the provenance of the term needed to be pointed out. Maybe because the article was carried by the French news service AFP? Perhaps not realizing that the term was appropriated by English long ago. (Wonder whether they’ve heard of the term “euphemism”)
The United States is a deeply conservative country
Got that right! Unfortunately.
Americans are starting to flock to beaches and country parks reserved for nudists, especially at the luxury end of the market.
Of course, the number of beaches officially “reserved” for naturists is very small, actual number depending on one’s interpretation of “official”. And “country parks”? Evidently someone means “private parks”, as there are no public parks at all (apart from the handful of beaches on public land where naturism is tolerated, tenuously). And what would “luxury end of the market” mean in relation to either a beach or “country park”?
The AANR estimates that naturist clubs and beaches for those who soak up the sun “au naturel” earn about 500 million dollars a year now, against 200 million dollars in 1992.
Nice, but to put that number in perspective it is, per capita, less than one gallon of gasoline per person. Or less than one fourth of an average movie ticket per person.
“The interest has been increasing over the last 10 years,” said Carrie Schultz, marketing director for the Caliente Resort, an upmarket nudist colony near Tampa
“Nudist colony“? Aauggggh! Wash your mouth out with soap.
“Shields are coming off. We are not afraid to run TV commercials
My, how brave!
Caliente is family oriented, with a children’s playground and events for kids. In terms of luxury accommodations, we are off the scale.”
Whose scale?
Caliente highlights how naturism in the United States has become more sophisticated to reach its market.
If they think this PR-speak is sophistication, it’s no wonder naturism is advancing so slowly…
“Americans are a little spoiled
Now there’s an understatement, but without any hint of irony.
The AANR has listed 270 naturist organizations in the United States, including 18 created in the past year.
AANR habitually makes this claim, but without mentioning that over half the number are “non-landed” social clubs that own no facilities, but meet in members’ homes or at landed clubs.
On its map of “au naturel” beaches are a large number in Florida, with its year-round sunshine. Haulover, near Miami, and Apollo Beach, near the Kennedy Space Center, are among the best known.
In fact, there is exactly one other “au naturel” beach in Florida (Playalinda), which is part of the same National Park System unit as Apollo. Since when is three a “large number”?
Why am I so grumpy today? I don’t know. Maybe because of reading yet another media report that’s so out of touch with reality. Who actually draws a salary for writing this sort of stuff?
The article was evidently written by an AFP staffer, so it can’t all be blamed on AANR. But AANR is to blame for stuff like the very misleading “270 naturist organizations” claim.
Originally published June 18, 2005