It’s a Tuesday morning, the infinite blue sky of Byron Bay has opened up and the six naturists – four men, two women – have stripped down to their birthday suits for a quick dip in the buff.

This section of beach – an 800-metre stretch along the vast coastline – forms the only legal clothing-optional beach in the shire. Among those taking advantage of the opportunity to be out in the open is Duncan James, vice-president of Northern Rivers Naturists, who is something of an evangelist for “embracing the beach as Mother Nature intended.”

“Many of the beach users have described the clothing-optional beach as their happy place, a place where they can disconnect from modern day stresses, a place they can feel at one with nature,” he says.

There is, however, a metaphorical cloud on the horizon. On Sunday, Tyagarah is set to be stripped of its status as an official clothing-optional beach.

“I guess these values aren’t shared by New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service [NPWS], who are hell-bent on closing one of Byron’s last alternative community hubs and experiences,” James says.

  • AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space
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    4 months ago

    Is this the case of Byron becoming fashionable, hippies being gentrifuged out by rising prices and replaced by Liberal voters who wanted their slice of heaven to be more conservative and family-friendly?

    • girlfreddy@lemmy.caOP
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      4 months ago

      Someone needs to explain to me why nudity is considered not ‘family-friendly’ but watching movies/playing video games with massive amounts of bloodshed and death is considered fine and dandy for kids.

      • EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        4 months ago

        Because of the American Puritannical values, which dictate what the credit companies and advertisers are willing to do business with and the cultural zeitgeist along with it.

        The Puritans were some of the earliest British colonists in the US, and were either thrown out of England for attempting a coup to replace the king with a puppet to force their more extremist form of Christianity on the country, or left by their own choice because they felt that the Church of England was too liberal. They were basically a bunch of prudes who believed that the human body and sex were shameful and disgusting.

        This has led to the dichotomy where advertisers want nothing to do with sex/nudity, except when it comes to implied sex in advertisements. Because sex is bad, but it also sells, which is good.

        • girlfreddy@lemmy.caOP
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          4 months ago

          I know lots of kids were/are playing those without parental supervision. Those same parents had/have existential fits if their child sees a penis or breasts in a movie.

          • ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            “why are so many parents bad parents and/or messed up people in general?”

            That’s a big can of worms you’re trying to open, GF.

            • girlfreddy@lemmy.caOP
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              4 months ago

              Just because it’s big doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be opened. Only Sonlight can cleanse the shit that bullshit ‘Christianity’ has wrought.

          • JJROKCZ@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            Just because their parents are bad parents doesn’t mean there are regulations and restrictions… at the end of the day parents need to parent and so many are unwilling to do so.

            I will mention I have no problem with nude beaches or public toplessness of both genders, religious prudishness has no place in the modern world

      • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Who said violence was good for kids? If I were a parent I wouldn’t let my kid play those games. Not until they’re 14…unless they’re a stupid kid. Then 18.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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        4 months ago

        I’m ok with people without clothes on at the beach, but I really don’t want to see a line of people tanning their assholes, so can we at least keep that to a minimum?

            • RunningInRVA@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              Toddlers don’t sexualize everything like adults do, so there is nothing to explain, really.

              • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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                4 months ago

                Toddlers imitate everything adults do and I don’t think that’s something toddlers should be doing, nor something that people on a beach should see toddlers doing.

                • RunningInRVA@lemmy.world
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                  4 months ago

                  Ya as a parent that would be your choice to make, but there really shouldn’t be anything wrong with nudity at any age.

                  • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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                    4 months ago

                    I’d say that really depends on context. Nudity at a beach? Sure. But I also think that there should be clothed-only areas as an option as well. Give everyone what they want. This is obviously not the way to do it since that was how it already was.

                    I’m certainly not suggesting people get arrested for child abuse or anything.

            • zeekaran@sopuli.xyz
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              4 months ago

              Then go to a different fucking beach, you idiot. You’re doing the equivalent of walking into a sushi restaurant and complaining it has too much fish. 99%+ of beaches require clothing, go to them.

              • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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                4 months ago

                Comment I already made:

                I’d say that really depends on context. Nudity at a beach? Sure. But I also think that there should be clothed-only areas as an option as well. Give everyone what they want. This is obviously not the way to do it since that was how it already was.

                I’m certainly not suggesting people get arrested for child abuse or anything.

                So apparently I’m an idiot who agrees with you. What does that make you?

        • quafeinum@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          Why do you stare at people tanning their assholes? That’s considered very impolite germany.

          Don’t get your Burkha all crinkled you doorknob

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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            4 months ago

            I just looked at my comment and nowhere did I say that I stared at them. Why are you lying in order to criticize me?

    • Frokke@lemmings.world
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      4 months ago

      Family friendly?

      Are you for real? Nudist campings are family campings in yurop. Went to a nekid beach last week and it was filled with families. As it is every time we go.

      It’s not the nakedness that seems to be the issue. It’s your hyper sexualised mindset and culture.

    • ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      as much as we all hate Liberal voters*, and gentrification and rising prices - Byron Bay is ground zero for hippy anti-vaxxers and the resurgence of measles in Australia.

      So… I’m torn.

      * for Americans, the Liberal party (capital ‘L’) are the conservatives. Basically, wannabe Republicans. They’re economically liberal, not socially liberal. That is, like all conservatives, they like wasting government money and giving liberal amounts to corporations.