'You're fully accepted': Being nude in public can make us feel better about our bodies

Research suggests that naturism, the practice of non-sexual social nudity, can help people improve their body image. Naturists and experts tell the BBC how it works.

Helen Berriman believes she would have had a "much better understanding" of her body had she discovered naturism, the practice of non-sexual social nudity, earlier in her life.

In the summer of 2020, Berriman bought herself a bikini to wear during a heatwave. She hadn't worn one in 20 years, having struggled with body dysmorphia (a condition where someone fixates on perceived flaws in their appearance) for most of her life. Around a year later, her husband introduced her to naturism.

"Naturism is engaging in social nudity with no expectation, no presence of sexual stimulation," says Kerem Soylemez, assistant professor of psychology at Regent's University London.

Research suggests that being around other naked bodies can help people improve their body image. Naturists and psychologists explain why it can be a powerful way to redefine our relationships with our bodies.

Naturism and body image

Martha Vickery "genuinely hated" every single bit of her body before she went to her first naturist event.

Poor body image – which is prevalent on a global scale – involves preoccupation and dissatisfaction with one's body, typically regarding its shape, weight, or specific features. In the US, around 51% of adults feel pressure to conform to a certain body type. In the UK, around 1 in 8 adults have experienced suicidal thoughts or feelings because of body image concerns.

Poor body image can affect how an individual behaves because of these concerns – for example, failing to achieve an ideal body can lead people to avoid social situations or obsessively exercise, or even get cosmetic surgery.

Encouraging a positive body image is important for a host of reasons, including our self-esteem, optimism, safer sex and general health.

But body image is complex and how it impacts people can vary – for example, people in the LGBTQ community might experience heightened body image concerns due to discrimination or their gender identity.

A quick history of social nudity

• Some indigenous cultures and tribes have perhaps the longest history of wearing little to no clothing

• In the Western world, athletes often competed in the nude in ancient Greece's Olympics

• In late 19th-Century British India, modern naturism clubs emerged

• In the US, organised naturism traces its origins to 1929 when three German residents of New York met to discuss founding a nudist association in the Micholob Café

• In 1974, the New York Times reported that social nudity was experiencing a wave of popularity in the US

• In the 1920s and '30s, naturism gains popularity in the UK

Naturism, however, seems to undo some of the expectations of what is a desirable body type.

Vickery says naturism was the "catalyst" for her body image improving. "I went along and realised that despite the fact that my body was bigger than I wanted it to be, or that society said it should be, it didn't matter," she says.

Naturism helped Vickery to see her body as neutral and encouraged her to stop criticising it. "[I realised] my body is the reason I get to wake up every morning and hug my friends and drink coffee and feel sun on my skin," she says.  

Soylemez, who is not a naturist but has spent years researching the stigma faced by naturists and public understanding of naturism, says that media distortion of body image can be addressed by "being around real bodies,........

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