They may just need to grin and bare it.
Nudists in Spain want people to stop wearing clothes on the beach — they usually’re even asking the federal government to do something about it.
The Naturist-Nudist Federation of Catalonia sent a letter to Catalonia officials asking them to deal with “the discrimination that nudists face on the beaches of Catalonia,” The Guardian reported.
The group is hoping to guard the decades-long tradition that’s linked to about 50 of the beaches within the region and has made potential requests including signage for nude beaches and a public awareness campaign for naturism.
Seigmon Rovira, the top of the Naturist-Nudist Federation of Catalonia, told the outlet in an interview that “before, people would arrive at a nude beach and either leave or strip down.
“Now they stay and keep their swimsuit on. But what they don’t realize is that if there are quite a lot of them, they find yourself making us uncomfortable. It’s a scarcity of respect,” he continued.
A giant a part of what led to this “invasion” is social media and tourism, with travel bloggers and influencers putting a highlight on the nicest and most secluded beaches — but omitting the ties to nudism.
In other cases, the beachgoers may know in regards to the nudist nature but select to disregard it anyway.
“We’ve lost a little bit of civility,” Rovira, 56, said. “There are nudists who’ve stopped going to some beaches because they’re too crowded and there are too many individuals wearing swimsuits they usually feel uncomfortable.”
He also claimed that the social media boom has hurt the nudist tradition, leaving people to stay clothed so their naked bodies don’t find yourself within the background of a stranger’s images.
“Those who are naked don’t wish to find yourself with their photos on social media,” he said.
Nevertheless, some nudists have kept on beaching within the nude, though they now find themselves the topic of laughter, stares and deprecating comments.
“Unfortunately, the ladies are often more stared at or harassed,” Rovira shared. “So that they are discriminated against twice over; for being nudists and for being women.”
Rovira identified that respect goes each ways.
Just as they hope tourists won’t hassle them on nudist beaches, they don’t wish to hassle others, either.
“Nudism shouldn’t be banned in Spain, you possibly can do it on any beach,” Rovira said. “But in order to not hassle people, we prefer to go to beaches which have traditionally been nudist and where most individuals are naked. We would like people to respect this.”
The group hopes that their efforts will help make sure that the tradition lives on and that some beaches will explicitly stay a protected space for naturists.
“Beginning to practice naturism if you’re surrounded by people in clothing may be very complicated. That’s why we expect it’s necessary to have nudist spaces where the vast majority of individuals are nude so that folks are encouraged to try it,” Rovira said.
“We do it for the sensation of freedom. There’s no comparison between swimming within the nude and in swimwear,” Rovira added. “You’re more free, more calm and relaxed.”
