[description: a nudist lies out on a lawn chair]
This week I'm celebrating Nude Recreation Week, with a week-long series of images featuring different outdoor recreational activities performed nude! Today's theme is tanning. If you're looking for a more relaxing activity, try this popular nudist pastime. You can even do it in your own backyard! Just be sure to monitor your sun exposure. I prefer to get my tan naturally, engaged in a variety of outdoor activities. But I do enjoy the feel of warm sunshine on my skin, especially after swimming - it's the natural way to dry!
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Monday, July 8, 2019
Nude Recreation Week 2019 (Camping)
[description: a nudist sits in a camp chair next to a tent]
This week I'm celebrating Nude Recreation Week, with a week-long series of images featuring different outdoor recreational activities performed nude! Today's theme is camping. Many private nudist resorts offer tent and RV camping, usually with amenities like snack bars and swimming pools, and activities like sports competitions and dance parties. Or, if you're more interested in getting out into the wilderness, you can find a campsite out in the woods at a national park, in a secluded location, and "get back to nature" - the natural way!
This week I'm celebrating Nude Recreation Week, with a week-long series of images featuring different outdoor recreational activities performed nude! Today's theme is camping. Many private nudist resorts offer tent and RV camping, usually with amenities like snack bars and swimming pools, and activities like sports competitions and dance parties. Or, if you're more interested in getting out into the wilderness, you can find a campsite out in the woods at a national park, in a secluded location, and "get back to nature" - the natural way!
Thursday, July 4, 2019
Swimming Equality
[description: portrait of a man in an American flag-patterned swim brief at the lake]
I couldn't possibly blame you if you thought I was shameless with regards to skin exposure - I've certainly outgrown the considerable amount of modesty I once had. But the truth is, I do sometimes get self-conscious walking around in skimpy swimsuits in public. Not because I don't enjoy it - after all, I do it because I enjoy it, and I fight for the freedom to do it because I want to be able to enjoy it even more. But because I genuinely don't want to cause any trouble or be a nuisance to anyone. (I'm just willing to do so in the course of standing up for what I believe in strongly).
Yet all it takes to reassure myself that my choice of attire isn't quite so beyond the pale after all is one glance at the way the women around me are dressed, even in perfectly G-rated, family-friendly environments. You could argue that, e.g., string bikinis are "inappropriate" swimwear (and I'm not talking about thongs, here - just regular bikinis), but as long as it is neither criminal nor uncommon for women to wear them, without being eyed suspiciously as potential sexual predators, then it is only fair for men to have the same freedom. #egalitarianism
[description: portrait of a man in a black bikini at the lake]
And for the record, I'm willing to wear a bikini top for the sake of equality - in fact, sometimes I do, depending on the circumstances - until such time as women earn their deserved freedom to go topless in public (after which point we can all get started working on bottom freedom). It's just that, from a purely anatomical perspective, there's not much practical purpose for me to do so. And in certain contexts (e.g., a crowded pool vs. a spread out lake), I fear there would be an even greater outcry over the bulge in my bikini bottom. Which do you think is more scandalous: a man wearing a Speedo, or a man wearing a bikini? At least the former has some historical precedent.
Moreover, wearing a bikini top would increase the confusion (in myself as well as others) when it comes time to decide in which restroom to relieve myself, given how little fabric there is to cover certain rather revealing aspects of my anatomy (as opposed to when I'm fully dressed). As I said, I'm not trying to freak anybody out. I'm just trying to live my life as authentically as I know how, while pursuing the things that make me happy. If everybody else in this ostensibly free country could permit me the liberty to do so, that would be fantastic. You don't have to live the way I do. Just don't try to make me live the way you do. Okay?
I couldn't possibly blame you if you thought I was shameless with regards to skin exposure - I've certainly outgrown the considerable amount of modesty I once had. But the truth is, I do sometimes get self-conscious walking around in skimpy swimsuits in public. Not because I don't enjoy it - after all, I do it because I enjoy it, and I fight for the freedom to do it because I want to be able to enjoy it even more. But because I genuinely don't want to cause any trouble or be a nuisance to anyone. (I'm just willing to do so in the course of standing up for what I believe in strongly).
Yet all it takes to reassure myself that my choice of attire isn't quite so beyond the pale after all is one glance at the way the women around me are dressed, even in perfectly G-rated, family-friendly environments. You could argue that, e.g., string bikinis are "inappropriate" swimwear (and I'm not talking about thongs, here - just regular bikinis), but as long as it is neither criminal nor uncommon for women to wear them, without being eyed suspiciously as potential sexual predators, then it is only fair for men to have the same freedom. #egalitarianism
[description: portrait of a man in a black bikini at the lake]
And for the record, I'm willing to wear a bikini top for the sake of equality - in fact, sometimes I do, depending on the circumstances - until such time as women earn their deserved freedom to go topless in public (after which point we can all get started working on bottom freedom). It's just that, from a purely anatomical perspective, there's not much practical purpose for me to do so. And in certain contexts (e.g., a crowded pool vs. a spread out lake), I fear there would be an even greater outcry over the bulge in my bikini bottom. Which do you think is more scandalous: a man wearing a Speedo, or a man wearing a bikini? At least the former has some historical precedent.
Moreover, wearing a bikini top would increase the confusion (in myself as well as others) when it comes time to decide in which restroom to relieve myself, given how little fabric there is to cover certain rather revealing aspects of my anatomy (as opposed to when I'm fully dressed). As I said, I'm not trying to freak anybody out. I'm just trying to live my life as authentically as I know how, while pursuing the things that make me happy. If everybody else in this ostensibly free country could permit me the liberty to do so, that would be fantastic. You don't have to live the way I do. Just don't try to make me live the way you do. Okay?
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
New Phone
Just a head's up that I recently got a new iPhone. It's very similar to the last one I've had, but I imagine it's got a better camera, which is important, as I do more and more of my photography with my phone (due to its convenience and portability, compared to my outdated dSLR and its prohibitive costs for upgrades). I remember being excited about the first selfie I took with my last new phone, so I wanted to take something memorable this time, too. And here it is:
[description: selfie of an erection posed next to a blooming hydrangea bush]
Just think of all the great photos and videos I'll be taking with this phone over the next few years!
[description: selfie of an erection posed next to a blooming hydrangea bush]
Just think of all the great photos and videos I'll be taking with this phone over the next few years!
Friday, June 7, 2019
Airbnb
[description: a feminine figure in a bikini lays out on a towel in the garden]
"...and this would be your housemate, Scarlett. So, will you be staying?"
[description: bathroom selfie in a sun hat, braided pigtails, and heart-shaped glasses]
I bought a pair of red, heart-shaped sunglasses recently (one more to add to my collection -_-;), and I thought it would be cute to pair it with a bright red bikini for a photoshoot. I went shopping but didn't find anything I liked well enough. But then I realized I already had a bikini with a cherry motif that would be perfect, and it dawned on me that I could totally recreate Sue Lyons' pose from Lolita! Although I prefer Adrian Lyne's adaptation, as it better captures the emotional intensity that forms the heart and soul of the story, I cannot deny that Stanley Kubrick's version is the more iconic of the two.
[description: fashion portraits in the garden, modeling a black cherry-patterned bikini]
In any case, I posed in my black cherry bikini, but I didn't really like the results I was getting. And the bikini itself wasn't fitting me right - the tube top has a tendency to curl downward (I think it had straps once, but they were lost before I ever inherited it). So, even though I'd painted my nails red just for the photoshoot, and had already repainted them teal for the weekend (mermaid theme at the pool!), I decided to give the pose another try. I figured I could just do the image in black and white so the colors wouldn't matter, and this other bikini not only fit me better, but was a better match to the original shot I was mimicking, besides. When I realized that it matched my teal nail polish, it was serendipity! And I'm much happier with the second day's results. The sun was out (it actually drizzled a bit while I was posing on the first day - good thing I was wearing a swimsuit!), and I had to shoot with my phone to better handle the dynamic range, but I think I pretty much nailed the pose, and the results look spectacular. So now I'm happy!
"...and this would be your housemate, Scarlett. So, will you be staying?"
[description: bathroom selfie in a sun hat, braided pigtails, and heart-shaped glasses]
I bought a pair of red, heart-shaped sunglasses recently (one more to add to my collection -_-;), and I thought it would be cute to pair it with a bright red bikini for a photoshoot. I went shopping but didn't find anything I liked well enough. But then I realized I already had a bikini with a cherry motif that would be perfect, and it dawned on me that I could totally recreate Sue Lyons' pose from Lolita! Although I prefer Adrian Lyne's adaptation, as it better captures the emotional intensity that forms the heart and soul of the story, I cannot deny that Stanley Kubrick's version is the more iconic of the two.
[description: fashion portraits in the garden, modeling a black cherry-patterned bikini]
In any case, I posed in my black cherry bikini, but I didn't really like the results I was getting. And the bikini itself wasn't fitting me right - the tube top has a tendency to curl downward (I think it had straps once, but they were lost before I ever inherited it). So, even though I'd painted my nails red just for the photoshoot, and had already repainted them teal for the weekend (mermaid theme at the pool!), I decided to give the pose another try. I figured I could just do the image in black and white so the colors wouldn't matter, and this other bikini not only fit me better, but was a better match to the original shot I was mimicking, besides. When I realized that it matched my teal nail polish, it was serendipity! And I'm much happier with the second day's results. The sun was out (it actually drizzled a bit while I was posing on the first day - good thing I was wearing a swimsuit!), and I had to shoot with my phone to better handle the dynamic range, but I think I pretty much nailed the pose, and the results look spectacular. So now I'm happy!
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
More Bikinis
[description: fitting room selfie in an open hoodie and flip flops and nothing else]
I headed to the store in my hoodie and flip flops to try on some bikinis, because what else can you do when you're riding out a severe thunderstorm?
[description: fitting room selfies in four differently colored bikinis]
There were some cute styles, to be sure, but the fits on them were all very iffy. As impractical a garment as this is for me (there are very limited circumstances under which I can actually wear a bikini outside of a private photoshoot - although that is also a valid reason to own some), I think bikinis are so much fun, I can't help being drawn to them. Repeatedly.
[description: fitting room selfies in casual clothes, and naked]
As feminine as my body may be, it's never quite feminine enough for me. Don't get me wrong, I like my body the way it is. I like to believe I have a healthy body image - I work to stay fit (and reap the psychological benefits), but I've come to terms with the imperfections that I can't change. Nor do I have an overpowering sense of dysphoria, like I was "born in the wrong body". The body I have isn't foreign to me - it's the one I'm used to, that I've inhabited since birth. It's just that I like the female body more; and not just to admire, since I can't ever seem to get enough of that. I suppose, if I had the privilege to follow girls into the changing room, watch them try on clothes, and take pictures of them in (and out of) their different outfits, maybe that would satisfy me. I don't know. But not being able to have that experience up close and personal bothers me. (Why do we live in a culture where this kind of adoration is villainized? I don't want to sneak up on unsuspecting strangers, but we hardly live in a society where it's appropriate to request to do this sort of thing). And it gets to a point where I want to be so involved in the experience of being a girl, that I may as well just be one myself, if only I could. I'm not deluded, and pretending to be something I'm not. I'm just trying to pursue the things that make me happy.
[description: fitting room selfies in two more bikinis, from front and back]
I mean, I can't tell you how much fun I would have if I were a full-blown girl. I know what it's like to find a cute outfit that you look pretty and feel confident in. And swimsuits are my favorite type of outfit, because they give you a rare excuse to expose most of your body in public and not be considered a perverted deviant. But given the impracticality of wearing bikinis for me, I feel left out. There just aren't comparable options in men's swimwear (considering that you have to go online to find men's swim briefs, they don't come in nearly as many - or as cute - styles, and the places you can wear them are limited compared to women's bikinis). So I'm robbed of the opportunity to go to the store, find a cute swimsuit that I look pretty and feel confident in, and then wear it out in public and get the attention and admiration I know I deserve (from observing the same thing happen when girls do this). All because my fashion compass is oriented towards the opposite gender to the one commonly associated with my biological sex...
I headed to the store in my hoodie and flip flops to try on some bikinis, because what else can you do when you're riding out a severe thunderstorm?
[description: fitting room selfies in four differently colored bikinis]
There were some cute styles, to be sure, but the fits on them were all very iffy. As impractical a garment as this is for me (there are very limited circumstances under which I can actually wear a bikini outside of a private photoshoot - although that is also a valid reason to own some), I think bikinis are so much fun, I can't help being drawn to them. Repeatedly.
[description: fitting room selfies in casual clothes, and naked]
As feminine as my body may be, it's never quite feminine enough for me. Don't get me wrong, I like my body the way it is. I like to believe I have a healthy body image - I work to stay fit (and reap the psychological benefits), but I've come to terms with the imperfections that I can't change. Nor do I have an overpowering sense of dysphoria, like I was "born in the wrong body". The body I have isn't foreign to me - it's the one I'm used to, that I've inhabited since birth. It's just that I like the female body more; and not just to admire, since I can't ever seem to get enough of that. I suppose, if I had the privilege to follow girls into the changing room, watch them try on clothes, and take pictures of them in (and out of) their different outfits, maybe that would satisfy me. I don't know. But not being able to have that experience up close and personal bothers me. (Why do we live in a culture where this kind of adoration is villainized? I don't want to sneak up on unsuspecting strangers, but we hardly live in a society where it's appropriate to request to do this sort of thing). And it gets to a point where I want to be so involved in the experience of being a girl, that I may as well just be one myself, if only I could. I'm not deluded, and pretending to be something I'm not. I'm just trying to pursue the things that make me happy.
[description: fitting room selfies in two more bikinis, from front and back]
I mean, I can't tell you how much fun I would have if I were a full-blown girl. I know what it's like to find a cute outfit that you look pretty and feel confident in. And swimsuits are my favorite type of outfit, because they give you a rare excuse to expose most of your body in public and not be considered a perverted deviant. But given the impracticality of wearing bikinis for me, I feel left out. There just aren't comparable options in men's swimwear (considering that you have to go online to find men's swim briefs, they don't come in nearly as many - or as cute - styles, and the places you can wear them are limited compared to women's bikinis). So I'm robbed of the opportunity to go to the store, find a cute swimsuit that I look pretty and feel confident in, and then wear it out in public and get the attention and admiration I know I deserve (from observing the same thing happen when girls do this). All because my fashion compass is oriented towards the opposite gender to the one commonly associated with my biological sex...
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Park Shorts
I shouldn't justify this idiocy with response, but I like expressing myself, and I consider my voice a counter to all the idiots in the world who should probably keep their mouths shut, but are too dumb to realize it. After all, they say the only thing necessary for ignorance to triumph is that learned men do nothing. (Or something like that :-p). So allow me to rant for a moment.
[description: outdoor selfie in a skimpy pair of shorts and no shirt]
I wore this "outfit" to the park on a humid, ninety degree day. Now, I'm not naive (but I'm not stupid, either), so I'm not gonna pretend to be surprised if some people thought I was in my underwear. In my defense, though, this is totally the sort of thing you'd see at the swimming pool. Granted, this wasn't the swimming pool, but I would consider it similar conditions - outdoors, being active, when it's so hot that my skin is literally slick with sweat. Do you really enjoy wearing clothes that are soaked through with sweat? If I don't see a sign that says "no shirt, no shoes", I'm not gonna cover up just for the hell of it, when it's this hot out.* I look at all these other people, most of which are fully dressed (even sometimes in long sleeves and pants, believe it or not), and I think they're crazy! Yet that's normal, and somebody feels compelled to shout at me from a moving car, "where are your clothes?" Like, what business is it of yours what I choose to wear? I'm the only one at the park reasonably dressed, and I'm the weirdo? Plus, these shorts are pretty fashionable, and damn if I don't look good in them.
*Although I don't think this is just about wearing shorts, because there was a guy in knee-length shorts (no shirt) playing basketball who didn't get any guff - rather, it's about what kind of shorts are acceptable for men to appear in public in. I mean, yeah, maybe they thought I was a girl, and I was topless. But does that sort of thing actually happen, that your first thought is "that's a topless woman in public" instead of "that's a dude in really girly shorts?"** I would have thought that walking around bare-chested would have been the sort of thing that would pretty much give away my anatomical sex, but...nah? I feel a little bit guilty dressing like a girl, yet still wielding the male privilege of toplessness, except that I support topfreedom for women, and wearing a top just doesn't make sense for me from a practical perspective, when I don't need one due to rules or whatever. Do I have to pick one of two scripts (traditional male versus traditional female)? Is it my responsibility not to fuck with people's expectations of gender? Well, it's not against the law, and I'm not about to stop doing it.
**On the other hand, I encountered a kid who insisted on referring to me with feminine pronouns (without any kind of prompting whatsoever), yet seemed completely unfazed by the fact that I was topless. So, I guess there's still hope for the next generation, lol.
I just hate that we as a species are 1) so tied to arbitrary taboos that make no sense (like staying fully dressed when it's hot as balls and you're working out), 2) so concerned with conformity that we'll pressure individuals to suppress their self-expression in order to be like everyone else (yawn), and 3) so hell-bent on ruining a good thing, like when an attractive person deigns to appear in public half-dressed. Fuck's wrong with you? I want more of that in the world! And here's another double standard that I hate: redneck girls and women who dress and behave so identically to men that it's often hard to tell (like, seriously, the girl Sam from that one episode of Family Guy wasn't even an exaggeration), yet wouldn't dream of considering themselves transgender, and have no qualms about criticizing a man (who does identify as transgender) for dressing like a girl. Like, are men such hot shit that women are allowed to emulate them, but it's a humiliating step downward for a man to emulate a woman?
Whatever. Fuck that shit. People are gonna be stupid. I don't care. It's not gonna change who I am. I'm not gonna let some lowlife (honestly not unlikely to be a drug addict, which says a lot about the value of their judgment) suppress my individuality and drag me down to their level. Okay, rant done. Life goes on.
[description: outdoor selfie in a skimpy pair of shorts and no shirt]
I wore this "outfit" to the park on a humid, ninety degree day. Now, I'm not naive (but I'm not stupid, either), so I'm not gonna pretend to be surprised if some people thought I was in my underwear. In my defense, though, this is totally the sort of thing you'd see at the swimming pool. Granted, this wasn't the swimming pool, but I would consider it similar conditions - outdoors, being active, when it's so hot that my skin is literally slick with sweat. Do you really enjoy wearing clothes that are soaked through with sweat? If I don't see a sign that says "no shirt, no shoes", I'm not gonna cover up just for the hell of it, when it's this hot out.* I look at all these other people, most of which are fully dressed (even sometimes in long sleeves and pants, believe it or not), and I think they're crazy! Yet that's normal, and somebody feels compelled to shout at me from a moving car, "where are your clothes?" Like, what business is it of yours what I choose to wear? I'm the only one at the park reasonably dressed, and I'm the weirdo? Plus, these shorts are pretty fashionable, and damn if I don't look good in them.
*Although I don't think this is just about wearing shorts, because there was a guy in knee-length shorts (no shirt) playing basketball who didn't get any guff - rather, it's about what kind of shorts are acceptable for men to appear in public in. I mean, yeah, maybe they thought I was a girl, and I was topless. But does that sort of thing actually happen, that your first thought is "that's a topless woman in public" instead of "that's a dude in really girly shorts?"** I would have thought that walking around bare-chested would have been the sort of thing that would pretty much give away my anatomical sex, but...nah? I feel a little bit guilty dressing like a girl, yet still wielding the male privilege of toplessness, except that I support topfreedom for women, and wearing a top just doesn't make sense for me from a practical perspective, when I don't need one due to rules or whatever. Do I have to pick one of two scripts (traditional male versus traditional female)? Is it my responsibility not to fuck with people's expectations of gender? Well, it's not against the law, and I'm not about to stop doing it.
**On the other hand, I encountered a kid who insisted on referring to me with feminine pronouns (without any kind of prompting whatsoever), yet seemed completely unfazed by the fact that I was topless. So, I guess there's still hope for the next generation, lol.
I just hate that we as a species are 1) so tied to arbitrary taboos that make no sense (like staying fully dressed when it's hot as balls and you're working out), 2) so concerned with conformity that we'll pressure individuals to suppress their self-expression in order to be like everyone else (yawn), and 3) so hell-bent on ruining a good thing, like when an attractive person deigns to appear in public half-dressed. Fuck's wrong with you? I want more of that in the world! And here's another double standard that I hate: redneck girls and women who dress and behave so identically to men that it's often hard to tell (like, seriously, the girl Sam from that one episode of Family Guy wasn't even an exaggeration), yet wouldn't dream of considering themselves transgender, and have no qualms about criticizing a man (who does identify as transgender) for dressing like a girl. Like, are men such hot shit that women are allowed to emulate them, but it's a humiliating step downward for a man to emulate a woman?
Whatever. Fuck that shit. People are gonna be stupid. I don't care. It's not gonna change who I am. I'm not gonna let some lowlife (honestly not unlikely to be a drug addict, which says a lot about the value of their judgment) suppress my individuality and drag me down to their level. Okay, rant done. Life goes on.
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