2018.03.14 stuff
Is swimming naked a natural, liberating experience or a weird act that forces bare bodies into the view of reluctant onlookers?
Waiheke Island residents have been fiercely debating the subject after it was raised by resident Micah Courtney in a Facebook post.
Courtney said nudity has become more widespread on island beaches during the summer.
"I am not against nudity. My main concern is people swimming nude in front of people, making them uncomfortable and forcing their nudity on someone," Courtney said.
"People should be more considerate of the people around them."
The idea that Waiheke has officially designated nudist beaches has been bandied about, but Waiheke local board chairman Paul Walden said that was "folklore".
The eastern end of Onetangi and Palm beaches - sometimes called Little Onetangi and Little Palm - were generally known as nudist beaches, but had no formal classification.
Long-term Waiheke resident Frankie Hill, 56, is among the many people who flocked to Little Palm beach, where swimwear is seldom seen during the summer.
"When I swim naked, I feel much freer and more connected to the ocean," Hill said.
"It's like the difference between walking barefoot and walking with shoes on. Skimpy little togs are weird - they draw attention to the body parts we fetishise in our culture."
Some residents, such as Paddy Phipps, said swimming in the buff helped stop microscopic jellyfish - known as sealice - from getting trapped under swimwear and stinging, leaving people with an itchy rash.
Liz Weaver, 35, said it was a "positive thing" to see nudity beginning to enter the public eye more, with people shedding their clothes at music festivals and other youth gatherings.
"The sooner we overcome the nudity taboo the better - and swimming and bathing is a natural time to be unclothed," Weaver said.
Seeing naked people on beaches can help people realise that all bodies are unique and they seldom look like the airbrushed images of perfect young models in magazines and on television, she said.
"It helps people accept themselves when they see the diversity under people's clothes."
While Weaver preferred to stay at the nudist beaches or be discrete, some of her friends were "wild free spirits" who upheld their right to swim naked wherever they wanted.
That was offensive to some island residents, such as Swayde Shannon, 25, who said people shouldn't have to take their children elsewhere or look away when someone decided to strip naked on a beach.
"Would you walk around Waiheke Island butt naked in the streets or anywhere else that's a public place? No you wouldn't, so why would you be nude at the beach in front of children or families?" Shannon said.
Jessica Powell McIntyre agreed, saying she was all for "embracing your body", but there was a time and place.
"I'd be mad as hell if my son had to see some shrivelled up penis and think it's okay for men and woman to expose their parts around him," McIntyre said.
On January 27, two nudist groups, New Zealand Naturist Federation and Free Beaches NZ, held a Day Without Togs.
The day featured nude swimming events around the country and aimed to promote acceptance of nudity in public places, said Free Beaches NZ president Wendy Lowe.
The first Day Without Togs was held in Spain 11 years ago and it is held every year on the third Saturday in July in the northern hemisphere.
However, the New Zealand event prompted several Auckland residents to express concern about nudists on beaches and the impact it could have on children.
A police spokesperson said being naked in public was not against the law, but anyone who intentionally or indecently exposed their genitals in public could be imprisoned for up to three months or fined up to $2000.
