While researching and composing this post entry, I encountered this word: exogamy. To my knowledge, I have never I have seen it before, not have I ever fingerspelled it manually. The definition is: exogamy: marrying outside the family, tribe, clan, culture or other social unit.
A Week of Love:
Exogamy essentially describes and/or identifies my marriage. Aaron, my spouse, is Black, I am White (race). He is Canadian, I am Greek (nationality). He is hearing, I am Deaf (differing ability). He is Roman Catholic, I am Greek Orthodox (religion).
On a positive notation, we are both very much proud bare practitioners. Also, we are both very much in love with one another. Sometimes, love works best when there’s at least one shared aspect! We both are dedicated to the sharing of our nakedness! Hence, the existence of both our marriage and this site, ReNude Pride.
This year, Valentine’s Day is middle-of-the week, a Wednesday. This inspired me to create this post entry in honour of A Week of Love. After all, since my spouse and I are both exogamists (finally, I utilized my new vocabulary discovery)! We can take the entire week to commemorate our new classification label!
Very much love!
Despite all the abuse, hatred, killing and violence happening all too often in our world, we can take advantage of this Week of Love to remind ourselves and others that bromance (love between two men) exists! Therefore, all hope is not lost forever! Please join with us as we celebrate love!
Regardless of our exogamy status, Aaron and I share our love together. We both hope and wish the same for all of you!
“Love” can mean many things to different people. It is an ambiguous word that encompasses familial love (loce between members of the same family); it also includes bromantic love or intimate love (love that involves physical contact: groping/touching, kissing and/or sexual union) and platonic love (strong affection and caring between friends). We also need to keep in mind that there are varying degrees (levels) of love within each distinct category. It is usually very different and very unique in almost every situation.
Loving together!
With all the variations of love available, A Week of Love offers the majority of us an opportunity to share some aspect of kindness and/or love with at least one other person. We have the entire week to do this simple task. It can include just giving a smile to the person standing beside you on the subway platform or a kiss-on-the-cheek to an elderly aunt. The little acts of kindness that we share can range from the picking up of a soft toy a child may have inadvertently dropped to the help we give an elderly neighbor in scraping the ice/snow off his automobiles rear window. The effort and gesture are our deserved reward.
Chances are, more than likely, you’ll feel better about yourself! As a special gift, someone else will feel good bout you, too!
Rendering a love tap!
The image above exemplifies three distinct classification of love. The first one is familial love (as in egocentric or self-focused). Both men are comfortable being bare with one another. The second is platonic love (love between friends). It is obvious that as friends, they share affection and respect for each other. The third exemplification is bromantic or intimate love. The proximity of their nakedness together is very suggestive of this happening in the either the pre-intercourse or the post-intercourse moment.
Please enjoy your very own Week of Love!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Wednesday, February 14, 2024, and the proposed topic is: “Valentine’s Day!”
In 1999, alarmed over the statistics reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the effects of HIV/AIDS on the African-American community, the CDC and the U.S. Public Health Service convened a meeting with representatives of organizations serving Black Americans and persons of faith to address concerns over rising infection rates. Other organizations participating included Concerned Black Men- Philadelphia, Health Watch Information and Promotion Services, Jackson State University, Mississippi Urban Research Center, National Black Alcoholism and Addiction Council and the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS along with the heads of several African-American communities of faith. The National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was conceived by these organizations and the official name agreed upon.
February 7, annually, was decided as the date of observance and the very first observance was announced for the following year: February 7, 2000. The event would be sponsored by the Strategic Leadership Council (SLC) – created specifically for this event – and the membership was determined and terms of office set.
The popularity of the Red Ribbon for the efforts towards HIV/AIDS awareness was noted by the SLC. At the time, awareness ribbons for a multitude of charitable causes were very important in focusing attention to the cause represented and to encourage support. This inspired the creation of an awareness ribbon for the purpose of support of the National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day efforts.
NBHAAD Awareness ribbon!
Four Key Components of the NBHAAD Campaign:
The SLC of the NBHAAD campaign mandates four (4) key elements for an inclusive and successful campaign. Each component is designed to build both individual and community strengths in combatting HIV/AIDS for all people.
The four elements and a brief summation are as follows:
Geteducated: Know the facts about transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDS.
Getinvolved: Learn about opportunities available in individual and community prevention efforts and become an active part of those efforts.
Gettested: Know your status and encourage others to do the same.
Gettreated: Receive proper healthcare and support to successfully live with HIV.
Dedication!
Analysis proves that people learn and retain knowledge most effectively from people they perceive as most like themselves. NBHAAD is an African-American focused organization, based within the community, to provide direction, guidance and information to the Black population specifically but not exclusively. It represents a resource that is both accessible, authentic and dependable.
Explore your options (choices)! Take back the control of your life!
An important message to share with others!
If your viral load (amount of HIV in your blood) is undetected, then sexually, your HIV is untransmittable!
This message is vital as it advises everyone of the significant benefits of not only getting tested for HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) also for seeking treatment for living with HIV. This enables persons to experience a healthier, longer and more productive life.
Knowledge is power!
HIV/AIDS Basic Facts:
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
AIDS is a result of HIV infection.
HIV is not spread through everyday casual contact.
Only a doctor can diagnose AIDS.
Arthur Ashe, Wimbledon Tennis Champion and AIDS educator!
Throughout the year, NBHAAD has sponsored innumerable locally-oriented activities and events to provide information and involvement on community issues and needs. This level of action increased general awareness and support for both prevention and treatment of the disease.
Personal Involvement:
I served both the City of Alexandria, Virginia Chapter of the Red Cross and the Arlington Red Cross Chapter as a volunteer (not paid) instructor trainer in three HIV/AIDS curriculums: Basic, African-American and Workplace. My responsibility was to teach others how to conduct community prevention education sessions within the curriculum they had elected to enroll. As a Greek man, I always had an African-American co-instructor with me. As a Deaf man, I always had a sign language interpreter with me.
Each class that I taught involved 36 hours of training and a passing score of 85 % on the final examination. Upon completion of each class, a certification was given to each student in recognition of becoming a Red Cross instructor.
Personalities:
Importantly – and fortunately – there are among all of our cultures many who are bold and brave enough to act and think for themselves. Their individual uniqueness is one aspect among the qualities that make life bearable (bare-able) for those of us who live around them or are influenced by them. Ideally, their insight and worldview makes a difference in the lives of others.
The two persons presented here I met through my volunteer position with the Red Cross African-American prevention education curriculum. Both of them are/were same gender loving men and African-American.
RodneyLofton
Rodney Lofton!
A native of Richmond, Virginia, and a student of mine who also became a volunteer with the Red Cross. We taught a teen peer education weekend-long seminar together three consecutive years. Rodney was the first Black deputy director of the GLBTQ+ community advocacy group: Diversity Richmond. In 2015, he received the Equality Virginia OUTstanding Virginian Award. For many years he served on the organizing committee of the NBHAAD function with the City of Richmond. He was the author of two books on growing up both Black and gay in the City: The Day I Stopped Being Pretty: A Memoir (published 2007) and No More Tomorrow: Two Lives, Two Stories, One Love (published 2009). He died in March, 2022, and is survived by his husband, Faron Niles. Rodney was first diagnosed as HIV+ in 1993.
Rodney’s first book!
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KoryMitchell
Kory Mitchell
A mixed-race man born in Germany of an African-American father in the military service and a German mother. He grew up and attended schools in both Germany and the USA. As a young adult he achieved the role of actor within the gay pornography industry and starred in more than three dozen films. He was diagnosed as HIV+ in the early 1990s. When he learned of his status, he became a student of the Red Cross African-American curriculum and after receiving his certification he began teaching HIV/AIDS prevention education to others working in the gay porn industry. He appears at numerous NBHAAD campaign benefits and events and is affectionately known as the unofficial “Magic Johnson of gay porn!” When he became a celebrity, he had “blessed” tattooed across his shoulder and a cross tattooed on his abdomen to remind fans that he is a Christian. Shortly after his HIV+ diagnosis, he had the message “hope” tattooed on his neck. Instead of the letter “o” in hope, he had the red AIDS awareness ribbon placed there.
Kory’s “Blessed” shoulder and neck of “hope!”
Remember, it’s not who we are but it’s what we do that puts us at risk for HIV/AIDS!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next planned post entry here is planned for Friday, February 9, 2024, and the proposed topic is: “S’Naked Simply!”
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) occurs annually on February 7. This year, 2024, that date happens in the middle of the week on a Wednesday. Using the calendar to our benefit, publishing this post entry two days in advance affords us the chance to provide information of the significance of this occasion for all of us, not just African-Americans. That is the reason for today’s offering entitled:
“The Disproportionate Impact of HIV/AIDS on the Black Community!”
The purpose is to explore specific examples of disparities based on race that produced the multitude of deaths and infections within the African-American population here in the USA. “Disproportionate impact” refers to factors – beyond the control of those affected – that cause harm or injury to those being affected.
“NBHAAD: Part II!” is offered here on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, – the actual date for NBHAAD. It features an overall look at the offerings and provisions of the NBHAAD campaign.
Black SGL couple!
The Disproportionate Impact of HIV/AIDS on the Black Community!
To this day, there are some misinformation and myths surrounding the HIV/AIDS pandemic that remain within the minds of many Americans, even in the days of competition with the coronavirus COVID-19 period. One of the strongest of these untruths is that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is an exclusively gay (same gender loving: SGL) disease. No matter of the scientific proof to the contrary, this falsehood remains. A close second place to this misconception is the unsubstantiated notion that Black people are highly susceptible to HIV.
In all honesty, it is the White population in the USA that has caused the alarmingly high rate of death and infection from HIV factors among African Americans. The serious mistrust of the public health services by persons of colour was caused and created by people of European descent (Caucasian/White) through bias, discrimination, hate, ignorance, prejudice and segregation. For generations, Black people suffered under the “Jim Crow” laws and separation. This resulted in numerous incidents and instances where the African Americans were subjected to trials and tribulations as “second class” recipients of poor care and mistreatment from the U.S. Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the local and state health services.
The most infamous and notorious of this disasters is known simply as the Tuskegee Experiment that was underway under the watch of the federal government from 1932 until 1972. It involved 400 Black men “officially” untreated by medicine in order to document and monitor the deterioration of health after being infected with syphilis. It was conducted in the deep south at the then Tuskegee Institute by doctors working for the federal government. Click the link below to see the study details on wikipedia:
Personally, when I first learned of this project, I was shocked that it was permitted to continue after the passage of legislation for equality in the 1960s. I was appalled that social consciousness didn’t end the study and that it was never an issue.
NBHAAD Awareness Ribbon
The results of this maltreatment is the overwhelming reason for the deep and profound distrust of the CDC and the U.S. Public Health Service by the Black population. It was one of the major obstacles that resulted in the delay by the community of colour to the realities of the HIV/AIDS crisis. This, in turn, created the explosion of the new disease within this particular community and culture.
With the issue of distrust of the public health agencies as the primary source of the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS in the Black American community and culture, another very important factor was the cultural and racial insensitivity of educational and prevention information distributed among this population specifically and the general population as a whole. Too often, vague and ambiguous language and reasoning was employed when direct and simple language should have been presented and used.
The majority of Black adults were the products of segregated educational facilities – often resulting in limited comprehension of the materials provided to them. This unclear information caused confusion and misinterpretation that strengthened frustration and resentment. Government and politicians were well aware of this disparity and failed to address this problem.
Important reality!
For example, instead of “negotiating” the “effectiveness” of the use of a condom, the direct action approach: “tell him if he’s not wearing one, he’s not getting any!” would have deliberately delivered the message in a clear and concise manner. Minimal room for confusion and hesitation with a response such as that! The meaning is plain no matter the gender of the individual receiving the reply.
Distrust and insensitivity in communication are two of the examples offered for the high rates of HIV/AIDS deaths and infections within the African-American community and culture. Another example of almost equal importance is the prolonged inaction and inertia from the government departments over the staggering statistics. Prompt examination over the reported data clearly indicated a major breakdown and inappropriate flaw in the materials and methods long before a serious problem arose. Had discrimination and segregation not existed prior to the outbreak of HIV, the results could and probably would have been significantly different.
Due to budget constraints and the executive and legislative blindness of the republican politicians, funds for public health concerns and programs were severely hampered while defense spending soared.
This situation initiated a dilemma rarely believable in the supposedly wealthiest country in the world. Repeatedly, funds were scarce and demands on the necessity of compliance skyrocketed. Resources were completely unavailable and politicians refused to even consider any concession to ease the crisis for “those” people – the Blacks and other ethnic and racial minorities, the gays and the drug injectors. Evidently, the republican belief was that society could only benefit from the death of “those” people!
Vital message!
Financial assistance and grants to local public service agencies and not-for-profit organizations working within the Black community on a local basis would have greatly reduced the widespread gap between mistrust and trust that existed. A local establishment would have afforded both at atmosphere of credibility and recognition that would enhance the information and message delivered. This would have alleviated the stigma of HIV/AIDS as being a “homosexual White man’s disease.”
Awareness and pride!
“As committed, dedicated, honest, open and sincere bare practitioners (same gender loving naturists/nudists), all we desire is for the world to see us as we perceive ourselves: all naked, all natural. We have nothing to hide and are without reason for shame. We are proud of our nudity and our same gender love. They are not cause for embarrassment, fear or guilt. That is simply what and who we are in our life.” ~ Roger Poladopoulos-Peterson ~ Deaf Gay Alliance speech Washington, D.C., 4 December 2022
Yet another barrier created by both the republican executive and legislative arms of the federal government that fatally delayed and hindered any productive reaction from the community of colour to the ravages of this pandemic.
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Wednesday, February 7, 2024, and the proposed topic is: “NBHAAD Part II!”
In the USA, the entire month of February, annually, is observed as Black History Month (now referred to as African-American History Month). It was started in 1926, when the noted Black historian, Carter G. Woodson (now remembered as the “Father of Black History Month) and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) jointly announced the second week of February to be Negro History Week. This particular week was chosen because it contained the birthday (February 12) of the late president, Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves held in the rebellious south during this country’s civil war. It also contained the birthday of Frederick Douglass, the noted Black abolitionist and influential leader (February 14).
Carter G. Woodson,“Father of Black History Month!”
The very first commemoration of Negro History Week was featured in segregated public schools in three states (Delaware, North Carolina and West Virginia) and the Black schools in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Frederick Douglass, Abolitionist and Black leader
Up until the commencement of Negro History Week, throughout this country, the most that anyone was aware of African-American history was when the topic of slavery was discussed. Otherwise, there was practically no mention of any achievement or contribution of any Black person in the history of the USA. Black people were largely viewed as nothing more than “second-class” citizens throughout this nation. Discrimination and segregation were practiced everywhere and severely hindered the recognition of any notable African-American leadership.
Black History Month encourages honouring persons of the African Diaspora!
Black educators and Black United Students at Kent State University in Ohio first proposed a month-long celebration for Black History Month in February, 1969. It was approved and first observed from January 2, 1970 through February 28, 1970.
President Gerald Ford first recognized Black History Month in 1976 during the USA bicentennial. He urged people to “seize the opportunity to honour the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavour throughout our history. He may have been the first president not elected for the job but he became the first one to publicly recognize the Black History Month celebration.
Looking for his past!
Personal Recollections:
As a child of Greek immigrants, I have very limited knowledge of what it was like to grow up in what was perceived by many to be a White man’s world. I do have some insight into the most definite deficiency of historical information concerning African-American history.
When my parents arrived in Richmond, Virginia, during the second presidential term of Eisenhower, the only home they could purchase was in a primarily Black neighborhood. The city was the capital city of the Confederacy during the Civil War and “old habits die hard (they were, after all, immigrants). Fine. The street that we lived on had a Greek Orthodox Church on one end, an Armenian Church in the middle and an African Methodist Episcopal Church on the other end. A celestial highway!
My oldest brother remembers the controversy surrounding the televised release of Alex Haley’s Roots. For many die-hard Confederate descendants, it was absurd and unforgiveable that White Confederate characters and their offspring were shown as evil, dishonest and violent. I imagine the truth does sometimes hurt.
Alex, my identical twin brother, and I are both Deaf but that didn’t prevent us from having Black friends in our neighborhood. Children don’t need an official interpreter to communicate between Deaf and hearing. We had several Black friends who shared with us in our nakedness (with enthusiasm).
Our motto!
Our neighborhood bordered the south side of the James River in Richmond. As we grew into our teenage years, Twin and I and our neighborhood friends frequented the James River during our summer school holidays. On one of those excursions, we discovered an area within the park very popular with the local same gender loving (SGL) people who were also active nudists. This resulted into an entirely different educational and enlightening world for all of us! The doors to bare practitioner manhood were opened – at last – and remain opened until this very day!
One of my neighborhood friends is named Paul Turner. We have become lifelong friends and have kept in contact with each other since our early teen years. He’s three years older than me and is also gay and a self-admitted bare practitioner co-founder and cohort! We jointly enjoyed and explored the SGL naked area of the James River Park almost daily. We continue to exchange laughter and memories of those summer “retreats” into our nakedness, our SGL identity and all the adventures and pleasures we had while maturing together! This past summer, we took a reminiscent hike to the riverfront park and our “classroom” of education into reality.
Paul and his partner have been a live-in couple for twenty-two years now. They’re both active in Richmond’s Black gay community and are very good friends to my spouse, Aaron, and myself. The four of us are exploring and negotiating the collective composition of a perspective of bare practitioner in today’s world. Our goal is a 2025 publishing.
Nudist friends are the best friends!
Black History
Happy Black History month to everyone! Enjoy the time that we all share together!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for tomorrow, Friday, February 2, 2024, and the proposed topic is: “A Dream Comes True!”
Today marks the celebration and observation of both the official (actual) birthday and the Monday-holiday commemoration of the occasion both happening simultaneously.
Birthdate:
January 15, 1929
NobelPeacePrize
Recipient
Awarded to him by His Majesty, King Gustav VI Adolph of Sweden on October 14, 1964.
CivilRightsAdvocate
International
Non–ViolentProtest
Activist
Ordainedclergyperson
Professional
SouthernChristianLeadershipConference
Founder, 1957
Married: CorettaScottKing
Wife
Children: Yolanda, Martin L. King, III, Dexter Scott King, Bernice
USA: PresidentialMedalofFreedom
Posthumously given, 1977
NationalMarchonWashingtonforFreedomandJobs
Organizer, Keynote Speaker
August 28, 1963
Speech: “I Have A Dream”
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Fortunately, we live in a world where there are others among us who are able to recall and remember the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fortunately, we live in a world that is “all-too-gradually” witnessing the dreams of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. materialize into reality. Fortunately, we live in a world that recently experienced the overwhelming election and re-election of a Black man, Mr. Barack Hussein Obama, as president of the United States. This, too, was a dream of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Fortunately, we live in a world that is living in the times of the “Black Lives Matter” movement – a dynamic, growing and popular awakening of social conscience to the basic fact that African-American people are entitled to certain rights and responsibilities within this country and within our world. Another dream of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that has now become alive.
Equality and brotherhood!
Yes! We are indeed fortunate that we live in a world where the dreams of a visionary and historical inspiration, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. have come to pass. And we are grateful for his sacrifice and his struggle. His example and his leadership – in addition to his remarkable dreams – opened to doors towards equality and justice that few see in their lifetime!
His dreams, his foresight and his wisdom instill a feeling and sense of hope within us all. Yes, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. continues to offer and to provide all humanity with courage and with dignity his accomplishment and his achievement of fairness, of knowledge and of non-violence. During an era of degradation, discrimination and prejudice he overcame those obstacles and chose forgiveness, harmony and peace!
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is and was a shining star who brightly guided our way into his dreams and himself into the dreams of many of us!
Wisdom from the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Unfortunately, we live in a world that continues to ignore and reject the profound and serious pronouncements of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the United States today, despite the cultural, legal and social changes and progress that has occurred since his brutal assassination on April 4, 1968, many persons still refuse to accept the lessons of cooperation, forgiveness and inclusion that were endorsed and taught by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In their minds, when his memory is involved or his name is invoked, they see nothing except the colour of his skin as the sole cause of discarding his dreams of future harmony and understanding. They are powerless and unable to move beyond racial hatred.
Thankfully, the efforts and examples set by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. continue to diminish the numbers of those following hatred rather than healing. “Injustice anywhere remains a threat to justice everywhere.” A valid and unyielding truth!
In Israel today, the self-identified survivors of the the Nazi holocaust flagrantly demolish and evict native Palestinians from their United Nations sanctioned partition-designated homeland and property without concern for their safety, survivorship and well being. The so-called holocaust victims creating victims of their own inspired genocide. Cultural and ethnic hatred preferable to cultural and ethnic healing.
Ideally, the efforts and examples set by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will inspire harmony and healing in triumph over hatred. “Injustice anywhere remains a threat to justice everywhere.” A valid and unyielding truth!
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. paramount speech, August 28, 1963!
Tragically and unfortunately, it is now evident that globally, throughout our world, all of us need to follow the important yet simple quotation from the wisdom of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. From the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, the Congo, the Sudan, the Ukraine and elsewhere, “Injustice anywhere remains a threat to justice everywhere.” A valid and unyielding truth!
In 1964, our entire world watched as His Majesty, King Gustav VI Adolph of Sweden graciously bestowed the international Nobel Peace Prize upon the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A man who responded to the bias, condemnation and hatred of his contemporaries in a heroic, non-violent and peaceful manner. A man who through bravery and courage exemplified his gallant and noble legacy: “Injustice anywhere remains a threat to justice everywhere.” Timeless and valuable advice that is applicable to us all – forever!
Thank you, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for your care, concern and forgiveness of us all!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, January 19, 2024, and the proposed topic is: “Bare New Year!”
The arguments and debates concerning the appropriate sensitivity and respect over the holiday and/or Holy Day…bah-humbug! On ReNude Pride, we try to be equal and fair to all, no matter the culture, faith, heritage, ethnicity, racial identity, sexual attraction and sexual orientation! We wish for everyone happiness for whatever the occasion!
Our header (beginning image) above does deliver a usually perceived “christmas-type” depiction but our listing below contains the reasoning factor. We intend to pay tribute to all here!
There are a limitless supply of beliefs, facts and reasons for all of our differing occasions to celebrate, commemorate and enjoy! Our intent is to attempt and strive to be as accepting, acknowledging and as all-inclusive as possible. We want everyone to feel comfortable, special and welcome here on ReNude Pride! Especially if you are both bare and same gender loving!
Celebrating all of us!
Please remember that no one is intentionally ignored or excluded from us here (unless too fully dressed)! Each and every one is encouraged to join in our adventures, escapades, education and fun. Good times and life are for us all to enjoy and experience.
Too many of our kind, of our nature have been forced to endure and to suffer during their lives. Many are even doing so still today. Now is the time for us all to cast aside all the oppression and repression!
In coming together we not only offer our collective compassion and support, we also share our suffering. This, in turn, empowers us all to commiserate as a community and to look and to move forward in strength and unity!
Togetherness!
All of us realize that our past is behind us. It is a lesson learned. Our present is part of what unites us and envelops us in love and respect. Our future is a journey, a path forward, a light that shines with all of our combined aspirations, our combined dreams and our combined hopes.
Working together, in patience, tolerance and understanding, our future becomes not only much brighter but also more alive and more promising! It is a step in the direction towards harmony, peace and tranquility not only for our community and our culture but also for our hearts, our minds and our spirits.
Our diversity makes us stronger!
This is why the celebrating of, the honouring of, the knowledge of, the memory of and the power of our communal and familial heritages is so important and necessary. Our history, whether personal, family, religious, communal or cultural is a vital part of each and every one of us! It is what makes us special and unique!
Sankofa proverb!
It is precisely the message of the Sankofa Proverb of the Adinkra peoples of West Africa. “If you forget it, you must go back and fetch it.” The truth shall be our guiding light!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, December 11, 2023, and the proposed topic is: “Identifications!”
In honour of GLBTQ+ Bare History Month, this posting is a very brief (hence the heading inclusion of synopsis) presentation of the history of bare practitioning here. The serious lack of any extensive documentation of our culture and community within the volumes of works has created a growing discrepancy in the history of us! My intent is to provide the basis for others to use in our quest for acknowledgment and legitimacy! Not knowing of our past is a step towards repeating it! In an attempt to learn a little more of ourselves and avoiding repetition, a brief look at our bare heritage!
Our nudity, be considered as us being bare, clothes free, naked, naturist, natural, nude or whatever, helps to make us all transparent. This transparency enables all others, regardless of their state of being dressed (clothed, textile) or undressed (without covering) to see our physical essence as it really is, unhampered by the artificial concealment of garments. This affords us, the bare practitioner (same gender loving naturist/nudist) the virtue of living life honestly and openly.
We don’t need or require the superficial trappings of accessories, adornment or fashion to present ourselves as someone that we’re basically not! We leave such pretentions to others. We live proudly as the men that we truly are!
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The Rainbow flag and our message for clothes freedom!
Background:
As committed bare practitioners (same gender loving and naturists/nudists) we are often overlooked by both the mainstream of humanity and also by our own marginalized groups. The mainstream is totally embarrassed by our existence and within our own subcultural identities we are often feared/ignored as too controversial and too eccentric. This often leaves us completely alone as the “odd-man-out” of everyone else’s communal agenda. The proverbial “no man’s land” – off the radar and left to fend for ourselves.
A shared demonstration of love!
Frequently, our same gender love is seen by the mainstream society as nothing but repulsive. Too often we are viewed as nothing but “perverted” even though our affection for others is no different from those around us except for the gender of those to whom we are attracted. If men can love women, then why can’t two men or two women love one another? After all, aren’t we all – at least theoretically – human?
For far too long our same gender love has been vastly judged as abnormal, alien, despicable, disgusting, disruptive, inhuman, offensive, and unnatural. Collectively, we are condemned and judged because we’re ourselves.
Yet, we remain ostracized. We also remain human.
A guy without boxers!
Regardless of being condemned, criticized, harassed, judged and ridiculed, we still remain human and we also elect to be naked. Completely free from the restrictions of clothing. Being ourselves and trying to be content and happy even though the majority of the clothing optional world prefers us as far from the rest of them as possible!
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Evolution:
From the earliest days of humanity, a certain level of comfort and relaxation has been experienced with the state of nudity by humans, no matter of their intimate physical attraction. For all of us, it is the condition of our birth. We naturists/nudists thus view it as our natural being.
Even in the early stages of our current history, our nakedness – freedom from clothing or any other type of covering – was not judged. It was a natural practice and was an option open for all to enjoy and not a condition of social determination. The earliest needs for covering were for retention of body heat rather than for any consideration of modesty. As people migrated to more difficult climates, the needs for comfort began to outweigh the freedom from clothing/covering.
Ancient cultures!
The evolution of humanity gradually introduced other conditions for the adaptation of garments. It soon became a visible token of class and social status. Our ancient civilizations of Babylon, Egypt, Greece and Rome developed and thrived during this transition of optional into mandatory concealment. The migration and relocation of humans to climates and regions less conducive to naked comfort and existence forced the need for layers of covering for protection from weather extremes. This soon reinforced the use of garments as a symbol of social class (the “haves” and the “have nots”). The evolution of society also incorporated the growth of shared belief systems that very often mandated that clothing was an absolute necessity. Judgments soon became against any nude freedom – both in private and in public.
Equatorial resident!
The needs for persons living in the Equatorial regions across the globe were not impacted by climate and/or warmth. For those who encountered people from different cultures they assumed, optionally, the custom of covering their genitalia if they made any adaptation. Those who had no contact with inhabitants or traders from different cultures or populations continued to prosper and thrive with their own tradition of nudity, whether in private or in public. This custom did not prevent them from being judged by others based on their belief systems where clothing was mandatory and nakedness was “backward.”
Eventually, the persons living in the more temperate areas of Africa, the South Pacific and South America evolved to the use of body decoration made from natural dyes instead of woven fabrics. This practice was a continuation of body comfort and freedom as opposed to modesty. When concealment was a necessity, it was easier to utilize natural products (animal hides and/or feathers) over any type of garment.
Just as there are cultural differences between the humans, there also exist differences in the belief systems that developed, particularly in the beliefs (religions) towards the traditions of allowing and tolerating nakedness. Not all beliefs outlawed shared nudity or frowned (condemned) upon expressions of body and clothes freedom. There exist some religions that have no official position on the state of being bare.
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Bare practitioner!
Bare Practitioners: Our Story!
Honouring the lives of some of our bare practitioner (same gender loving naturist/nudist) community and culture’s very own who were both bold enough and brave enough to live true to their sexuality (bisexual or gay) and their nature (body and clothes freedom) in an age and day when it wasn’t acknowledged and/or allowed. The essential fore-bares of our bare practitioner history!
This 2023Bare Practitioner Heritage features Lebanese-born author, artist and poet Kahlil Gibran and two early photographers, German-born Wilhelm von Gloeden and Italian-born Vincenzo Galdi. Enjoy and explore!
Our bare practitioner (bisexual or gay and naturist/nudist) heritage includes many who share our way-of-life but are completely unfamiliar with our self-identity. Their legacy to us today is our ability to own, privately and/or publicly, our existence, identities and ourselves with confidence, joy and pride. As the bare practitioner community and culture, we appreciate and are grateful for their courage, example and role-model!
Naked truth!
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Kahlil Gibran, circa 1913
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran (also Jubran Khalil Jubran) was a Lebanese-born author, artist, poet and philosopher. His best known book, TheProphet (published in the USA in 1923) presents us with positive proof of his knowledge and talent that continues to influence and inspire us still today. Kahlil was born to Maronite (an Eastern Rite of the Roman Catholic Church) parents in Bsharri, Lebanon (then part of the Syria province of the Ottoman Empire) on January 6, 1883.
In 1895, he immigrated to the USA with his mother and siblings (all younger). They settled in the state of Massachusetts. He attended schools in Lebanon (primary), Lebanon and USA (secondary) and in France (graduate).
Gibran was considered a gay man and published about this although there are indications that he may have been bisexual (in correspondence with friends).
Almost all of Gibran’s early works were written in his native language, Arabic, after 1918, they were written exclusively in English – the exception being for articles he composed for several Arabic language newspapers.
Self portrait by Kahlil Gibran
On Clothes (from his book, TheProphet)
And the weaver said, “Speak to us of clothes.”
And he answered:
Your clothes conceal much of your beauty. Yet they hide not the unbeautiful.
And though you seek in garments the freedom of privacy you may find in them a harness and a chain.
Would that you could meet the sun and the wind with more of your skin and less of your raiment,
For the breath of life is in the sunlight and the hand of life is in the wind.
Some of you say, “It is the north wind who has woven the clothes to wear.”
But shame was his loom, and the softening of the sinews was his thread.
And when his work was done he laughed in the forest.
Forget not that modesty is for a shield against the eye of the unclean,
And when the unclean shall be no more, what were modesty but a fetter and a fouling of the mind?
And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
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His above thoughts on garments is one of many examples of Gibran’s preference for social nudity!
Kahlil Gibran died in New York City, USA, on April 10, 1931. His remains were interred in his birthplace, Bsharri, Lebanon.
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Wilhelm von Gloeden circa 1891
Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden
Wilhelm von Gloeden was born in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a German grand duchy on September 14, 1856. He was trained as a painted artist but was given a gift of a camera from a friend. The camera soon provided him a career. One of the patrons of his photography was Oscar Wilde. He suffered from tuberculosis for most of his adult life and soon resettled in Taormina, Sicily, due to warmer temperatures. While living in Sicily, he took a local youth, fourteen years younger than himself, as his lover and they stayed together as a couple until his death. The youth’s name was Pancruzio Biciuni who was sometimes referred to as “Il Moro.”
During the Great War (1914 – 1918) he had to leave Italy altogether or face arrest. Some of his photographic patrons included Oscar Wilde and Albert Freidrich Krupp of the Krupp family, makers of German guns and ammunitions. Baron von Gloeden’s favourite subjects for his photographs were naked teens (males).
“The Three Graces” photograph by Wilhelm von Gloeden
“Reclining Male Nude” by Wilhelm von Gloeden
When Benito Mussolini came to power as prime minister of Italy in the 1920’s, he was put on trial for harboring pornography but was acquitted by the court in Milan. During World War II, Germany was allied with Italy so he did not have to leave because of the conflict. During the course of his trial in Milan, much of his photographs and negatives were confiscated and destroyed by the Italian police under Mussolini’s orders.
Wilhelm von Gloeden died in Taormina, Sicily, on February 16, 1931. He was buried on the grounds of his home there. He left his entire estate to his lover, Pancruzio Biciuni, who died himself in 1963.
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Pancrazio Buciuni (above) was the model and lover of Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden. He was born June 28, 1879 in Sicily, Italy. He was nicknamed “Il Moro” (The Moor) by von Gloeden due to his dark complexion. Upon the death of his lover, von Gloeden, he inherited his entire estate. Buciuni died on January 30, 1963.
He is pictured below with another of von Gloeden’s models in a photograph taken by a different German photographer, von Pluschow.
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Vicenzo Galdi photographed by Wilhelm von Gloeden
Vincenzo Galdi
Vincenzo Galdi was an Italian photographer of primarily male nudes. He was born in 1871 on the island of Sicily. His interest in photography began when he first became an enthusiastic naked model for the German photographer Wilhelm von Pluschow. He then became von Pluschow’s lover and then he progressed to his photographic assistant. He operated his own studio in Rome between 1900 and 1907 when it was officially closed by the Italian police. He is often credited with being the first professional photographer to openly and proudly take credit for his erotic pictures to nude teens, often in very suggestive poses.
Galdi was considered bisexual.
He died in 1961.
He is captured completely bare in the picture below.
Vincenzo Galdi (right) leading another man into the water.
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Our heritage, bare and bold!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, October 23, 2023, and the proposed topic is: “United Nations Day!”
Purple: Spirit Dayis officially observed on the third Thursday of October, annually. This posting entry is offered in anticipation of the official observance!
On the Progress Rainbow Pride flag, the colour of purple at the bottom of the original rainbow field of six stripes represents the ideal of spirit. The colour also denotes pride and is considered a calming colour. It also connects us to the spiritual realm. For a great many of us, this is symbolic of our reflective nature and signifies the soul of the GLBTQ+ quest for our equality and freedom. In the United Kingdom and throughout the Commonwealth, purple is a royal colour and often is representative of the Crown.
Purple: Spirit Day is an annual anti-bullying, anti-coercion date that is held during National Bullying Prevention Month. It is particularly focused combatting damaging or threatening behaviour based on a person’s perceived or real same gender loving status. The Stonewall Inn Riots (SIR) of 1969 and the National Coming Out Day observance that commenced on October 11, 1988, reduced the suicide rate among the GLBTQ+ community and culture but it was never completely eradicated as a cause, even with the millennial transition.
A significant increase in GLBTQ+-related suicides committed not only raised the awareness of this problem within our community and culture but also in the minds of the general public. Clearly, more attention and efforts were necessary.
The commemoration of Purple: Spirit Day began on October 20, 2010, at the advocacy and inspiration of one Canadian teenager on her FaceBook social media. It is an awareness day of recent development in response to a USA suicide that gained international attention. On September 22, 2010, eighteen year old student Tyler Clementi, of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River. On September 19, Tyler’s roommate, Dharen Ravi, had posted to his Twitter social media account a clip showing Tyler kissing another man and announced to all his followers that he is gay. All of this was done without the permission of Tyler or his encounter partner.
Purple: Spirit Day!
The resulting media explosion that followed the suicide led Brittany McMillan, a secondary school student in Canada to respond to her conscience and launch the Purple: Spirit Day campaign on her own. The concept was undertaken by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) who immediately assumed sponsorship after consulting with Brittany.
Promoted by GLAAD, participants wear the colour purple as a visible sign of awareness and support for GLBTQ+ young people and opposition to bullying (for whatever reason) in general. It is also a gesture in tribute to all GLBTQ+ victims of suicide.
Cartoon in support of GLBTQ+ Purple: Spirit Day!
The very first Purple: Spirit Day was held on Wednesday, October 20, 2010. Later observances were on Thursday, October 20, 2011, and on Friday, October 20, 2012. After that time, GLAAD enacted the official date of the thirdThursday in October as the annual occasion.
For those persons restricted by requirements of uniform, a purple awareness ribbon may be worn to show agreement with the cause. If a pre-printed purple ribbon isn’t immediately available, a plain one suffices. Use a regular safety pin to attach the ribbon to your collar or shirt.
I remember the very first Purple: Spirit Day. Aaron, my spouse and I were simply living together at the time, and there wasn’t much notice given in advance of the first occasion. We decided to make purple ribbons to distribute on our jobsites promoting the cause and spent the night before staying up late to create the awareness tokens. We assorted 150 ribbons for each of our jobs. By mid-morning the next day, we exchanged emails and we had both given out of ribbons!
Supporting Purple: Spirit Day!
For bare practitioners the event may be signified by painting a purple ribbon on the left side of the chest. It is important to promote attention to this worthy cause!
For additional information on Purple: Spirit Day! please click onto the link below:
The title of this posting here on ReNude Pride and the accompanying “rainbow flag” images are at the insistence of my beloved spouse, Aaron Michael Peterson-Poladopoulos. His choice is based on his determination of the song “Over the Rainbow” by Judy Garland in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz” as being a unifying factor for the entire GLBTQ+ Bare History Month culture. To be honest, he all but ordered me to follow his selection! Out of my devotion to him, my need for a nutritious breakfast and my appreciation of all of his contributions to this site, I have complied with his instruction.
As a Deaf man, I do wonder about the song portion of his choice and in the interest of family harmony, I’ll surrender to his decision. After all, “mine is not to reason why, mine is but to do or he’ll make me die!” LOL! Naked hugs! 🙂
As for the pictures featuring the rainbow flag, I totally agree with my “better half.” As they all depict a bare practitioner man with the flag, they ensure compliance with the purpose of ReNude Pride: celebrating our same gender loving naturist/nudist heritage and community and our shared confidence and pride in being what and who we really are!
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Background:
It is generally recognized by all concerned that the modern civil rights struggle for the majority of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer+ people began with the Stonewall Inn riots following a police raid on the Stonewall Inn gay bar in New York City on June 28, 1969. This action, in the militancy of the political times, led to the growth and protests that encouraged our forebears to begin advocating for our freedoms and our long-denied human rights.
Given the number of groups and causes proliferating in the 1960s, our previously closeted (secretive) community emerged from anonymous and silent to militant and radical, even vocal. Various groups and individuals came together with the intent of organizing a body to become instrumental in determining the guidance and leadership of our growing struggle for equality.
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Our Story:
As a population with almost no formal structure aside from local municipal concerns, the initial building of a communal harmony and unity was disorganized and haphazard. Communication was infrequent and often by chance. The commitment and dedication of the early and emerging prominent individuals in the equality movement varied from city to city and fortunately enough of the “first few” proved resourceful in building a dynamic leadership that allowed our cause to develop and grow.
Despite the chaotic and confusing inception, it soon became apparent to many of the early GLBTQ+ advocates to the benefits of and the vital need for a visual emblem or a logo for identification and/or recognition purposes. It was agreed that a colourful graphic banner or flag would better serve this function as opposed to just writing the name on a placard.
A variety of concepts, designs and suggestions were made and presented to the ever-changing leadership individuals and/or organizing committees. The most popular and long-lasting ideas are featured below along with a description and/or justification for each submission.
Our time is here!
The Rainbow flag!
The year, 1969, was at the end of a decade that had witnessed massive social unrest. The African-American protests for civil rights, the birth of the feminist and women’s rights movements, the demonstrations for ending the Vietnam war, the equal pay for primarily Latino immigrant farm workers were underway during this time. The elimination of the military “draft” (enforced military service) and unequal financial compensation were also targets. The “homosexuals” (at the time, a derogatory and offensive identification of the now GLBTQ+ persons) was the most recent social group to clamour for equality and recognition.
The Pink Triangle:
The downward-pointing pink triangle was prominently used by National Socialists (Nazis) in Hitler’s regime as a badge of shame and labeling of “homosexuals.” It was sewn onto the shirts of homosexual men in concentration camps to identify and dehumanize them in the eyes of the authorities and other prisoners. Other concentration camp inmates routinely lashed out against all prisoners wearing a pink triangle.
Homosexuality was made illegal in Germany under Paragraph 175 of the unification constitution in 1871, but the law was rarely enforced. It remained so until it was repealed in 1969. When the Nazi Party assumed control of Germany in 1933, they made it enforcement a priority in their goal of promoting the Aryan people as superior to all others in order to racially and culturally “purify” Germany. The Nazis arrested thousands of GLBTQ+ individuals and sent them to concentration camps. the overwhelming majority of them homosexual men. They were all seen as degenerate.
The rise of the gay, lesbian and bisexual pride movement led to the reclaiming of the pink triangle as a positive symbol of self-identity and of triumph over tragedy. In 1994, the German government formally apologized to all persons for the abuse committed against same gender loving persons throughout the country’s history, especially by the Nazis.
The pink triangle remains a strong symbol of GLBTQ+ progress towards equality and represents the journey forward worldwide. It is a tribute to all of those persecuted under bigotry and hatred. The flag is recognized globally.
The Lambda Flag:
As a symbol of same gender loving freedom from centuries of discrimination, oppression and torture, the Greek letter lambda was first designated in December, 1969, as a symbol of distinction by the graphic artist and Gay Activists Alliance founding member, Tom Doerr. He chose it because in chemistry it is a sign for “catalyst” as for the complete exchange of energy.
Others argue that the lambda denotes the synergy of the growing same gender loving movement. The idea that the whole is greater than the sum of all of its parts. Still others claim the lambda is representative of lesbian.
In December, 1974, the lambda was officially adopted by the International Gay Rights Congress at their meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, by a unanimous vote. As a representation of gay and lesbian civil rights, lambda became internationally accepted, popular and recognized.
By far, both the pink triangle and the lambda remain dominant and prominent within the GLBTQ+ community and culture today. Historically, they are the two “firsts” in our community and culture.
The criticism of the lambda emerged later as some felt it was symbolic for males only.
The Rainbow Flag:
The original Rainbow flag!
What many of us herald as the first official flag of our community and culture was first publicly raised on June 25, 1978, in San Francisco, California, USA, at the city’s United Nations Plaza in honour of the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade. The original flag consisted of eight coloured stripes and was designed by Gilbert Baker and handstitched and dyed with the help of friends and volunteers Lynn Sugarblum, James McNamara, Glenne McElhinney, Joe Duran and Paul Langbutz. The eight stripes were later reduced to six with the pink (denoting “sex”) and turquoise (for “art and magic”) eliminated as the colours were not available in flag fabrics.
The colour scheme!
The graphic above shows the revised eight-stripe flag reduced to six stripes and what the coloured stripes each represented.
Baker conceived the flag would “empower his tribe” and at the same time reflect a “rainbow of humanity” motif to represent the movement’s diversity.
Current: The Progress Rainbow Flag!
Moving forward in progress!
The Progress Pride Rainbow flag was developed by non-binary artist and designer Daniel Quasar in 2018. Based on and incorporating Gilbert Baker’s 1978 Rainbow flag, Quasar’s redesign celebrates the diversity of the global GLBTQ+ community and culture and encourages a more accepting and inclusive general society. The redesign has invested the representation of discriminated minority identities covered by the GLBTQ+ umbrella.
Quasar’s creation placing black and brown stripes (symbolizing peoples of colour) and light blue, pink and white stripes (representing transgender and non-binary persons) in the shape of an arrow-head all pointing to the left of the Progress Pride Rainbow flag’s in the image of “forward progress.” In Daniel Quasar’s own words: “…the pointed arrow to show forward movement and illustrates that the progress towards inclusivity still needs to be made.”
The black stripe has a double meaning attached to it as it is also intended for “those living with HIV/AIDS and the stigma and prejudice surrounding them as well as all those who have been lost to the disease.”
The Progress Pride Rainbow flag was an immediate success. On the evening of June 6, 2018, Quasar posted the design on social media. He woke up the next day to find that it had gone viral.
Progress Pride Rainbow blowing in the wind!
We continue our way into the future by remembering our past. We are all together as we move forward!
Naked hugs!
Roger Peterson-Poladopoulos and Aaron Michael Peterson-Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, October 16, 2023, and the proposed topic is: “Purple: Spirit Day!”
National Coming Out of Closet, October 11, annually!
NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY: OCTOBER 11
Preliminary notation:
National Coming Out Day is actually on Wednesday of this week. It is my Monday offering here on ReNudePride so that everyone can be prepared to “hail” to the big day when it arrives! Come out based on your sexuality! Come out because you’re proud to be bare! Come out everywhere!Enjoy a day of just “being you!”
During the expanding global HIV/AIDS pandemic, openly gay artist Keith Haring created the below graphic to salute the initial National Coming Out Day commemoration on October 11, 1988. The event was created in order to encourage all GLBTQ+ people to “come out of the closet of their secrecy and shame” and to take pride in who they are! The date selected for the first National Coming Out Day was the first anniversary of the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights.
The HIV/AIDS crisis was unfortunately “outing” an alarming number of gay men only after they had succumbed (died) from the ravages of the disease. The initial public display of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt happened in conjunction with the 1987 March. The purpose of the National Coming Out Day was to enable the SGL community to boldly self-identify itself notoriously and numerically! It also was in the tradition of several celebrities publicly “coming out” in honour of the 1987 March on Washington.
Basic truth!
A very simple truth that regrettably centuries of oppression and torture could not be easily acknowledged by many. National Coming Out Day sought to end the marginalization and ostracism felt by many due to their sexuality. The encouragement of persons to willingly identify themselves without embarrassment and shame forced many to see that bisexuals, gays and lesbians included family and friends. One of the goals of National Coming Out Day is to prove to the mainstream population that the GLBTQ+ population is as diverse as ever and also includes persons they never thought as “being that way” (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer+)!
A man-2-man embrace!
This forced many persons who had remained passive and silent while the same gender loving community and culture were being harassed, marginalized and ridiculed to finally face the reality that some members of their family and some of their friends were honestly members of the very community that was being condemned. This sudden “truth” forced multitudes to examine their consciences and confront their prejudices. The result initiated a gradual transition in society’s thinking and views on the GLBTQ+ people.
Proud proclamation!
The original concept of the National Coming Out Day was for the same gender loving communities to openly acknowledge their sexuality. The personal evolved into being the political. The emphasis is on the basic form of activism as openly being same gender loving to colleagues, family and friends. Here on this site, ReNude Pride, we go an additional step and include our bare practitioner affiliation!
Felipe Ferreira and Rhyheim Shabazz kiss!
There is absolutely no reason for any of us to feel any guilt, humiliation or shame in being what and who we are. No matter who we love and no matter whether we are dressed in clothing or proudly bare, we are entitled to be ourselves! As long as we aren’t hurting anyone else, what difference does it make? All of us have the very human right to be ourselves every day of our lives without any fear or penalty for different!
Bare practitioners come out, too!
Sibling pride in being bare!
A bare practitioner is calm, content and relaxed when either publicly (socially) or privately appearing in their native “natural” state. There is no anxious or nervous concern over appearance or the opinions of others. We accept all of our physical differences and limitations as making each one of us as unique and then we move forward in our lives. The priority is our quest to be the very best what and who we are not only for ourselves but also for all others around us!
Have a great and openly proud National Coming Out Day!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, October 13, 2023, and the proposed topic is: “The Rainbow Emerges!”
ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers! 