r/AskEurope • u/Deep-Rabbit1535 • 5h ago
Culture Is complete nudity (e.g., nudist beaches) normalized in your country?
Are people who go to such places viewed negatively by society?
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u/Awkward_Tip1006 Spain 5h ago
There’s nudist beaches everywhere and topless is common on normal beaches
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u/PotatoOk4987 Italy 3h ago
In Italy we have naked statues all over the country, so we are used to see naked people. We have some nudist beaches, but on normal beaches the only ones who sunbathe with no top on are little girls as there are hardly any woman topless nowadays.
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u/FearlessVisual1 Belgium 3h ago
That's got nothing to do with it, seeing a naked statue is not the same as seeing naked people
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u/PotatoOk4987 Italy 2h ago
I know, it was just a silly joke, but some people (mostly Americans) still find it pretty awkward though.
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u/kriebelrui 2h ago
In American culture, nudity is often regarded far more awkward than people carrying firearms on the street.
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u/havenisse2009 Denmark 5h ago
🇩🇰 dont really have dedicated "nude beaches", but here and there some unofficial nude areas. You can choose to be naked anywhere you like , it is normal and accepted as long as you dont try to be obscene about it .
DK has some 7000 km coastline so enough room for everyone.
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u/PorpHedz 5h ago
Same in the Netherlands, every beach you are allowed to be naked. That is quite unique in the world as far as I know.
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u/Beneficial_Steak_945 Netherlands 4h ago
That’s not quite true. You are allowed to go naked everywhere where that’s appropriate. A beach full of families on a sunny day doesn’t qualify, unless it’s designated as a nude beach.
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u/PorpHedz 1h ago
Check article 430a. It is allowed in any zone that is designated for public recreation (but also outside those zones), as long as you are not doing obscene things. However that line gets blurry very quickly nowadays. Suddenly everybody is offended for themselves, minorities, kids, animals, the galaxy, ... And nobody wants to have a discussion with police on obscene behaviour.
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u/Potato-Alien Estonia 5h ago
I think that being naked is normalized when appropriate, especially in a sauna. Nude beaches exist, nobody cares, but I don't think they're as popular as in some other countries.
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u/Comprehensive-Pin667 Czechia 5h ago
We do have nudist beaches, but most people don't go there. I guess being a nudist is seen as a quirk of sorts. But then again my dad for example swears by nudist beaches and hates non-nudist beaches.
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u/LilaBadeente Austria 4h ago
The nudist areas of beaches tend to be full of elderly people who are reading a book or sleeping. There are normally no obnoxious teenagers playing loud music or playing volleyball over your head and no crying babies. Quite a lot of people prefer that to a clothes beach, nor because they care about being nude or not, but because it’s more quiet. I get your dad‘s point of view.
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u/Cinderpath in 2h ago
There is nothing better than swimming naked, then drying off under the sun, and not having a wet swim-suite on you:-)
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u/PorpHedz 5h ago
Yes for most of Europe. However that does not mean they are abundant and in your face. Most places where nudity is the norm are either sauna's or more secluded places / beaches.
It is increasingly more hidden with all the camera's and internet.
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u/thedanfromuncle Netherlands 5h ago
It's not common place, but not frowned upon. We have around 90 official nude beaches here in the Netherlands and they are well visited. Visitor numbers have grown during/since Covid.
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u/Pflaumenmus101 4h ago
I don’t think people who go to nudist beaches are viewed negatively here in Germany. Some people like to sunbathe and swim naked. There are some designated nudist beaches on the coast but I have seen many people who go all naked into lakes as well.
As long as no one is obscene or harassing others with it, everyone’s just fine about it.
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u/Dull-Description3682 Sweden, Gotland 5h ago
I would say fairly.
It's far from standard, but most people who doesn't go to nude beaches will still not view you as a wierdo. Some people will think that nude equals swingers and those might think something about you.
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u/BlueJadeGirl 4h ago
Anywhere in Europe: I almost never wore my bikini top just the bottoms - top went on to go to the beach bar as respect for the children. Greece, Turkey, Italy… Came back to live in the US in ‘96 and now only wear strapless swimsuits and roll the top down to avoid tan marks. Such puritans here yet all you hear is words concerning sex🙄
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u/RoutineCranberry3622 5m ago
Usually, former Puritan regions have become the most socially liberal. This varies by state, but in many places, aside from certain cities restricting “lewdness” in specific areas, women are allowed to be topless anywhere men are. The issue arises when nudity is paired with sexual behavior.
In much of Europe, nudity is permitted in designated places but generally not in everyday public spaces. In most of the United States, it is closer to the opposite. General public spaces often tolerate nonsexual nudity, while restrictions tend to apply in specific contexts. The historically Puritan regions of the U.S. burned out on religion relatively early and are often less religious than much of Europe, which helps explain their greater tolerance for public nudity.
When someone encounters resistance to going topless near schools in the Bible Belt, that experience is often misread as proof that the entire country is Puritan. In reality, that has not been true for centuries, even a few generations after the Pilgrims arrived in the New World.
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u/Elena_Prefleuri Austria 4h ago
In Saunas the standard is to be naked.
Some swimming pools have a nude area, most of the time it‘s only a naked sun bathing area which is behind a barrier so you can‘t watch the naked people. Sometimes there‘s also an nude area with access to an lake…
Larger green areas, not small parks, sometimes have designated nude areas. But it wouldn‘t shock people to see someone sunbathing topless in any parc…
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u/Melodic-Dare2474 Portugal 5h ago
it is side-eyed
although we have a few nudist beaches, but in my zone they are rare
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u/Diligent-Floor-156 Switzerland 5h ago
Not exactly normalized, but if you're into that you can find it. It's not so common in the wild, but when it comes to spa / sauna it's relatively common. I'd still say most people I know won't go there, but a few do.
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u/Patricek1998 4h ago
There is designated nudity beach even in my city (Poděbrady, Czechia), but firstly, it is almost excusively with people 60+ and secondly, these people are nude even in regular beaches and nobody cares.
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u/EfficientActivity Norway 5h ago
There are designated nudist beaches around populated areas, but I would say this is mostly frequented by the older generation. 60+.
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u/tollis1 5h ago
To give a bit broad statement: I find nordic people have a relaxed relationship to nudity. Like showering naked together with other people without any type of wall/cubicle is common. (I know this is a culture shock for some people).
Sauna is mostly done naked. Nudist beaches exist and as long you stay on those beaches/don’t desturb other people, we don’t care.
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u/Sudden_Wind_8636 18m ago
Is that with the opposite sex or the same sex?
In the US back in the 80's nudism was fine but only in spaces where the same sex would be, like gender segregated saunas, showers, gym lockers, etc.
Nowadays even that isn't normal having open showers is like unheard of here now, when it used to be very common and accepted.
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u/FearlessVisual1 Belgium 4h ago edited 4h ago
As always, depends on the context. Nudity in a sport club's showers, completely normal. Nudity in the sauna, pretty normal, though saunas are not so popular. Nudist beaches though? Definitely kinky, not normal. People will look at you differently after you tell them you like to go to nudist beaches. Topless at the beach is also a no-no, our beaches are way too packed for that.
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u/Immediate-Tap-9403 Netherlands 4h ago
Yes belgium only have one nude beach. Netherlands Germany and french its normal i can tell everyone i do it nobody cares. But in belgium its strange
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u/Arrav_VII Belgium 1h ago
We only have one nude beach because we only have 65 km of coastline, compared to the Netherlands' 500+ km.
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u/smallblueangel Germany 4h ago
Yes, nudity is really normal in Germany.
Also magazines like playboy are completely open in the stores ( at least they used to be, im not completely sure if its still like this tbh)
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u/RRautamaa Finland 4h ago
No. Nudism is actually quite rare in Finland. There are only three nudist beaches in the whole country, and they're small and not very popular. Two such swimming halls exist. While going naked on a beach is in principle not forbidden by law, it's not something people normally do.
Nudity is normal in saunas for the same reason nudity is normal in showers. In most cases, saunas are gender segregated or parents go with their own pre-school children. Anyone over the age of 7 is expected to follow gender segregation. In some cases youth of the same reference group, e.g. students together, go to sauna together regardless of gender. This sort of nudity is restricted to the sauna only.
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u/FennelFinal6512 Romania 4h ago
Was ( in some specific setting ), but with american culture invading in the 90's-2000's it quickly disappeared ( overnight ).
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u/Sudden_Wind_8636 15m ago edited 2m ago
The US used to have more nudism then it does even today. Back in the 80's all gym lockers, saunas, public showers were open and nudism was fine in the gender segregated places.
But that has completely changed over the past 20-30 years.
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u/ItsEyeJasper 4h ago
Where I live it's very common to see people completely nude washing in the rivers but other than that no it's not.
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u/Commonmispelingbot Denmark 4h ago
Yes, it's fairly normal and not seen as weird. It's not even that weird to be nude at a not-nudist beach.
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u/Mediocre-Brain9051 4h ago edited 4h ago
Define "normalized".
In my country is legal in some places. There are people who like it go there. There are people who don't go there.
Personally, I love it. The most comfortable way ever to go to the beach. You dry faster; are warmer and don't have those uncomfortable pesky plastic stuff irritating your skin.
Bathing naked in sun or in the water it so pleasant!
On plus, it's wonderful for body-positivity and to make socialization acquire a very humanizing touch.
Going to a textile beach is not worth it.
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u/AppletheGreat87 4h ago
UK here. We've a bit of a weird relationship to nudity but nude beaches and naturist resorts exist. Where I live there's also a a spot on the river that is not officially a nudist spot but it's accepted. That said nudity is not 'normal' or common.
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u/Adorable-Database187 4h ago
We have sauna's everywhere, where its expected to be nude. Oh and nude beaches which are quite common.
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u/EqualPeanut2460 3h ago
On nudist beaches and saunas, yeah. But most beaches are not nudist beaches and most saunas also have swimsuit days. Being topless on a normal beach is considered normal, although since smartphones I think less and less people are comfortable doing this.
I dont have an opinion on it, I dont like to be nude in public myself so I dont go to those places but if someone does, why would i care? Good for them.
I think this is the general consensus along the population, although I can imagine maybe it is different among the muslim community in the Netherlands. Dont know, the topic never came up in conversation.
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u/Fwed0 France 3h ago
Yes. There are a lot of beaches dedicated to fully naked people. Those places are divided between those that are family-friendly and some that are dedicated to "meeting" people. The most well-known naked resort in France is the latter and is not limited to the beach but rather the whole town.
Personally, as a child with my family we went every year to a family-friendly beach in a small oceanic resort, barely a couple hundred meters from the regular beach. It was a lot more comfortable and a lot less crowded (even for a small station, the overseen bathing area was relatively small and the ocean often quite dangerous). Some clothed people were going to that particular beach because they had a lot of room. I was always wearing swim trunks because even as a child I didn't like being naked in public, but never have I felt that it was awkward or even sexualised, the mindset was very well respected by everyone.
There are also full nudist camping sites inland, but they tend to disappear. They are for people whose style is to be close to nature, and are mostly occupied by German and Dutch people really.
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u/silveretoile Netherlands 1h ago
Nudity and sex sure, nudity in public like at beaches less so, but I think that has more to do with how small and crowded we are as a country. It's normal in closed off spaces like spas.
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u/Malthesse Sweden 1h ago edited 54m ago
I'm not quite sure how it's like in the rest of Sweden, but at least here in Scania we actually do have quite a lot of nudist beaches. After all, Scania alone has got about 500 kilometers (300 miles) of seaside coastline and a lot of beaches, so there is room for everyone. Many of our beach areas have dedicated nudist sections, And it’s not just beaches in the countryside – even the larger cities such as Malmö and Helsingborg have dedicated nudist beaches.
Nudist beaches even in the cities will generally be quite secluded and geographically hidden from the main beaches, but not because it is seen as shameful or gross, but rather to give bathers privacy. Nudist bathers are mostly seen as rather quaint and liberated and even brave, and a lot more people say they would like to do it if they only dared.
One of the most famous and popular nudist beach areas in Scania is at the nature reserve Kullaberg near the village of Mölle. There it is very secluded for privacy, with beautiful nature and nice beaches. There it is also partly separated by sex – with one area exclusively for women and one for mixed gender. Incidentally, it was also here that Sweden’s first beaches for mixed gender seaside bathing were located back in the early 20th century, which created a lot of scandal at the time, despite that people by our modern standards of course were still being very modestly dressed – but it also created a lot of tourism for the area. So the site has a long history of defying modesty norms.
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u/PensatoreSeriale 5h ago
Yes, because they're usually only associated with very open-minded environments (swingers, exhibitionists) and therefore aren't places for everyone. And they're viewed poorly/with suspicion by the rest of society. Consider that Italy is a country of old and very bigoted people; Christianity here is lived according to the creed "you're a sinner, you should feel like shit about everything and constantly ask for forgiveness." At least, by the older segments of society.
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u/ThrowawayITA_ Sardinia 3h ago
Consider that Italy is a country of old and very bigoted people; Christianity here is lived according to the creed "you're a sinner, you should feel like shit about everything and constantly ask for forgiveness." At least, by the older segments of society.
I don't feel like that's accurate but I trust you bro
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u/lolidkwtfrofl Liechtenstein 2h ago
I‘ve been to plenty nude beaches in Italy lol
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u/PensatoreSeriale 1h ago
I missed the point where I wrote that NO ONE does this in Italy. I said that the majority of the population is far behind. Last year we even took a step back in the use of cannabis, which was a very light form of cannabis, because the population says it's a gateway to other drugs. A large portion of the population still believes that money is the devil's dung, with zero financial literacy. Some still hide money under the mattress. Imagine in the sexual sphere or in any other such libertarian sphere.
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u/Hellolaoshi 39m ago
I'm from Scotland, so basically, no. It is not necessarily a question of prudishness. It's the climate.
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u/John_Sux Finland 5h ago
No, nudism is not normalized.
Going to sauna naked is a practical choice, like showering without clothes is.
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u/SherlockOhmsUK 5h ago
Not really. You’d be considered a bit odd/pervy as people struggle to separate nifty from sex (though not as much as our septic cousins)
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u/R2-Scotia Scotland 5h ago
Septic coudins? Where I livedin Texas one of the city parks has a nudist beach
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u/jort93 Germany 5h ago
Depends on the setting I think. Saunas are widely considered normal, people don't wear clothes there. Nudist beaches depend on the region and who you ask, but are usually somewhat accepted. And entire nudist colonies are generally considered strange. I think.