My cousin just returned from Denmark and she says that at the beaches they visited almost everyone now wears swimsuits while back in the 70’s and 80’s everyone was basically nude. The few nude people tend to be over 50.
Is this true for all of Europe? Is there less skin shown now?
Scottish nude beaches are as popular as ever they were. Particularly late autumn and early spring, when it’s not too hot.
My cousin just returned from a trip to Italy and brought back a couple of photos that prove that at least some young women still go nude at the beach.
No lessening on demand for nudist beaches in Germany (the membership of nudist associations has dropped which I have found attributed to nudism being mainstream enough that people just go to the beach). There are a lot of veteran nudists now so you’ll see much more older people in the mix than a few decades ago.
NB the Danish beaches that your friend referred to seem to be a kind of exception. What I usually see is a split between beaches where swimsuits are mandatory (topless mostly does not count), and beaches where nudity is mandatory (swimsuits being tolerated for teenagers - it’s chararacteristic in puberty). Exception: East Germany, from tradition.
Maybe I should rephrase the question. My cousin was talking about normal public beaches where people used to take it off but now don’t. I wasnt referring to particular designated nude beaches or private nudist groups.
Personally I blame the internet and the problem is the concept of someone taking your picture when your naked and nowadays its electronically sent all over the world. Its one thing to have a dozen people on a beach seeing you naked, different when its millions all over the world.
Europe is a big place. I was in Mallorca, Spain, last month and can report that nudity or partial nudity is still common. One busy beach (with built-up restaurants and bars) near Palma town had plenty of young women sunbathing topless. No exposed willies though, I’m afraid.
I was on a yacht sailing around the island and we called in at some more remote beaches in the north. One remote beach had an informally-marked-off section for completely nude sunbathers, with not a scrap of lycra between them. This beach also had a concrete structure marked with a graffito reading “ZONA SEXO” and an arrow pointing off into the dunes yonder. A couple of the more adventurous boys from our boat later wandered off into this area to discover exactly what this meant (clue: SEXO indeed).
Why is it always about nude women? The point of these places isn’t to gawk at other people; it’s to enjoy for yourself the experience of being nude outdoors. Likewise, it’s not that I want to look at nude men, but I wouldn’t mind having the choice to go nude myself. Have the men in these places become all hung up about it the way they are in the States? Are capri-length “trunks” in fashion?