UPDATE, 29 June, 2021: Thanks to all of you who have reached out in the comments or by email over the past few days. Since I published this post, I have made an appeal to the "Twitter gods," but was flatly denied on the basis of "hateful and sensitive content." About a dozen posts in all had been tagged, each as innocuous as the last: resort reviews, commentary on naturist living, and the like. The language was particularly adamant in stating that if I attempted to create another account linked to the same identity, I would be shut down at once! I'm particularly grateful to those of you who have expressed appreciation for the actual blog, and especially that you took a moment to write to share your kind words. Still thinking through the path forward, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't involve Twitter.
So ironic, on so many levels. I woke yesterday to find my Twitter account suspended. This may well be a game changer for this naturist blogger.
The Psychology of Blogging
Most ironically, my most recent post on this platform was about naturists willing to utilize social media in an effort to promote or campaign for naturism and nude recreation. (Which of course, is also a significant vehicle for drawing traffic to the actual blog.) Yesterday, without warning, my Twitter account was shut-down, and an appeal was denied for the violation of rules regarding “hateful or sensitive content in [my] profile.” That represents the loss of 26,000 followers. A similar episode with Instagram a few months ago accounts for an additional 14,000 followers. A facebook page before that was a mere 1,200 followers.
I think it’s time to take a break. I love writing. I’m deeply passionate about advocacy for family-oriented, holistic naturism, but with this latest development, my audience has been reduced by 98%. That’s quite a a lot.
I am most grateful to our “organic” followers, (as well as those who have made donations to this project over the past year,) and I have particularly enjoyed the interaction through comments here on the blog, as well as those on social media threads, as that is when one actually knows whether he is contributing to a greater and more meaningful discussion, or simply airing his laundry aloud.
It will be a few months until the hefty fees associated with publishing and maintaining this blog (hosted on WordPress – also subject to similar censorship actions) reach their renewal date, by which time, perhaps I’ll have new wind in my sails and be ready for another go at it. But for the moment, I think it’s time for a breather. Time will tell.
Once again, you can find a list of the naturist places we’ve visited on the Google map below. Should you be considering a future naturist adventure and would find a first-hand account about a particular naturist destination to be of use, we invite you to reach out to “Naturist Dan,” and as time allows, I’ll reply to your inquiry and tell you about our experiences.
Be well naturists… and clothing-optional curious friends.
I am so sorry to hear of your being banned on Twitter. I can understand your hesitancy in continuing the blog, but I hope you continue.
Thanks Randy. I appreciate your kind words. Working my way up through the comments now. I have some pretty strong feelings about the entire situation!
It’s near Christmas now. Any idea as to when you may be back online?
Maybe soon!
Dan — completely understand the frustration. Do what is right for you and your family. I hope to see you decide to keep it up and perhaps try Twitter one more time. But that is me being selfish. I enjoy your writing, wit, and common sense approach. If you do, I’d be proud to be follower #1.
Thanks friend! That’s very kind. Your “common sense approach” remark hits pretty close to home, as I’ve always tried to approach the subject matter in a very real-world sort of way, which has become increasingly complicated as the cultural climate in the US has become increasingly,… complicated. We’ll see what happens next.
Ugh. My heart aches for you guys. I can only imagine how demoralizing and deflating this feels, and for no good reason. Twitter is one of those spaces that we assume we are safest. I always kind of expect to wake up one day and lose our Instagram account randomly overnight, but Twitter feels like one of the safe ones… This is senseless and absurd. I understand the appeal was denied, but there HAS to be a human that can review this and overturn it, no? In an effort not to belabor this further, I will offer our sincerest apologies and to you and instead try to turn to something positive.
Dan and Charlotte, the two of you have been so influential in our relatively recent journey into naturism over the past few years. It is blogs like yours that have such a profound positive impact on this space — both among newcomers and veteran naturists alike. Even if you are unable to retrieve your Twitter account and uninterested in starting anew, we hope to see you return to your blog — the one safe space where (we hope) nobody can intervene and take you offline. Take all the time you need, and please be in touch if there’s anything we can do to help (or just to chat).
We wish you great joy in all of your adventures and journeys ahead, and hope that our paths will cross again real soon.
Thank you kindly for your inspiration and for sharing your knowledge and perspective.
Warmest regards,
Justin & Nikki
Hey Justin & Nikki. We REALLY appreciate your support! You’ve probably read the stuff on our blog about the guy we “met” on Compuserve way back when, who helped us find OUR way when there wasn’t much information about naturism on the internet at all. His advice was, quite literally, life changing for us, as we would have never discovered family naturism in France, which in turned, totally changed our perspective on a lot of other things as related to world travel.
While I’m upset about Twitter’s role in all this, I’m quite a lot MORE distressed about the decisive marginalizing of naturism in general, and how it has fallen to a rank perhaps LOWER than porn on the internet. That has loads of implications as to how everyday people think about naturism in general. Seems like the current trend is, “Of course people are into porn, but walking around naked? OMG!? Are your serious?” That’s not where I thought things were going 20 years ago.
I doubt I’ll ditch the blog, but it IS pretty discouraging to keep losing ground in the campaign to lobby to a wider audience. Though as I have said before, perhaps “preaching to the choir” has intrinsic value as well. Time will tell.
Thanks again for your kind words. Be well.
Have you tried MeWe? That site permits nude pictures so may be an apt social medium channel for you. There are also a few other nudist groups there.
I’ve looked at MeWe, and have logged on to various other naturist forums as well, but let’s face it – none of those have the level of visibility and influence on “would be naturists” that the major social media channels carry. Every time I open a profile on another naturist platform I wonder, how on earth will I keep up with this? (I guess I have more time for that now if I’m not posting on Twitter! LOL)
Dear Dan – This is sad news, indeed. Many of your reviews have found their way to my “bucket list” folder. Whenever you decide to return, we, your faithful followers, will be here for you.
RR
Thanks Robert. That’s very encouraging. If I continue with new content, it will likely be advocating for the better “naked places” we have visited. It’s good to know that’s been helpful to others. That’s what it’s all about. 🙂
I don’t think WordPress is likely to start censoring nudity any time soon. There is too much nudity throughout it. Nudists have flocked to it because it doesn’t censor us.
But this is weird because I see full frontal nudity all the time on twitter. I wonder how Europeans feel about social media censorship?
Thank you. I started to make the same comment about Twitter but inadvertently nuked it. Not only does Twitter have full frontal nudity, I’ve seen highly sexual nudity there also. IMO, this is perfectly fine, but then begs the question of how pornographic nudity is fine but completely non-sexual nudity is not.
Seems to me this topic is an endless loop. Twitter most CERTAINLY allows nudity, (and much more,) though they are specific in their guidelines that it should not appear in the profile or cover photo. Ironically, i had recently replaced and recropped those images on our feed to a level I would call “implied nudity.” but god only knows who might be the judge of that.
Somehow, it seems I inadvertantly caught the attention of someone with a vindetta for elminating my account, as the skeleton that remains is a bone pile of dozens of censored posts. This wasn’t just a casual reprimand, but a full-on measure to knock us off the platform. As I have a professional Twitter account that ultimately links back to common information (IP address, phone number, etc) I’m hoping those don’t all get sucked under as well. Regardless of what I do with the blog, my advocacy for naturism on Twitter is a done deal.
Thanks for your support.
Hey Fred. You pose an interesting question.
We are in Europe now, having visited about a 1/2 dozen naturist places between Spain, France, and now in Greece. While people in the US are more concrete in their ideologies related to nudity (and the sinful nature thereof?), I would say there have been disquieting trends in Europe as well. That said, those fueled by religious ideologies are more deeply rooted in long standing (e.g. for CENTURIES) traditions, like Catholicism in Italy or the Greek Orthodox Church.
But in more general terms, it seems (to me) that social nudity has become a bit more circumspect amidst Europeans, especially when it involves families and children. There are some brilliant outlier examples like some of the big family resorts in France, but I think numbers overall are down for many places in France and Croatia. (Thought I’ll immediately contradict myself and say that I’ve heard there’s a new trend amongst young French families for naturist vacations.)
In any event, we have found the Europeans are not as uniformly open-minded on the matter as Americans would like to think, though in saying that, I don’t think you can ignore the influence of the US in fashion and social norms as that has fed back into Europe. It’s all pretty complicated, methinks!
There seems to be a planet wide move towards authoritarian government. Conservative ideologies and religious fundamentalism are similar enough that they almost always go together. For me nudity is ultimately a human rights issue and neither of those have much use for a broad spectrum of human rights.
There is also left wing authoritarianism to be concerned with. Ordinary nudity in SF was not banned by religious conservatives.
I’ll have more thoughts later.
Yep. I think we’re largely on the same page on this, especially when conservative (or liberal) ideologies are touted to be endorsed by a higher power (e.g. religion). I’ve never seen a conversation end well that begins with “God wants such and such for my people.”
Dogma, to me, is at the opposite end of the spectrum from free thought and speech. (Including rights related to social nudity) And dogmatic behavior is most definitely not in the exclusive domain on one political party or social faction. Once again, I’m less angry at Twitter for throwing me off their platform, than I am frustrated with prevaling societal norms that seem the be closing in around personal thought and speech. Not sure I can do much to address that on a blog about nakations, but it’s a worrisome trend.
Batten down the hatches. We could be in for stormy weather.
Dan,
I’m so sorry to hear about your Twitter account and your decision to take a break. That must have been a very painful decision for you to make. I along with all of your followers hope that you will be able to return to your blogging at some point. You will certainly be missed in the meantime.
I have been lurking on The Meandering Naturist and on The Discerning Nudist for a couple of years or more. I’m the classic case of a wannabe nudist husband with a “not in a million years” and “not for a million dollars” reluctant wife. The most I can do is skinny dip in our backyard pool. But new homes have been popping up in the neighborhood recently and my back yard is not the totally private oasis it used to be. So now I have to be extremely careful when enjoying that simple pleasure. I suspect the time will soon come when I won’t be able to do it at all anymore.
Your blog has been a refuge and an inspiration for me. You are living a life that I can only dream about. It has been so comforting to know that there are other people in the world who have sane and rational views about nudity. So many people think of nudists as freaks and weirdos. And unfortunately there’s plenty of content on the web that reinforces that image. I was very happy when I discovered your blog because you seemed like a totally normal guy, someone I could relate to. If we are to ever normalize public nudity, then the brave souls who dare to be spokesmen for nudism must themselves be normal. If they are the slightest bit weird, then the average person will simply dismiss them as wackos. And that’s why your blog is so important Dan. You are so utterly normal and intelligent. You are a perfect spokesman for nudism and it would be a shame to lose you. You might not be making any money doing it but you are making a difference in peoples lives. You have definitely made a difference in mine.
Take care and I hope to see you back online soon.
Thanks John.
In fact, your words are quite an inspiration, and I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and perspective.
Your observation that I’m “utterly normal” is probably the nicest compliment anyone has paid me in quite a long time. LOL And, indeed, that has always been the intention of my blog presence, to add a credible and realistic perspective to an ideology that is so frequently misunderstood.
As we are traveling at present, (currently at a naturist place in Greece,) I was chatting with a very thoughtful British guy last night who comes back to this same place every year with his wife, but is reticent to tell any of his friends or relatives where they are, or about the fact that they are naked here. It simply isn’t worth the grief or the stigma to try and contextualize that to people in his everyday textile life in a way that will help them understand that he is neither “freaky nor weird.”
While we are somewhat guarded about how much we share with whom, we are very fortunate that most of our close friends and family – most importantly our children – know where we are and why we have such a deep affinity for the naturist lifestyle. (Even if they have no interest in it for themselves.) But I have been amazed time and time again at the sheer number of people (a significant majority!) we’ve met who won’t even “come clean” with their adult children, which of course demonizes the whole situation even more under a shroud of secrecy.
I suspect I will keep writing on these pages, if only in an effort of affirmation for people like yourself who are seeking other “normal” people to correspond with, even vicariously through a blog. There was no monetization related to my presence on social media, but there most certainly IS a sense of loss when what has been intended as an altruistic effort to diseminate thoughtful discourse related to something I really care about has been muted by the censors of corporate America. To that end, I say again that your post is inspiring and reassuring. Going forward, I simply have to give a bit of thought as to who our audience actually is, and what it is I’m trying to communicate in these pages.
So there we are then. 🙂 Thanks again.
“It simply isn’t worth the grief … to try and contextualize that to people in his everyday …”
I think the key word is “grief”. When one thinks of the friends/family members one might tell (or who would shortly find out), there’re probably more than a few already overwrought just by daily life. The thought of trying to deal with their responses shuts down the notion pretty quickly.
sorry the hacks blocked you sadly there are 3 or 4 morons who think they know whats good and bad this has went to far on all levels. the idiots at fb have blocked me more times than i can count. i agree with the above mewe works good and so far no censoring. it will be nice to see fb and twit get knocked down a little
Ha! Thanks Tim.
Given our past conversations on these pages, I know we have significantly different political perspectives, but one value I think we DO share is the concern about the perils of censorship in the hands of those running gigantic commerical enterprises for profit. I have absolutely ZERO confidence that there is any code of ethics amidst ANY of the the social media moguls that simply doesn’t seek to protect their financial interests by not pissiing off advertisers or upsetting would be consumers. That’s a pretty twisted premise for those given the reigns to regulate what is or is not fit for public consumption.
To that end, I find it intriguing that people who seem the most concerned about subversive manipulation from the government air most of their grievances (and promote their rants) on these same social media channels. I have never encountered a government agency capable or organizing themselves on a matter as simple as the efficient renewal of a drivers licence, while at the same time, we’ve handed the keys of social conciousness over to a handful of corporate executives in the Silicon Valley.
Had somebody written a book about this 70 years ago, no one would have every believed it. 😉
Welcome to the world conservatives have had to deal with. It’s nearly impossible to get ideas out anymore, and they typically have nothing to do with nudity.
I do follow your blog closely. At this past week’s AANR Midwest convention, I mentioned your blog to many people. Nudism on the internet is dominated by porn sites, so it is refreshing to see a “true” nudist site. I’ve often thought about writing my own blog about my experiences, and I find your site very inspirational.
I’m afraid mine would be quite boring though as you have 1000x the experience I do!
I hope you continue writing. I always look forward to your posts coming up in my news feed!
Thanks Lake Amour. Kind of you to write. I appreciate the encouragement.
You might want to read my previous response to Tim as related to the “world conservatives have had to deal with.” I get it. I really do. Which makes instances like this one even more confusing. In an age where most public discourse is guided by “sponsored content” and “corporate censorship for profit,” I simply don’t know how we can reasonably expect ANY online discourse to be meaninful at all.
I appreciate you talking up the blog at AANR. We’ll see where it goes. I enjoy writing and sharing our experiences, and all the more so if it can help someone else figure out their naturist journey. This episode – regarding Twitter – is simply another afront to the idealistic campaign of “normalizing nudity.”
If there is a silver lining related to this development, it has been hearing from folks like you expressing their appreciation for time spent making the effort to share. That means a lot. 🙂
Unbelievable the world is going mad, enjoy your break and hopefully our paths will cross again in the near future at somewhere like skinny dippers !!
Gordy & Sue
Thanks Gordy! The world is GOING mad??? LOL
Hope to make it back to Skinny Dippers next summer. Maybe we’ll all be virus-free and raise a toast to madness then. 🙂
Absolutely, it certainly would be good to raise a glass or two. We are hoping to get back to Skinny Dippers next year.
Hi Dan:
As you know I am no fan of Twitter, FB, IG or any of the (anti)-social media. I grieve your loss for you, but I haven’t lost anything. I look forward to your measured, well-considered contributions on the blogs (Meandering and Discerning) when the time is right for you. Please keep the blogs going, and consider ways to point people to them without incurring the wrath of the nincompoops, Puritans and prudes. You brought Medium to my attention – is that a place you could use?
Thanks Mark.
I appreciate your kindness and support more than you can know.
Funny you would mention Medium. That platform is ENTIRELY driven by one’s ability to cultivate a following there, as your writing is incentivised with a small remuneration related to the number of readers who click through, and how long they spend on your page. Last month, I made a whopping 98 cents! HAHAHA!!!
Mainstream social media was a particularly useful tool when publishing on Medium, as someone might see the link on a Twitter feed, then click through to the Medium platform. If there is a sense of loss, it would be those opportunities to identify and engage new readers though those channels. Developing an organic following on Medium, especially on a topic like naturism, is a long, steep climb.
I don’t know that I’m ready to throw the blog under the bus, but it certainly has been a moment for introspection as to who I am blogging for (besides myself) and what particular message I wish (or have) to convey. I WILL say that I first started this endeavor due to my frustration regarding the lack of thoughtful information about naturism to be found on the web. With a few notable exceptions, that situation has scarcely changed much in the past ten years. So in that regard, I guess the niche market still exists.
Thanks again for your support.
I just saw a tweet that had a video of a nude woman on a walk. Full frontal everything. To get to it you had to click view on a warning of “sensitive content.” From the hashtags, it was obviously an exhibitionist post (which I have no problem with) and not a nudist post. Clearly, Twitter allows full and provocative nudity if there’s a disclaimer.
I see other tweets that are outright dick pics. No warning there. Why aren’t they being suspended? I suspect that the Twitter AI censor bot isn’t that effective and nobody has bothered to complain. Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence or laziness.
I note that Naturist Vintage Photos (with full-frontal nudity) has been around for a while and has not gotten canceled.
I think someone(s) lodged a complaint against you and that precipitated Twitter’s action. Because there is no right to confront your accuser, you’ll never know who or why.
Part of me wants to go looking for publicly tweeted dick pics and start reporting those accounts en masse. But that would go against my own belief in freedom of expression – including stupid expression.
You need to get out to the LA area someday. I have some spectacular nude hikes I’d like to share.
Let’s make that happen!
Ugh!
Yep… it’s all pretty strange. I’ve dreamt up all sorts of nefarious reasons why someone might have reported MY account, and all sorts of narratives as to why the action was so heavy handed. Honestly, one reason I don’t wish to fight – as if it would matter – is my desire NOT to draw attention to other excellent accounts that could suffer to same fate. I don’t want them to be deemed guilty by association. 🤷♂️🙄 All I know is that the thought of starting over seems pretty nauseating.
Dan, I am so sorry about your Twitter account suspension. I have been following you for some time now and I can’t fathom what could drive that action other than irrational censorship. I can relate to your frustration as my Pinterest account was terminated a few months ago in the same way after years of posting. I hope this doesn’t discourage you.
Hard to say too much new in addition to what others have noted about your work, but wanted to chime in to reiterate the thanks for all of your efforts. I’m always excited to see the email notification for a new Meandering Mondays or Wandering Wednesdays blog post, no matter the actual day of the week 🙂
As someone used to regular travel which has been put on hold during the pandemic, reading your trip reports has been especially welcome as a chance for escapism and daydreaming about future adventures. Thanks for presenting a compelling vision for what family naturism can/should look like!
Well, there was the Tumblr debacle. They back-pedalled (unofficially, AFAIK), but the damage was done. OnlyFans announced they’d be doing the same, but changed its mind.
My bet is that once someone at Twitter, etc. realize they’re losing money from inconsistent enforcement of inconsistent standards they’ll find a face-saving way to allow the content they’re currently finding ‘problematic’.
We support you. There are so many avenue to publish and share ideas and materials. I think you’ve something very quality and unique.
I wanted to tell you that it’s been over 4 months now, and I for one miss your insights, commentary, contributions, etc. Hope you and yours are doing well. Happy holidays.
Thanks for your kind thoughts. Maybe writing again soon.