Dugie Eyton-Hughes is 73 years old, originally from the United States and now living near Chester. She is a journalist and shares her writing skills with BN.
Q: What got you into naturism/nudism?
A: I can’t pinpoint a specific event. Years and years ago, when I was still living in the States, I went with my then-husband to a nudist beach in California. I don’t think I stripped off but I also don’t remember being shocked by the fact that others were naked.
And that was it for many, many years. After my British husband (that’s how I ended up over here) died in 2010, I met my partner. He mentioned he’d always wanted to try naturism but his wife, who died around the same time as my husband, wasn’t interested. I live outside Chester, and we found the Wirral Naturist Club, started going to Saturday night swims there, and got more interested in naturism. We joined BN, but after a few years with WNC we let our membership lapse. When covid arrived, I started taking BN’s online yoga classes and we began turning up for The Forum Live. That led me to volunteering with BN, and my role as journalist has led me to attend more and more events and get to know more and more naturists.
Q: Is there a difference between the two labels?
A: Not to me. I think nudism is used more widely in the US, but I’m not sure.
Q: How does it impact your life on a day-to-day basis?
A: If you’d asked me this a year or two ago, I’d have said it doesn’t affect my life on a day-to-day basis because, other than going to a swim once in a while, I didn’t do much involving naturism. Now, of course, I’m BN’s volunteer journalist, so I’m writing about naturism just about every day. It’s become a big part of my life, and as I take part in more BN activities, naturism plays a growing role in my life. If I’m not actually being naked somewhere, I’m still paying a lot of attention to the subject!
Q: What challenges do women face in naturism generally?
A: It’s been said many times before, but most of us are dealing with various body/self-confidence issues, and many also face religious or other societal pressures to keep their clothes on. Millions of words have been written about how to overcome these issues, but of course every woman is different and has to deal with them herself (with the help of the lovely, supportive naturist community, hopefully).
Women may also face opposition from the men in their lives, if those men aren’t themselves naturists. That can make it harder for women to take part in BN or other naturist activities.
One obstacle, which BN is trying hard to address, is the lack of women-only nudie activities. From my experience with these so far, it seems to be fairly difficult to attract women to events, but once they turn up, they all seem to love them.
Q: How can we encourage more women to try it?
A: Women-only events that are clothing-optional are a good start. I know BN would like us to talk to our female friends, family members and colleagues about naturism, and to bring them with us to events, but that’s easier said than done. I’m not shy about telling people I’m a naturist. I’ve never had an unpleasant reaction, but at the same time, there hasn’t been much interest in taking part in a naturist event. My partner and I took a friend to a GBSD last year. She enjoyed it but didn’t want to do it again. I’m not sure how one gets beyond that if someone isn’t inclined to want to be a naturist.
Q: How can women help in desexualising nudity?
A: Women can help by getting involved in naturism and by being open about it. The more the general public sees and hears about naturism and naturist events, the more it should become clear that there’s no sex involved in these things.
Q: What can men do to help in desexualising nudity?
A: Good question. Naturist men understand (I hope) that nudity in the context of, say, BN activities isn’t sexual, but do they make that clear when they talk to their friends? Do they counter the inevitable locker-room talk about women’s bodies when they hear it?
Q: How can we encourage body positivity and acceptance?
A: This is such a difficult question! No matter how old a woman is (I’m 73) she almost always has complaints about her body. No one ever seems to be satisfied, no matter how often we’re told that we should accept ourselves for who we are. I’m old enough not to have grown up in the age of social media, but even so, while I’ve usually been more or less satisfied with my body, I’ve never loved it. I probably like it more now, despite the sagging and wrinkling, because the weight-training I do has made it strong and fit. But I still look in the mirror and see a much bigger, heavier person than I actually am.
Naturism has gone some way toward making me see that my body is no better or worse than anyone else’s. In fact, I realised recently that when I’m naked in a group of naturists I don’t have the same negative feelings about my body that I sometimes have when I’m dressed. I’m quite happy to look like I look when I’m with other naked people.
Q: What advice would you offer to women curious about naturism?
A: Give it a try! That’s the only way to see if you like it. Maybe look for a women-only, clothing-optional event to dip your toe into, or go with your partner.
Q: What drives your passion in promoting naturism?
A: I have no idea! I suppose it was the decision to volunteer with BN. My “job” involves promoting BN and naturism, and the more I do that, the more enthusiastic I become about it all.
Q: Is your family supportive?
A: Yes, my partner is also a BN member and is extremely supportive.
Q: Has naturism changed since you first got involved?
A: Not that I can see. I’ve interviewed several long-time BN members/naturists about whether and how naturism has changed since they got involved, and there have been changes, but I haven’t been involved long enough to see any.
Q: How do you see the future of naturism?
A: It’s hard to say. BN’s Ipsos poll showed a growing appetite in the UK for naked events and activities, including among younger people. They’re the future of naturism–so if they’re not interested, I don’t see naturism going much further. If they are interested, and they pass their enthusiasm on to their kids, there’s no reason why naturism can’t blossom far into the future.
