As the weather has improved, the opportunities for all of us all to get naked have become more frequent, and the young members are no exception to that. The resurgence of YBN continues. The YBN forum has been reconstructed to make it current, rather than an archive and plans for future events continue – watch this space!
The change in mood is already becoming evident. Events such as Waterworld have always appealed to the younger demographic and that was particularly true at the April Waterworld where there was a great turn out by YBNers, plus those young enough to be YBN in spirit. As the community grows, Mikey has created wristbands to mark out YBN members – rolling up one trouser leg as a mark of affiliation doesn’t work so well in a Naturist environment. But far from being the badge of an exclusive club, the real aim of things such as the wristband is to provide an opening to spread the word of YBN when people ask what it signifies. And those efforts at recruitment are working. What was more pleasing than the number of YBN members, was the number of people in that age range, but not affiliated with BN. People telling their friends and spreading the word on Facebook meant that the number of young non-BN members actually exceeded the members.
And this gets me thinking. Although young members in BN are currently a minority, the number of young people enjoying or keen to try social nudity is huge. I’m fortunate enough to meet many young people through BN, work and art projects. Some of them want to be adventurous and explore strange places. Some want to go swimming and hang out with friends. Others just want to get out into the countryside and walk. What they all have in common is that they would rather do it naked with the sun on their skin. The number of people of all ages who want to be naked is staggering and usually the thing holding them back is fear of being the odd one out. So by simply inviting them to naked activities, be they organised by BN or our own little initiatives they will usually join in.
Let us embrace the large number of potential members now, especially prospective young members because all they need is a little encouragement and there has never been a better time
Mark Bass
