It’s a Tuesday morning, the infinite blue sky of Byron Bay has opened up and the six naturists – four men, two women – have stripped down to their birthday suits for a quick dip in the buff.

This section of beach – an 800-metre stretch along the vast coastline – forms the only legal clothing-optional beach in the shire. Among those taking advantage of the opportunity to be out in the open is Duncan James, vice-president of Northern Rivers Naturists, who is something of an evangelist for “embracing the beach as Mother Nature intended.”

“Many of the beach users have described the clothing-optional beach as their happy place, a place where they can disconnect from modern day stresses, a place they can feel at one with nature,” he says.

There is, however, a metaphorical cloud on the horizon. On Sunday, Tyagarah is set to be stripped of its status as an official clothing-optional beach.

“I guess these values aren’t shared by New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service [NPWS], who are hell-bent on closing one of Byron’s last alternative community hubs and experiences,” James says.

  • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Well, I know kids today aren’t being raised with the same protections I was as a kid. Kids swear more often now, see more violent tv than I did, and see sex more often than I did.

    Unless you’re like 80, that’s not true at all. Every generation since gen x has gotten more prudish.

    • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      I’m 40, and I was told I was being too scandalous for dating a black girl. 10 years ago teens were twerking, because Miley Cyrus did it.

      How is that getting more prudish?

      • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Sounds like you just moved away from a hyper conservative area, or your local hyper conservative area caught up to the rest of the world. 40 years ago bankers were doing lines of cocaine off of strippers tits during their lunch break. The 80s were fucking WILD.