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Introduction
In 1927, an American named Maurice Parmelee published The New Gymnosophy in London (it was later published as Nudism in Modern Life in the United States). Parmelee advocated nudism (or gymnosophy) as a means for beautifying the population, saying,
... Through sexual selection gymnosophy will eventually produce a much more beautiful mankind. Gymnosophists have every incentive to avoid deformations of the body, and to strive by means of a healthy and natural life for a well developed form, because deformities and malformations are all too apparent in a state of nudity. [Parmelee 174]
In 2001, the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR), the world's largest nudist organization, published this statement regarding nudism:
Nudists respect each other's individuality. Our own self esteem is enhanced by our ability to accept ourselves as we really are. We find it easy to accept others regardless of physical size, shape, or body condition. [AANR 2001]
In the span of 74 years, nudism has evolved from an activity advocating social pressure as an incentive to keep oneself as attractive as possible, to a movement advocating acceptance of any body, healthy and attractive or not.
Parmelee saw the establishment of a nudist society as part of "the future course of social evolution," envisioning nudists in small groups, working together to create a society which would free them from industrialization and lessen the desire for "useless and harmful objects," and which would "restore to the hands and muscles the training and skill of which they have been deprived by the present machine age" (248). In short, Parmelee anticipated the growth of nudism as a cure for social ills.
As he hoped, nudism has grown in popularity. In 2001, membership in AANR has grown to over 50,000 individual members and more than 230 affiliated clubs, resorts and campgrounds. However, rather than altering existing society or creating a new type of society, nudism has become part of that very society which Parmelee believed has led to "the acute maladjustment" between man and his surroundings (258). Today, nude recreation is a multi-million dollar industry. AANR is affiliated with several different supporting industries, creating revenues for local and national governments, and encouraging the growth of those industries. Nudism has been integrated into capitalism, promoting and profiting...