Should Teenage Nudist Summer Camps be Legal?

Our society is NOT sexually repressed. Forty, fifty years ago, yeah. But not now.

i couldn't disagree more. i also think it's funny that you say that in the same post as this:

There is no evidence that it leads to sexual promiscuity.....

Yeah, other than COMMON SENSE. Do you have to have a scientific study to validate everything?

Geez, weren't you ever a teenager?

the fact that you don't seem to be capable of imagining a bunch of naked teenagers hanging out without assuming that it would become like some kind of porno version of Lord of the Flies is, itself, an indicator of someone who grew up in a sexually repressive society. it indicates a mode of thinking wherein anything reminscent of or relating to sexuality (such as the naked body) must be strictly controlled and contained, to keep total sexual anarchy from breaking out. the idea that teenagers are these wildly horny hormone-crazed lunatics is rooted in a deep fear of sex and sexuality. the fact that this seems to be basic and obvious to you (you even refer to it as "common sense") shows just how deeply sexual repression has encoded itself into your thinking.

 

I don't have a problem with teens having a camp..they do that all the time. But, I do have a problem with adult nudists sanctioning and supervising the camp.

If there's enough supervision of the supervisors and a thorough vetting of the supervisors, then fine.

Don't like it, but that would probably be okay.

 

i don't know precisely how supervision would work. I assume there's at the least careful screening and peer supervision.

At the bottom line, I think there's no particular need for the Commonwealth of Virginia to involve itself in the process. Children are being naked together in a private, restricted-access setting. That is perfectly legal. I don't think any supervision is even required under the law. There are adults there as well, with the childrens' parents' permission. That is likewise legal. That the adults are acting as supervisors is only an added "safety." Any adult-child sexual interaction is still statutory rape and is illegal. It's already a crime. Why re-legislate it?

-Paul

 

Should it be legal? No. What is the point of having children and teenagers run around nude? Sexual contact is bound to happen, no matter how strict they try to keep the camp.

It's just a haven for lust in my opinion.

 

It's just a haven for lust in my opinion.

that's simply not a good enough reason to make something illegal.

 

that's simply not a good enough reason to make something illegal.

Nor was I implying such.

My main concern was the transmission of STDs, because sexual contact is bound to happen in one way or another.

 

Let's ban cars. Accidents and automoblie-related deaths are bound to happen one way or another.

-Paul

 

Very good comparison, darth_paul.

Underpaid_Soldier:
My main concern was the transmission of STDs, because sexual contact is bound to happen in one way or another.

If the camp provided contraceptives, would you still think the camp should be illegal?

Plus, how is this different from any other situation? Teens have sex - and contract STDs - whether they're at nudist camps or not. Are you calling for the government to police the bedrooms of teenagers?

 

A haven for lust??? That would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic.

 

A haven for lust??? That would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic.

It reminds me of Footloose or something...

 

darth_paul

Automobiles are for the use of transportation, while nudist summer camps are for what?


liberalmaverick

The main function of a bedroom is to sleep, while the main function of a teenage nudist summer camp is what?

 

Double post.

 

darth_paul

Automobiles are for the use of transportation, while nudist summer camps are for what?


liberalmaverick

The main function of a bedroom is to sleep, while the main function of a teenage nudist summer camp is what?

The main purpose of a summer nudist camp is for teenagers who live a lifestyle that makes them comfortable enough with their bodies not to have to cover them up all the time to have a place to socialize without having to conform to arbitrary, needleses societal standards.

Perhaps you don't see a need for that, but I'd say that's more a call for the kids and their parents than for you. Did you ever go to a special-interest club or camp -- math, canoing, space? Same principle.

-Paul

 

Once again darth_paul, you took the words right outta my mouth.

Underpaid_Soldier: I'll say this much: Nudist camps are NOT intended to be for sex. If you notice in the first post, the article clearly states that the camp in question bans all lewd and sexual contact.

And if sex - at nudist camps or otherwise - is done safely, what's the big deal?

 

I'm just waiting for a republican to propose a constitutional amendment banning it.

 

LOL!

 

The main purpose of a summer nudist camp is for teenagers who live a lifestyle that makes them comfortable enough with their bodies not to have to cover them up all the time to have a place to socialize without having to conform to arbitrary, needleses societal standards.

Such purposes can be fulfilled through counseling. Seriously though, if you think that sending teenagers to a nudist camp will encourage anything BUT premarital sex you need to rethink your stance. I mean just look at the JCC and the thread about that teacher who had sex with a student. Most posts are saying stuff like "Good for him" or "I wish I had that teacher when I was in high school" or other such nonesense. It seems a lot of teenagers are all about trying to have sex as soon as possible and yet they are at an age in which they don't fully understand the consequences of having sex (like having a baby or possibly getting a very dangerous STD). Teenagers are not ready to take on the responsibilities of being a parent. Period. And don't try to tell me that birth control can be used because you and I both know that there is no such thing as a 100% reliable birth control method (well, short of having the "snip" of course). The ONLY 100% safe method of birth control is abstinence. Nudist camps will not encourage abstinence.

If you think sending teenagers to a nudist camp isn't going to encourage sexual behavior, you have another thing coming. They should definately not be legal.

 

If you think you really know anything about the nudist lifestyle then YOU have another thing coming.

 

Vezner - I wholeheartedly disagree that sending teens to nudist camp automatically encourages sex. If the kids are nudists, they won't have this silly ingrained association of nudity with sex that you and I have due to our upbringings. They'll be able to see the human body for what it is -- a fascinating, aesthetic organism that does not have "sex" written all over it any more than the body of a naked mole rat. (Well, that's an exaggeration, but you get the point. nudity != sex)

Furthermore, even if it does encourage sex, that's still not reason enough to make it illegal. (I should note that my philosophy is that you need reasons to make things illegal, but never need a reason to make them legal.) The movie American Pie encourages premarital teen sex. Books in which young teens engage in sexual activities encourage teen sex. I've read several, some of them quite good and possessing lots of merit, with the sex only serving as one plot point. Should things like that be illegal?

If children need to be taught about abstinence or how to protect themselves, that's the role of their parents (and possibly the state, though I won't bring that argument into this thread). That does not mean they should be banned from seeing naked bodies, or being naked with other people, by the state. The rules parents set down for their children are one thing. Certainly, no children will be allowed to attend this camp without their parents' permission. But if the parents consent and the kids want to go, I don't see why the state has any business saying they can't just because it might promote risky behavior. If no one is being harmed by two naked people being in a room together, and if those two teenagers are not in any way coerced into sex, then I don't think the government has any business interfering.

I'd also like to address your point about abstinence being the only perfect protection from pregnancy and STDs. This is of course perfectly true. But frankly, it's a ridiculous reason not to have sex. You know I'm a virgin. But I have my own personal ideological reasons for the choice I have made. It as nothing to do with the risks associated with sex, and, despite the ads you see on TV, it has nothing to do with my parents. (My parents didn't really drill abstinence into me, though they made it clear they thought it was the best choice. Had they pushed me more, I would have been incredibly more likely to have sex.) While I haven't actually done the math on this, I'd wager that each driving trip leaves you more at risk for a fatal car wreck than having sex while using the pill and a condom leaves you for pregnancy or STD. Let's face it: When you protect yourself properly, the odds are low.

Telling kids you think abstinence is the best way is fine (although that's a moral value and I don't think the government should be promoting it, personally). But trying to bully and scare them into not having sex is mean-spirited. What's more, I doubt it will work on any kids at all, and it could backfire.

At any rate, as long as kids are at nudist camp with their parents' consent, I don't see why the government should get involved. And, on the really totally unrelated issue of teen sex - so long as kids are well-informed about protection, everything is consensual, and they're roughly the same age (so no statutory rape or anything like that comes into play, though I'll explain my major problems with statutory rape laws another day), I don't see any reason for the government to care what teens do in the bedroom.

-Paul

 

Let's just amend it, not end it.

 

I have my own reasons, too, for not having sex.

Mainly that dumb people think I'm lame, and the world is filled with them.

I fully understand the consequences of sex. Most teenagers do. It's not that we don't understand. It's just that we don't give two craps in hell about it. Sex is cool, diseases or children be damned. And there's always abortion if something goes wrong, at least on the child front. The STDs are another story. Birth control pills are 99% effective at preventing pregnancy, and there's always the morning after pill or an early abortion. There is no possible way to have to keep a child if you do not want to. A teenager can easily sneak behind their parents' back to have an abortion. God knows I do it all the time.

Sneaking behind their back, of course, not having abortions, you sickos. I'm a guy, so that would be scary, though I did have a dream about a week ago where I was pregnant for some reason. I woke up before I could carry it to term. I never knew who the...mother?? was.

 

You are going way off topic alpha-red.

 

In response to alpha_red...

[image=http://images.amazon.com/images/P/6303426468.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg]

 

That's our Governator!

 

Damn, man.

Now I'll have to go watch that one.

Governator = l33t

I was simply offering up a teenager's rationale for sex. It's going to happen whether they're supervised or not, in some way or another. Of course, there's the fact that not everyone at nudist camps is a model that helps to prevent it from becoming an orgy. Also, the fact that erections would be readily visible prevents any kind of subtlety in guys hitting on women. However, the fact that said erections are readily visible would leave teenage women no trouble in deciding who to beg for sex.

As Dark Helmet says, there's two sides to every Schwartz.

I can imagine that happening at a nudist camp...

"I see your Schwartz is as big as mine. Now...let's see how well you handle it."