The Naturist Society was founded in 1980, by Oshkosh native Lee Baxandall. In 1974 Lee was living in New York, but taking frequent trips to the Cape Cod National Seashore. He made the life-altering decision to pioneer the free beach movement, which basically defended everyone's natural right to enjoy nude recreation if they so desired.Utilizing beach newspapers, beach protests, and his own special "skinny-dipping" issue of a quarterly social issues magazine that he co-founded, Lee Baxandall emerged as an influential voice in the ever-growing free-beach movement. Following this was the formation of the Free Beach Committee, the inauguration of National Nude Weekend (now Nude Recreation Week) and the Free Beaches Documentation Center.Fast forward to the inception of two major naturist publications: The World Guide to Nude Beaches and Recreation, and the quarterly magazine Clothed With The Sun (now N magazine). The following year saw the birth of The Naturist Society.The Naturist Society was dedicated to a form of naturism that focused on grassroots activism and member participation. The choice of the word "naturist" is telling. The term was widely used in Europe to denote family-friendly activities and attitudes as opposed to the somewhat negative connotations that the word "nudist" had acquired over the years.In 2002 Baxandall retired, turning the administration of TNS over to three longtime staff members: Margaret Thornton, Nicky Hoffman Lee, and Judi Ditzler. Today, The Naturist Society is co-owned by Margaret and Nicky, who also serve as Comptroller and N Editor respectively. TNS is ever-adapting and evolving with the times but always stays true to its core principles:
Body acceptance is the idea...
...nude recreation is the way.
A NOTE FROM YOUR MODERATOR: This MySpace page is viewable by everyone, in the interest of promoting a positive, healthy, non-sexualized perspective about naturism for all ages. MySpace users are welcome to join the TNS list of friends here as well; membership in TNS is not required to be one of our friends! However, in the interest of maintaining a family-friendly online environment, as well as upholding the philosophies and core principles of The Naturist Society, MySpace pages belonging to those who wish to join our friends list will be reviewed for content prior to adding. Content which is overtly sexual or otherwise wholly inappropriate for viewing by younger users, or appears to convey an inappropriate interest in naturism, may be grounds for denial. Thanks for your understanding!
