Customer Reviews

Au Naturel

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Woycke's book is the only developed discussion of the history of Canadian nudism available in English. He provides a detailed account of the development of nudist clubs and clothing-optional beaches across Canada. Not a naturist himself, he has no particular agenda, other than to present a scholarly and readable history of non-sexualized social nudity in Canada. The footnotes took up nearly half of the original manuscript, so the publisher decided to place them online free of charge, rather than to include them with the text. "Au Naturel: The History of Nudism in Canada" is on a par with Cec Cinder's "The Nudist Idea" from Ultraviolet Press. Together, they give an accurate and informative portrayal of the quirkly world of nudism in North America.

Au Naturel provides a look at the naturist movement in Canada. From the viewpoint of an American, I found the book fascinating. Dr. James Woycke spares no detail in his unblinking look at Canadian nudism/naturism. He covers nudism (then - now the term "naturism" has been adopted) from its humble beginnings in Canada, province by province, following its growth up to the present. Not only is the writing meticulous in its detail, expected from someone with Ph.D. after his name, it's also quite readable.

The growth of nudism/naturism in Canada wasn't an easy one, to be sure. Similar to the trials and tribulations of American nudists, Canadians faced their share of legal and societal hassles. Dr. Woycke also notes the connection with America that Canadian parks often adopted and the movement to separate from that association.

At times, Canadian nudists/naturists themselves were part of the problem. Some of the incidents Dr. Woycke recounts in Au Naturel read like soap opera material! However, naturism eventually became established, paid its dues, and has become part of the fabric of Canadian society. In some ways, Canadians are more open about their naturism. The Four Seasons resort in Toronto has a sign on the highway that stats, "FOUR SEASONS NUDIST RESORT" in letters 61 centimetres high!

It's interesting to follow nudism/naturism's development in a country with roughly the same culture as America (except, perhaps, in Quebec), but with one-tenth the population.

I even give major points to the cover photo, for it shows a nude man (Dr. Woycke, I suspect) standing, with his back to the camera, surveying icebergs floating past his rocky vantagepoint. Now, that's bold - eh?