Customer Reviews

Body Freedom Day: When a Clothed-Minded World Unraveled

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In the past couple of years, I've seen more and more fictional works appear addressing naturist (or nudist) themes. "Body Freedom Day" has been one of my favorites so far. Ward takes San Francisco's real-life Bay to Breakers Race (with all its zany clothed and unclothed characters), steps a few short years into the future, and crafts a nearly realistic scneario culminating in a cultural pardigm shift of epic proportions. The first half of the novel explores some highlights of naturist history, but the second half (the part set in the "future") unveils an approach to street activism that is insightful and motivating. It's a short, simple story, but if anyone wants a light read coupled with an opportunity to get inside the mindsets of naked activists wanting to take it to the streets, this book's the thing.

The main premise of Body Freedom Day is that it is a book from the future (2056). Author Ward's clever little device makes the book a delightful read. He starts with a bit of naturist history, bringing the reader up to 2005. Then, he moves into future territory, marking the beginning of the Body Freedom movement as taking place in San Francisco (where else?).

I hadn't read far, when I noticed a little device author Ward used to add authenticity to the futuristic claim. It was a small affectation but I found it delightful. Since the book was claimed to have been written in 2056, certain more modern word forms were used--words like thru, enuf, tho, altho, nite, and the like. It makes sense. Why wouldn't words with useless extra letters eventually be changed in the future?

For a naturist, Body Freedom Day is a delight. It makes one long for the day when clothes will cease to be the mandatory condition of society in general. To be able to walk out the front door on a fine summer's day in the state one left the shower (only dry), to go for a walk, or to drive somewhere on an errand, would be a treat indeed. As you read this book, you start asking yourself, "Why not?" Why not be able to go anywhere without clothing if the weather dictates? Why not be accepted as a person regardless of our state of dress?

From the start, it's clear that author Ward is a public lands type of naturist. All of the references he uses in Body Freedom Day's bibliography are from The Naturist Society's N Magazine. In addition, a portion of the book's royalties will go to select body freedom organizations.

I don't necessarily agree with every premise author Ward makes in his extrapolation of the future but I surely had fun on the ride. The writing style is light and humorous and clips along at a merry pace. By the time you get to the end, you'll be convinced that a clothes-free society is not only a possibility, it's almost a foregone conclusion. Pick up a copy of Body Freedom Day to read on your next trip to the beach. Better yet, make it a clothing-optional beach.

This is one of the most original nudist books I've ever read, and although it's only a little over 100 pages it punches well above its weight in the nudist genre.
After easing us into the book by way of a fairly conventional history of nudism, Stuart Ward catapults us forward from the present into the near(ish) future and writes as an old man looking back on an annual nude running event.
It's an unusual device but a successful one, and if Ward's purpose is to convince us that social nudity should be considered the norm and clothes-wearing an aberration, it serves his purpose well.
Although I found his use of abbreviated words a little jarring, the book is otherwise well written in a light, engaging style. On a recent vacation, and despite the combined distractions of sea, sun, snoozing and strawberry margaritas, I managed to read it almost at one sitting!
Recommended reading for everyone who doesn't get freaked out by the nude body beneath their clothes.