Given the naturist tendency to avoid even the mention of S-E-X, not to mention the act itself, it may strike some as odd that the closest political ally naturists have in Canada is an organization called The Sex Party.
I’m sure most of you would think that a sex party is nothing more than a gathering where people meet in order to have sex. But there is a bona fide Canadian political party which makes sex the main issue in its campaigns.
For now, this party is only truly active in British Columbia, where a provincial wing has been firmly established. However, it has national objectives. There is also a similarly named party in Australia. Whether the two are related in some way is unknown to me at this point.
Unlike other Canadian political parties, The Sex Party actually has a section of its platform devoted to the matter of what it calls public nudity. Here is an excerpt:
Public nudity has many social benefits for both nudists and non-nudists, chief of which is to normalize all parts of the human body and de-stigmatize human sexual organs.
The Sex Party would pass legislation requiring all public parks and beaches larger than one hectare to designate areas reserved for nudists.
My only gripe is we should designate areas where nudity is permitted. The expression “for nudists” seems too limiting to me. Otherwise, I must admit I like the idea. Imagine all the parks all over the country having to meet with naturist organisations to determine which parts of parkland must be made clothing-optional!
Granted, The Sex Party policies won’t please everyone. It proposes a national education program which would encourage sexual activity “in a gradual and disciplined way.” The intention is to introduce young people to “non-coital” exploration and experimentation. Even I have trouble with this, and I consider myself open-minded. Maybe I wouldn’t be so concerned if the word encourage was replaced by does not discourage, as long as it is done responsibly. As much as I want all children to develop a healthy sense of self, including their sexual self, I’m not sure encouraging sexual activity is the right way to go. I don’t want to discourage it either, but there should be a happy medium between the two, where the child is allowed to explore the sexual part of him- or herself if that is what he or she wants to do.
As naturists, we don’t want to force anyone to be nude in public, but we do want nudity to be normalised. In the same vein, we don’t want to force anyone to undertake any sexual exploration, though we wouldn’t want authorities to condemn it either.
Other than that, I kind of like the ideas put forth by the party. It’s a pity that it may very well forever be a one-issue party.
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