Jane Doe’s profile at NudistSpace.org

Yep, if you know a person by his or her full name, and that person happens to be registered with nudistspace.org, you can probably find the profile through a regular Google search. If you’re a member of nudistspace.org, did you know that?

I had heard some rather unflattering things about nudistspace.org and normally wouldn’t even be writing about that site. However, I once read an article I liked a lot in Going Natural and discovered the author had a profile at nudistspace.org. Now, it’s possible it’s a case of stolen identity and someone is just posing as the author. Many other people were victims before and many more will fall victim as time goes on. However, for now, I have no reason to believe the author didn’t knowingly create the profile.

In the short time I was a “member,” I could see that the site really was the antithesis of naturism. The site offers the following warning to all potential new members:

Please Note before the registration:

• We are Nudists oriented club, we are very against to the sexual life style. (sic)

• We are not an "adult" site. if that is what you are looking for, go elsewhere.

• We are not an erotic picture site. if that is what you are looking for, go elsewhere.

Despite this warning, the truth is there is much talk of sexual activity (and not just theory), and even swinging and gang bangs. Indeed, the author I referred to earlier was a member of some of those groups. And while I don’t think any of their photos may be “erotic” per se, “crotch shots” are definitely rampant.

Now, I like the idea of being able to discuss such things with other nudists. I just don’t think it should happen on a site that says, “we are very against to the sexual life style” (sic). Is it really so difficult to create a website for “sexual enthusiasts” that includes a section for those enthusiasts who also happen to be nudists? That would seem so much more appropriate than trying to accommodate sexual groups on a nudist site.

However, that’s not even my main objection. Because of the stigma attached to naturism, a large number of naturists/nudists would rather be known by their “usernames” until such time as trust is formed between different members. Also, usernames are meant to reduce the risk of an employer or other non-understanding person from discovering his or her employee’s “extra-curricular” activities. Nudistspace.org does not do that. Rather, if you do write in your real name when asked, you will be easy to find on Google after enough time has passed.

Don’t believe me? I came to discover this by looking up a very well-known nudist. While she has scaled back her Internet activities in recent years, she used to run her own website dealing with nudity and sex for teens. I put her name into the Google search field, added the word “nudist,” and instantly found “Jane Doe's profile at NudistSpace.org” near the top. (Of course, for this article, I replaced her real name with "Jane Doe.") I clicked on the link and came to her profile.

While she did give her first name on that page, her last name was nowhere to be seen. But the Google search gave her full name. In checking out my own profile page, I discovered that if one were to save the Internet page to one’s hard drive, the file name would include the name under which the person is registered. Not the username, but the REAL name. For those who truly value their privacy, this can only be described as a dead giveaway.

For those who truly want to give nudistspace.org a try, you have now been warned. If you have a relatively unknown given name and a substitute surname, you may want to consider using them.