The pageant of 2000 was the ultimate PR move. It was an attempt to say: We can be just as corny, just as traditional, just as middle-American as you. We just don’t like spandex.
The 1990s were a strange decade for nudism. The rise of the internet brought niche communities together, but it also brought a tidal wave of sexualized content that conflated nudity with pornography. The ASA fought a lonely battle to decouple the two. Their slogan, “Nudity is not lewdity,” was a legalistic mantra repeated until it lost all meaning.
Today, the review of these two lifestyles reveals a shifting landscape. We are moving away from aesthetic-based wellness (looking healthy) toward holistic wellness (feeling healthy), but growing pains remain.