Au Naturel

Naturism, Nudism, and Tourism in Twentieth-Century France

Nonfiction, History, Western Europe
Cover of the book Au Naturel by Stephen L. Harp, LSU Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Stephen L. Harp ISBN: 9780807155271
Publisher: LSU Press Publication: May 12, 2014
Imprint: LSU Press Language: English
Author: Stephen L. Harp
ISBN: 9780807155271
Publisher: LSU Press
Publication: May 12, 2014
Imprint: LSU Press
Language: English

Each year in France approximately 1.5 million people practice naturisme or "naturism," an activity more commonly referred to as "nudism." Because of France's unique tolerance for public nudity, the country also hosts hundreds of thousands of nudists from other European nations, an influx that has contributed to the most extensive infrastructure for nude tourism in the world. In Au Naturel, historian Stephen L. Harp explores how the evolution of European tourism encouraged public nudity in France, connecting this cultural shift with important changes in both individual behaviors and collective understandings of the body, morality, and sexuality.
Harp's study, the first in-depth historical analysis of nudism in France, challenges widespread assumptions that "sexual liberation" freed people from "repression," a process ostensibly reflected in the growing number of people practicing public nudity. Instead, he contends, naturism gained social acceptance because of the bodily control required to participate in it. New social codes emerged governing appropriate nudist behavior, including where one might look, how to avoid sexual excitation, what to wear when cold, and whether even the most modest displays of affection -- -including hand-holding and pecks on the cheek -- were permissible between couples.
Beginning his study in 1927 -- when naturist doctors first advocated nudism in France as part of "air, water, and sun cures" -- Harp focuses on the country's three earliest and largest nudist centers: the Île du Levant in the Var, Montalivet in the Gironde, and the Cap d'Agde in Hérault. These places emerged as thriving tourist destinations, Harp shows, because the municipalities -- by paradoxically reinterpreting inde-cency as a way to foster European tourism to France -- worked to make public nudity more acceptable.
Using the French naturist movement as a lens for examining the evolving notions of the body and sexuality in twentieth-century Europe, Harp reveals how local practices served as agents of national change.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Each year in France approximately 1.5 million people practice naturisme or "naturism," an activity more commonly referred to as "nudism." Because of France's unique tolerance for public nudity, the country also hosts hundreds of thousands of nudists from other European nations, an influx that has contributed to the most extensive infrastructure for nude tourism in the world. In Au Naturel, historian Stephen L. Harp explores how the evolution of European tourism encouraged public nudity in France, connecting this cultural shift with important changes in both individual behaviors and collective understandings of the body, morality, and sexuality.
Harp's study, the first in-depth historical analysis of nudism in France, challenges widespread assumptions that "sexual liberation" freed people from "repression," a process ostensibly reflected in the growing number of people practicing public nudity. Instead, he contends, naturism gained social acceptance because of the bodily control required to participate in it. New social codes emerged governing appropriate nudist behavior, including where one might look, how to avoid sexual excitation, what to wear when cold, and whether even the most modest displays of affection -- -including hand-holding and pecks on the cheek -- were permissible between couples.
Beginning his study in 1927 -- when naturist doctors first advocated nudism in France as part of "air, water, and sun cures" -- Harp focuses on the country's three earliest and largest nudist centers: the Île du Levant in the Var, Montalivet in the Gironde, and the Cap d'Agde in Hérault. These places emerged as thriving tourist destinations, Harp shows, because the municipalities -- by paradoxically reinterpreting inde-cency as a way to foster European tourism to France -- worked to make public nudity more acceptable.
Using the French naturist movement as a lens for examining the evolving notions of the body and sexuality in twentieth-century Europe, Harp reveals how local practices served as agents of national change.

More books from LSU Press

Cover of the book The Lost Roads Adventure Club by Stephen L. Harp
Cover of the book A Walk in Victoria's Secret by Stephen L. Harp
Cover of the book The Children of Africa in the Colonies by Stephen L. Harp
Cover of the book French, Cajun, Creole, Houma by Stephen L. Harp
Cover of the book Lee and His Generals in War and Memory by Stephen L. Harp
Cover of the book Senator Albert Gore, Sr. by Stephen L. Harp
Cover of the book The Dream of Arcady by Stephen L. Harp
Cover of the book John Bankhead Magruder by Stephen L. Harp
Cover of the book To Face Down Dixie by Stephen L. Harp
Cover of the book Reassessing the 1930s South by Stephen L. Harp
Cover of the book In the Shadow of the Black Beast by Stephen L. Harp
Cover of the book Modernist Women Writers and War by Stephen L. Harp
Cover of the book The House on Boulevard St. by Stephen L. Harp
Cover of the book From Bauhaus to Ecohouse by Stephen L. Harp
Cover of the book The Language of Vision by Stephen L. Harp
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy