Naturist group urges Jersey to bare all this summer

Friday 02 July 2021

A national group representing British naturists is encouraging Jersey to bare all and join a skinny dip taking place across Britain - including in Guernsey - this summer, saying that attitudes around the body “need to be challenged.”

A spokesperson for UK British Naturism, Andrew Welch, has urged the island to get involved with or host an event similar to their ‘Great British Skinny Dip’ - though the Government says it isn't planning to change the legal framework around nudity.

The event is happening across multiple locations in Britain this summer to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation - including one at L'Ancresse Bay in Guernsey in September.

Mr Welch said that it aims to show people that naturism is not about exhibition, flashing or being provocative, but people enjoying being in their “natural state.”

Pictured: Mr Welch said that he felt attitudes towards nudity were a "social construct," and that it was people in their "natural state." (Melissa Rodrigues)

He said attitudes towards nudity were “a completely social construct”, and that law in the UK actually allowed for it so long as the intent was not to "alarm or distress somebody."

He continued: “The way that a lot of people snigger at nudity these days… the people that lived before the Victorians would have sniggered in a similar way about the idea of putting clothes on for having a swim.”

Mr Welch said that “baby steps” should be taken first in Jersey, suggesting designating a section of a beach on the island for an event early in the morning.

Pictured: The Great British Skinny Dip is holding an event in Guernsey in September.

He said that this would mean “naturist people know that that’s where they can go, non-naturist people know that’s where they can avoid and means that everyone can exist side by side.”

“There will be many Jersey residents who have been on naturist beaches, and perhaps they would like one where they live,” he later said, noting that the group had members living on the island.

Jersey's law states that “a person commits an offence, and is liable to imprisonment for 2 years and to a fine, if he or she exposes his or her penis, scrotum or vagina, intending it to be seen, and either: intending to humiliate, alarm or distress any of the persons who may see it, or to obtain sexual gratification, without a reasonable belief that all of the persons who may see it have consented to seeing it.”

Questioning Jersey's attitudes, islander Summer Holley, who has been co-working on rebranding the Great British Skinny Dip, said that “it’s a shame Jersey wouldn’t be able to take part" in the dip. 

While Ms Holley is not a naturist and does not practice naturism herself, she said that her work with naturists had made her open up to questions about the body and what Jersey currently allows.

“While I’ve been speaking to the British Naturism and working with them, it’s made me question the psychology behind it. Why should we be ashamed of our bodies?”

She has also recruited an acclaimed local photographer who has had work featured in Vogue, Melissa Rodrigues, to contribute photos from a shoot she did of women in the nude.

Melissa told Express she was "very honoured to have supplied some images to Summer for this really amazing message."

She said that, from her perspective a photographer, nudity was a "symbolism of freedom and acceptance."

"That is why I love to photograph skin, with all its ‘imperfections’, because to me they are what’s perfect about us. They tell the stories," she explained.

Pictured: Home Affairs Minister Gregory Guida signed off a statement saying there were currently no plans to change the legal framework to allow for naturism in Jersey. (Melissa Rodrigues)

When asked about those who are worried about any potential sexual connotations, Mr Welch stated that this idea came from a misconception that sex and nudity were linked.

“If anybody were to say they went to a naturist beach and saw people having sex - that is not a naturist beach.

“That is like suggesting everyone who goes to a football match is a hooligan."

He went on to urge islanders wanting to get their kit off to speak to the authorities and “make something happen”.

“There’s a massive scene going on everywhere and for an island in the middle of the sea not to have a place where in the modern world, the third decade of the 21st century, somebody could enjoy a skinny dip - something practiced since time began - is quite sad really. 

“Try it and see what happens.” 

When Express asked the Government whether it would consider altering rules to accommodate naturism, a statement signed off by Home Affairs Minister Gregory Guida said: “There are no current plans in place to introduce a legal framework which would allow naturism."