Six Questions from a Scared Kid
A seventeen‑year‑old in Ohio wonders if a nude beach could help him stop hating his body, or just make the shame louder.
Moderator’s note: Jordan found us through a Google search for “is it normal to be scared of nude beaches.” He is seventeen. He asked if he was too young to post. Sam says no, but everyone play nice or I will end you. Sam
By Jordan_17
Hi. I am seventeen. I live in Ohio. I found this blog last week, and I have read every post twice. I am not a nudist. I have never been naked in front of anyone except my doctor, and that was humiliating enough. But I think I want to try. I think maybe there is something wrong with how much I hate my body, and maybe this would help. Or maybe I would just humiliate myself worse. I do not know.
I have questions. They are probably stupid. I am asking anyway because if I do not, I will chicken out.
Do people actually not stare? I do not mean the polite glance. I mean the up-and-down inventory. Because I do that to myself in the mirror every morning, and I cannot imagine other people would not do it too.
What if I get... you know... excited? I am seventeen. I get excited when the wind blows. Is there a protocol? Do I get banned? Do I die?
Is everyone actually comfortable, or are they just pretending to be comfortable while secretly panicking like me? I need to know if this is a skill or a magic trick.
What if I am the only person there without gray hair? I do not mind older people. I am just scared I will be the weird kid who showed up to the wrong party.
What are the unwritten rules? Not the ones on the website. The real ones. The ones that everyone knows and nobody tells you until you break one and get the look.
Is it true that after five minutes, you forget you are naked? Because that sounds like something people say to get you in the door, like “the shot only hurts a little.”
If you answer these, thank you. If you laugh at them, I will probably delete my account and never try. So please do not laugh.
My name is Jordan. I am seventeen. I am scared of my own body, and I am tired of being scared.
Comments
Barb_Owner: Jordan, sweetie, I run the resort Clara wrote about in Post #4. First, the erection question: it happens. You cover it with a towel, you roll onto your stomach, you take a walk in the woods. Nobody points. Nobody announces it. We have all been seventeen. Second, the staring: yes, people look. But it is the same look you give someone at a grocery store. Two seconds, then back to your own life. You are not as fascinating as your anxiety says you are.
Elena_20: Jordan, I started at eighteen. I was the youngest person there by thirty years and you know what? They were so happy to see a young person who was not drunk or on their phone that they practically adopted me. The gray-haired crowd is your friend. They have snacks and they will tell you where the best shady spot is.
David_52: I raised three kids in this lifestyle. My youngest is your age. Here is the real unwritten rule: if you are unsure where to look, look at people's eyes. It feels weird for exactly three minutes, then it becomes automatic. Also, bring a towel. Not for sitting. For your nervous hands. Having something to hold stops the "what do I do with my arms" panic.
Jody: Jordan, I am the one who cried in my driveway. I am sixty-five. I am telling you this because I wish I had found this at seventeen instead of waiting decades to figure out that my body was not the enemy. You are already braver than I was.
Rosa_68: The forgetting you are naked part? It is true, but not because of magic. It is because nobody else is acting like you are naked. You are the only one performing nudity. Everyone else is just swimming or reading or eating a sandwich. You will feel overdressed in your own skin for about twenty minutes. Then you will feel overdressed in a T-shirt. That is the weird part.
Sofia_19: Jordan, I am nineteen and I still have not gone. Reading your questions makes me feel less alone. If you go, will you write about it? I want to know if the five-minute thing is real.
Jordan_17: @Sofia_19 If I go, I will write about it. If I do not go, I will write about why I chickened out. Either way you will know.
Clara_44: @Jordan_17 Bring a book. Not to hide behind. Just to have. Barb is right about the towel for your hands. I brought three towels my first time and I only needed one but holding the extra two saved my life.
Nate_29: Jordan, the wind thing made me laugh. Not at you. With you. Because every guy remembers being seventeen and having a body with its own agenda. You will be fine. The community is full of people who remember.
Sam_Moderator: Jordan, I am leaving this thread open forever. If anyone is cruel to a seventeen-year-old asking honest questions, I will hunt them. Barb, thank you for showing up. Elena, David, Rosa, you are why this blog exists. Sofia, go with him. Not literally unless you want to. But go.
Footnote from Sam: Two comments were deleted from this thread. One said Jordan was "too young to be thinking about this stuff." The other said he was "asking for attention." Same two names as always. I am not even angry anymore. I am just cataloguing it for the day I publish the receipts.
New entries in the Naked Voices thread go up every Tuesday and Friday. Read along in order to follow the whole conversation.
