A Brief History of Skinny Dip Day
- In 1976, a “meeting of the minds” took place in Los Angeles, between body-positivity trailblazers:
Lee Baxandall (founder of The Naturist Society) and Eugene Callen (founder of Beachfront USA).
According to The Naturist Society, “Both realized that to make steady inroads on the American public’s view of beach nudity, public relations and the media must be used to good effect. To that end, the two men developed the idea for a National Nude Weekend to be held each year in July by all interested groups.”
- In 1992, The Naturist Society oversaw the expansion of the Weekend into a seven day Nude Recreation Week.
- In the 2000s, the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) began promoting skinny dipping on the Saturday of Nude Recreation Week.
- In 2018, AANR officially dubbed the second Saturday of July “International Skinny Dip Day.”
- In 2019, Thomas started SkinnyDipDay.org, in hopes to help continue this legacy of promoting body positivity; while raising money for an important body-positive cause.
Lee Baxandall
Lee possessed a courage unlike any others — he would take on park and public officials to champion his core belief — that people are fine and noble just as they are, naked as when born. His enduring legacy is that many others now carry on his lifetime goal of body acceptance.
— Frederick Gerty
Much will surely be written about his organizing thousands of naturists across the continent, and bringing previously shunned groups into the movement — as well as leading the way into political activism. I want to add that Lee brought a new intellectual dimension… He was not afraid to wrestle with deep and important ideas. He accomplished much. We will not see his like again during our lifetimes.
— Paul LeValley
…the deed [is] far more powerful than what you claim, which is hardly heard and easily misunderstood.
— Lee Baxandall
Links for More Info
- The most succinct, historical overview of “nudism”
(from Lupin Lodge) - 4-part series “African Americans and the clothes free community”
(from Earl D of ClothesFreeLife) - Understand the broader history of US / Europe naturism
(from Gary Mussell of AANR) - Learn the philosophy of trailblazer Lee Baxandall
(from Camp Naturist) - Read more about Lee and his formation of The Naturist Society
(from Mark Storey)
Skinny Dip Day Trivia
- “Skinny dip” means to swim in the nude… from the allusion of stripping down to one’s bare skin, rather than having anything to do with being skinny as in thin. (According to Idiom Origins)
- The term “skinny dip” is said to have originated somewhere in the 1940s – 1960s. The Merriam Webster Dictionary says the first known use was in 1964.
- More trivia to come 🙂