Children's nudist camps

Jun 24 23:33 UTC 2003

From wire reports:

"Camping in the Buff
Nudist Camps for Kids Get Mixed Reaction

By Jill Barton
The Associated Press


W E S T  P A L M  B EA C H, Fla., June 24  U.S. Rep. Mark Foley urged 
Florida officials to investigate a nudist camp for children, saying it 
subjects the children to denigrating and dangerous behavior and could 
expose them to pedophiles.  
 
The weeklong summer camp run by the American Association for Nude 
Recreation outside of Tampa allows children ages 11 to 18 get together 
for games and sports and discussions about their choice to stay in the 
buff. 

Foley, co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited 
Children's Caucus, sent a letter Thursday to Gov. Jeb Bush and Attorney 
General Charlie Crist asking them to determine whether the camp was 
legal and to consider toughening state statutes against such activities.

"Obviously I have no way of knowing whether illegal behavior is taking 
place in this camp, but the situation clearly raises legitimate issues 
that should be addressed given that it involves minor children," Foley, 
R-West Palm Beach, said in the letter.

Bush had not yet reviewed the letter and had no comment, spokeswoman 
Alia Faraj said on Thursday.

Erich Schuttauf, executive director of the American Association for 
Nude Recreation, said he applauded Foley for looking to protect 
children.

"We're on the same team. We're about the same thing, we believe in 
strong families," Schuttauf said. "Here, we talk frankly about body 
parts, about how to respect your body and make sure everyone else does, 
too."

Though some trespassers have entered the camp, security officials 
always have removed them from the private property before they 
interacted with any children or teenagers, he said.

Steve Vickers, who went to the summer camp for five years before 
becoming a counselor, said Foley has the wrong idea about the camp. He 
said a strict line is drawn between nudism and sexuality, and no one 
would consider abusing the distinction.

"There was a definite split. When you're nude, it's like family time," 
Vickers said. "And when you're at school, and you see the same people, 
then you could talk about dating or things like that."

Vickers grew up at a nudist resort in Kissimmee, about 85 miles east of 
the summer camp held near Tampa in Lutz. He said some of the 30 
children and teenagers who attended the camp also lived at nudist 
resorts across the country but others lived in traditional 
neighborhoods and took off their clothes only on weekends.

He described himself and others at the nudist camp as "moral 
extremists," noting that several of his friends at the camp remained 
virgins through high school, unlike many other teens they knew.

Still, Foley questioned how such an environment could be described 
as "wholesome."

He also distinguished it from computer-related behavior, such as 
Internet porn and child modeling, that he's spoken out against. Those 
activities at least must go through filters, he said.

"In this particular situation, you're actually putting these children 
together with adults," he said. "It's a little bizarre to me that 
parents would even consider putting their children in such a situation."

 

response 4 of 60:

Jun 25 02:40 UTC 2003

The kids going to this camp are children of nudists.  If this camp didn't
exist, they'd be hanging out at nudist resorts with their families anyway.
You have to consider it in that context.

response 6 of 60:

Jun 25 04:23 UTC 2003

Justice Voelker of the Michigan Supreme Court wrote a great opinion
about this issue in the 1950s -- a decision which essentially legalized
private nudist camps in Michigan.  (State police invaded a private nudist
camp near Battle Creek and arrested everyone, mainly on the notion that
minors were present; the state supreme court threw out the convictions.)

Mark Foley is a fascinating case himself: a conservative Republican
politician who has always been widely known in Florida political circles
to be a gay man.  He openly attends events with his male partner, and is a
regular at gay bars and nightclubs in Florida and in Washington.  However,
only recently has this been mentioned in the press.  Foley, who is a
candidate for a U.S. Senate seat next year, has reacted angrily to what he
sees as an infringement on his privacy.

But how much privacy can a US Senate candidate in a large state really
expect, over a personal issue he has never bothered to conceal before? 
The debate rages on in both the straight and gay media.

Funny time for him to blast the nudists.