South Coast Nudists’ $2 Bill Campaign
SoCal Naturists Advocate for Nude Beaches With Rare Currency
Monday, June 25, 2007
Two-dollar bills are a rarity in today’s marketplace, but around Santa Barbara County, these pieces of paper are becoming a little more prevalent. The Southern California Naturist Association is urging members and supporters of the nudist community to use $2 bills when purchasing anything in the Santa Barbara area.
“We want to demonstrate to the local merchants that there is a lot of public support and spending power that comes with the touring nudist community,” said Gary Messell, president of the Southern California Naturist Association.
The movement centers on Bates Beach, a secluded strip of sand located at the north end of Rincon Beach, just north of the Ventura County line. For more than 30 years, weekends on this beach meant hundreds of nudists basking in the sun. Tourists would come as far north as Santa Maria and as far south as the San Fernando Valley just to sunbathe in a birthday suit. But complaints from neighbors led to a police crackdown and the eventual exodus of the nudist community.
NudeBeachAlliance.com
The trail to Bates Beach.
The $2 campaign is an attempt to show the community Santa Barbara and the surrounding area that there are a large number of people who wish to reinstate this clothing-optional institution.
“The nudist movement has been around for 75 years, it’s not going away,” Messell said. “We have a right to practice our way of life in a certain space.”
The $2 bill was chosen because it’s rarely used in daily transactions, so when it is exchanged, the merchant will hopefully take notice. Strong proponents of the campaign will announce to merchants what the $2 bill stands at the point of sale. The campaign began in May and will stretch throughout the entirety of the summer. According to Messell, the success has been phenomenal.
“We have found very few people who have any negativity. Eighty percent of people we talk to support it,” Messell said.
The plan is to use the rare bills at restaurants and souvenir shops. If an item were more expensive, the campaign proponents would urge people to pay at least a portion with a $2 bill.
“It’s like dropping a comment card saying, ‘We’re nudists, we’re here, and we’re spending money,’” Messell said.
NudeBeachAlliance.com
Sheriff’s Department deputies checking out the Bates Beach scene.
Messell and his organization recognize the stigma that comes along with their way of life. He says that people who receive the $2 bills are not forced to support their lifestyle but they are forced to think about it.
“The stereotype is that it’s a handful of crazy people who never left the ‘60s when, in reality, there are thousands of us,” Messell said. “We are all community people, we all have jobs, and we’re not crazy - we just enjoy nudity. We’re doctors, lawyers, and plumbers, Democrats and Republicans, and we’re not going away.”
Messell continues, “I think people that oppose us think nudity means sex but this is not the case. Nude is not lewd.”
NudeBeachAlliance.com
A little volleyball in the buff, anyone?
Understanding the controversy that surrounds making Bates Beach clothing optional, Messell and his associates are asking for a one-year test period to prove their proposal can work. The plan involves proper signage all around so people who don’t want to see a crowd of naked bodies don’t have to. It also involves “cleaning up the beach,” so to speak.
“Bates, as it is today, has a reputation as an unsafe beach. No one really uses it except drug dealers and perverts,” Messell said. He feels that large crowds at the beach could help deter the “riff raff.”
Along with the two-dollar bill campaign, the Southern California Naturist Association is forming a petition to go along with the Summer Solstice parade this weekend and hopes to gather at least 1,000 signatures.
So whether you support the naturist lifestyle or not, just know nudists aren’t as rare as their $2 bill counterparts.
For more info on the movement, see nudebeachalliance.com.
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Comments
This makes me want to grab some $2 bills, shed my top and bask in the sun. Good job John.
Bridget (anonymous profile)
June 25, 2007 at 8:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Gosh, the IV Drip has been handing out $2 bills for years. $1 coins and $0.50 pieces too!
pardallchewinggumspot (anonymous profile)
June 26, 2007 at 11:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why can men expose their nipples in public,
but women cannot?
FirstDistrictStreetfighter (anonymous profile)
June 26, 2007 at 2:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Why can men expose their nipples in public,
but women cannot?"
Because we live in a culture where a woman can become a celebrity by posing naked in front of the camera (Paris Hilton comes to mind...then there's the Pamela Anderson sex tape) but if these same women simply go for a swim in the buff they get fined or even arrested.
billclausen (anonymous profile)
June 26, 2007 at 2:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am really happy that people are working together to support nude sunbathing at the beaches. There are hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe. We are each an infinitesimally small creature within it. Certainly, fining and jailing these creatures for not hiding their bodies seems ludicrous. There is no other plant or animal on the planet that behaves in such a manner. We could learn a lot from the rest of nature and be set free from some of our fears and insecurities in the process.
brianakraemer (anonymous profile)
June 27, 2007 at 12:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
When God made man and woman he looked at them and said, "It is good!" Why must we continue to be ashamed of what our Creator has overwhelmingly approved? We, as a society, insult God and perpetuate the diservice to this wonderful creation by continuing to view the naked body as shameful, sinful, sexual and lewd. Bates Beach is an opportunity to get back to Eden!
Paulski (anonymous profile)
June 27, 2007 at 9:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Nude beaches, with signage to warn the "sensitive", should be a standard use of state beaches all along the CA coast. The signs will allow those offended to select another beach.
The greatest resistance to nude beaches comes from those industries profiting from the "shame" of expoure. Strip clubs, pornographers, mens magazine publishers, and churches want to keep nudity "sinful". It's profitable for all of them, and gives the churches another "vice" to combat.
A first step in California should be topless gender equality. There is no reason a woman should not be able to bare her chest in any situation a male can. The State of New York recognized this simple equality issue in 1992...and women now have the right to go topless everywhere a man might. Some choose to go topless, and most don't. But, the point is they all have the right to do so.
I used to to to Bates Beach in college. It was just fun in the sun. It should be retained as a nude beach. It's a great feature of the Santa Barbara area.
brucereno (anonymous profile)
June 29, 2007 at 12:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
THIS CAME FROM A READER:
A piece of Paradise was Lost when a Rincon Point Homeowner summoned the Sheriff and law enforcement started arresting nudist at Bates Beach!
Nudists occupied the north end of the beach which was rarely visited by clothed individuals except for those walking dogs. Every Spring the beach was cleaned of debris from winter storms and was burned or removed. During the summer the nudist area was routinely raked weekly and kept clean. Today the area is full of litter and dog duff and rarely if ever does anyone visit or use the area.
A core of frequent nudists kept Bates clean and safe. If a nudist saw
someone exhibiting inappropriate behavior they would kindly ask them stop.
If the behavior continued a nudist would courteously ask them to leave the nudist area so they would not ruin Bates for those who enjoyed the space. Speaking for myself, I felt safer at this beach than at any other California Beach.
Bates was truly a place to renew your spirit. Walking down the hill was a beautiful sight to see with dozens of multi-colored umbrellas unfolded on the sand . As you reached the beach there was always a fragrant hint of sun tan lotion in the air. There were people from all walks of life . . . aerospace, rocket and an Amtrak train engineers, artists, teachers, musicians, attorneys, models, business people, scientist, etc. There were also a lot of creative people who enjoyed the beach. One man used to come to the beach and make complicated mazes in the sand that we all enjoyed negotiating. There were many musicians. However, the most unusual was a
Italian man and a Spanish woman who used to bring African Mbiras to the beach and play Zimbabwean Music. There were dancers that used the waves as a back drop and the breaking waves as music for there beautiful performances. Usually there were several volleyball matches and occasionally people would play horse shoes. People went to Bates to relax, enjoy the sun, frolic in the surf, enjoy each others fellowship, play volleyball, share conversation, taste good food, enjoy the warmth of a fire at the end of the day or sing heartfelt songs.
Bates was place of beauty, joy and celebration! It was inspiring to the mind, relaxing to the body and energizing to the spirit . . . something close minded uptight people will never understand.
People who are frightened by nudists; like death, because they don't know what it means to live!
Matt (Matt Kettmann)
June 29, 2007 at 2:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Isn't it interesting how neighbors complained about nude sunbathers prompting the authorities to crack down on nudity on the beach, but no one seems to be doing anything about drug dealers and perverts on the beach? People's priorities are hopelessly mixed up, aren't they?
rojo26 (anonymous profile)
July 1, 2007 at 10:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)