I’m Alright, Jack
Updated: 5 days ago
There is an old expression that has always bothered me: “I’m alright, Jack.”
It describes the attitude that says I’m fine, my little corner of the world is fine, so what happens to everybody else isn’t really my problem.
I increasingly believe naturism cannot afford that attitude.
Over recent months, something encouraging has been happening. Ideas we have championed strongly here in Wales — belonging, community, safeguarding, authenticity, respect and placing people before organisations — are becoming increasingly visible in the wider naturist conversation. I wrote recently about that changing direction in When the Standard Starts to Shift, and I genuinely welcome it.
There is no prize for owning a good idea.
If something developed or demonstrated in Wales encourages a larger organisation elsewhere to improve its standards, strengthen safeguarding, think differently about belonging or value its members more deeply, then we should celebrate it. The winner isn’t Naturism Wales.
The winner is naturism.
But following the beacon is only the beginning.
Now we need to light a few more.
Because a brighter future for naturism will not be secured by individual organisations protecting their own territory, competing for members, guarding their influence or congratulating themselves because their events are busy.
We rise or fall together.
When one naturist organisation behaves badly, the public rarely distinguishes between logos.
When somebody is treated without dignity at one venue, their confidence in the wider community can be damaged. When safeguarding is weak somewhere, responsible organisations elsewhere inherit part of the reputational consequence.
Equally, when somebody discovers a welcoming, safe and genuinely inclusive community, their understanding of naturism changes for the better.
That is why standards matter.
Our own Code of Conduct commits Naturism Wales to an open, welcoming and healthy community, with respect for people regardless of body size, disability, ethnicity, gender, experience, socioeconomic circumstances, nationality, appearance, race, religion or sexual identity. Those aren’t decorative words for a policy page. They describe the standard people should experience when they walk through the door.
Integrity means behaving according to those values when doing so is inconvenient.
Dignity means recognising that nobody becomes less deserving of respect because of their age, body, background, income, popularity or position within the naturist establishment.
Equality means there isn’t a special table for the important people while everybody else waits to be noticed.
And community means understanding that the person standing beside us matters as much as the organisation printed on the banner.
There is evidence behind the importance of belonging too. The World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Connection estimates that around one in six people worldwide experiences loneliness and argues that stronger social connection should be treated as a serious public-health priority.
Naturism has an extraordinary opportunity here.
Research involving 849 people found an association between greater participation in naturist experiences and higher life satisfaction, mediated through more positive body image and self-esteem. Two smaller prospective studies also recorded improvements following real naturist experiences, although the researchers rightly acknowledge limitations including self-selection and sample composition.
What interests me isn’t simply the finding.
It is the environment required for those benefits to flourish.
People need to feel safe enough to be vulnerable. Equal enough not to be judged. Welcome enough to participate. Respected enough to be themselves.
That cannot be created by nudity alone.
It is created by culture.
And culture is where I think the next chapter of naturism needs to be written collectively.
Imagine if clubs, communities, event organisers and national organisations stopped asking, “What advantage does this give us?” and started asking, “What could we share that would make naturism better for everyone?”
Good safeguarding practice could be shared rather than guarded. Smaller communities could learn from organisations with greater resources, while larger organisations could learn from the intimacy and innovation of grassroots groups. Events could support one another. Leaders could exchange ideas.
Communities could signpost opportunities beyond their own programmes without fearing that somebody had somehow “lost” a member.
Most importantly, we could begin developing a shared expectation of what good naturism looks like.
Not identical organisations. Not one governing voice. Certainly not everybody agreeing about everything.
But common ground: safety, consent, integrity, authenticity, dignity, equality, transparency, inclusion and respect.
These aren’t particularly radical expectations. The wider voluntary sector’s 2025 Charity Governance Code similarly places leadership, ethics and culture, decision-making, equity, diversity and inclusion among its core principles of good governance. Different organisations will require different structures, but the underlying lesson travels rather well: values have to become behaviours before they mean anything.
Naturism Wales will continue trying to raise that bar. Sometimes we’ll get things right.
Sometimes we’ll learn. Sometimes somebody else will develop a better way of doing something, and when they do, we should be humble enough to learn from them.
Because leadership isn’t planting a flag and shouting, “Look what we did first.”
It is helping create something better than what existed before.
There is room in naturism for different organisations, different traditions, different approaches and different personalities. What there shouldn’t be room for is complacency.
“I’m alright, Jack” isn’t a strategy for the future.
We’re alright when everyone has somewhere they can belong.
And if naturists everywhere began working together around shared standards of integrity, dignity, equality and respect, just imagine what kind of community we could leave to the people who discover naturism next.
So perhaps the question isn’t what can other naturist organisations do for us — but what could all of us start doing for one another?
Sources and further reading
Naturism Wales — When the Standard Starts to Shift
Our recent reflection on the growing emphasis across naturism on community, belonging, safeguarding, authenticity and dignity.
Read the Naturism Wales article
Naturism Wales — Code of Conduct
The standards of behaviour, inclusion, respect and community expected within Naturism Wales.
Read the Naturism Wales Code of Conduct
World Health Organization — From loneliness to social connection: charting a path to healthier societies
The WHO Commission’s evidence and recommendations on social connection, including its estimate that approximately one person in six globally experiences loneliness.
Read the WHO Commission report
West, K. — Naked and Unashamed, Journal of Happiness Studies
Peer-reviewed research examining naturist participation, body image, self-esteem and life satisfaction, including a large cross-sectional study and two prospective studies at naturist events.
Read the research in Journal of Happiness Studies
Charity Governance Code — 2025 Code
A useful wider-sector benchmark covering organisational purpose, leadership, ethics and culture, decision-making, equity, diversity and inclusion, and organisational effectiveness.
Explore the Charity Governance Code
