To most Americans, the week of July 9 is just the week after barbecues and fireworks, but to the members of the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) it’s Nude Recreation Week. Also a part of Nude Recreation Week, International Skinny Dipping Day takes place July 14.

The AANR has been around for 86 years and is based in Kissimmee, Florida. The purpose of the organization is because members want to the right to be nude, which Jeffrey G. Baldasarre, director of marketing and communication at AANR, described as a “very freeing experience” and stated that it “helps body image.”

For Baldasarre, the biggest change that living some of his life nude provoked was that he began to look people in the eye more. He described this happening because he was no longer presented with distractions when interacting with people like ties and necklaces.

Since its founding, the AANR has been active in politics, even achieving several nude beaches across the United States. However, there are no nude recreation centers of any kind in North Dakota as of now.

While 20 years ago the association may have faced some violence or extreme responses to wanting to live in the nude, today those problems have significantly subsided according to Baldassarre.

Baldassarre actually stated that the textile world, the world who wears clothes regularly, has helped the AANR’s mission greatly in recent years.

“A lot of people sleep in the nude, or do their house chores in the nude,” Baldasarre said, and with young people feeling free to be nude, posting on social media partially or fully nude and simply experiencing the freedom of being nude, Baldasarre believes the movement is growing.

Comparatively, the U.S. is falling short of European countries in terms of the acceptance of nude recreation.

One challenge the group continues to face is the people outside of the organization that believe they sell sex, or that being nude is inherently sexual. However, Baldasarre stated that it’s family-focused recreation. No sex is involved in nude recreation, and those who attempt it are kicked out.

Baldasarre concluded the interview by inviting those who wish to participate in nude recreation to find a nude recreation center to visit. “It’s on someone’s bucket list,” he said.

To get more information readers can visit aanr.com and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.