An all-ages nude swimming club in the Toronto area has tweaked its rules after its booth at a “family-friendly” transgender pride parade went viral on social media.
Online outrage prompted the all-ages Toronto-based nude swimming club, GTA Skinnydippers, to change its rules. Originally the club welcomed youth aged 14 to 18 to swim naked among adults for free and without parental supervision.
The group had a kiosk featuring members in the nude, advertising the group at the parade that children attended last month in Toronto. The incident was covered widely by media outlets, including True North, prompting questions from Canadians on the legality of the group’s inclusion of children in its events.
The organization has since changed its website and policies, taking an illustration of naked children and photos showing the nude backsides of children with their families off of its site and removing some of the controversial rules that were listed previously.
Wording surrounding the prevalence of erections among male attendees was also altered.
The website originally downplayed erections as a possibility for “someone who is comfortable being naked at swims” while saying it’s “very rare to see one.” The updated site just includes guidelines for what to do if you get one.
“Most men do not get aroused however, if it happens we recommend staying in the pool or the hot tub until it subsides. If you need to get out we ask you wrap yourself in your towel,” the site now says.
The group has now raised the minimum admission age to 16 for those who want to swim without parents; however, youth memberships remain free.
“If you are under the age of 16, you must be accompanied by an adult 18 or older. You pay the same fee as a youth,” the website said.
A change in tone from the original post which said, “If you fall between the age of 14 and 18, you are welcome to attend for FREE without a guardian.”
Although he thinks the online backlash was primarily rooted in misconceptions and “clickbait headlines,” Greg Snow, the president of the Federation of Canadian Naturists, a nudist organization, believes the change doesn’t go far enough. “Naturism,” also known as nudism, refers to a subculture of people who practice a lifestyle of non-sexual nudity.
Snow, who’s been in the nudist community in Canada for 19 years, told True North that he’d like to see the group raise the age limit, banning children who aren’t accompanied by an adult from its swimming events altogether.
“In response to talking with the people (at GTA Skinnydippers), they decided to change it. And I hope they decide to change it even further. It’s at 16, and I hope they change it to 18. That’s my personal opinion, and that’s the normal standard for naturist clubs and venues,” Snow said.
He said the Federation of Canadian Nudists, which started in 1986, is a separate entity from the GTA Skinnydippers, but believes it has a role to play in setting out best practices for nudist organizations in Canada.
Snow defended GTA Skinnydippers, saying that the policy was never intended to be an invitation to potentially vulnerable and impressionable children to swim naked with adults without parental consent.
“It was poorly worded, and that’s why they changed it,” he said.
Snow claimed the policy was supposed to be for those in that age group who have been to the events before with their parents and want to go at a time when their parents cannot make it.
He said people assume incorrectly that any time an adult is naked around a child, the adult must be a pedophile. Naturists don’t view nudity as inherently sexual, and people who criticize them do, Snow argued.
“That’s their only experience being naked with another person, having sex. They can’t imagine anything other than that,” Snow said.
He said other groups, such as the International Naturist Federation, have received “online attacks” and “threats” after its president, Stéphane Deschênes, defended GTA Skinnydippers community.
Some online are still criticizing the group, saying the naturist community is “playing victim” now in the face of criticism, despite making the website changes within the last week.
“The real issue was always about their complete disregard for the safeguarding of minors. While most members probably aren’t a danger, predatory individuals go where poor safeguarding rules are in place,” podcaster Melanie Bennett posted on X.
Snow said that “children in naturism” are some of the safest children in the world, claiming that “everyone is vigilant” and people in the community look out for each other.
GTA Skinnydippers did not respond to True North’s request for comment.