Nude Beach

A nude beach is a  beach  where users are legally at liberty to be  nude. Sometimes the terms clothing-optional beach or free beach are used.  Nude bathing is one of the most common forms of  nudity in public. As beaches are usually on public lands, any member of the public is entitled to use the facilities without membership of any movement or subscription to any philosophy. The use of the beach facilities is normally anonymous. Unlike a   naturist resort or facility, there is normally no membership or vetting requirement for the use of a nude beach. The use of nude beach facilities is usually casual, not requiring pre-booking. Nude beaches may be official (legally-sanctioned), unofficial (tolerated by residents and law enforcement), or illegal. However, nude beaches are relatively few and some distance from cities, and access is at times more difficult than at a regular beach and the facilities at these beaches tend to be very basicA nude beach should not be confused with a  topless beach (or topfree beach), where upper body clothing is not required for women or men, although a swimming costume covering the genital area is required for both men and women. Nude beaches first became popular in the 1950s along the French coast and have since spread around the world, though they are still few and far between. Some nude beaches are part of a larger nude area, such as the Cap d’Age  area. Most beaches in Denmark and all beaches in  Norway are clothing-optional. Nude beaches tend to be segregated or isolated physically from the non-nude areas. In other instances people maintain a comfortable space between beach users. Signage is often used to warn beach users about what to encounter and/or to segregate different areas on the beach. This accommodates people who are not comfortable with nudity (see  gymnophobia). This also accommodates beach users who do not like to be watched too much, especially by clothed individuals (see  voyeurism). On an officially sanctioned nude beach beach goers of both sexes have an option to remove their clothing without fearing legal prosecution or official harassment. Clothes free organizations and  free beach associations, such as the  Naturist Action Commitee, lobby for the removal of laws which prohibit nude swimming and sunbathing.