The name NIFTY arose because we wanted an acronym for the group’s name, and came up with NIFTY as a “temporary” moniker until we could decide on a “real” name; however, people seemed to like the name and it was decided to keep it as the group’s permanent title.
NIFTY shall not discriminate against any person on the basis of sex, race, colour, creed, age, national origin, sexual orientation, or any other basis unrelated to behaviour.
NIFTY meetings shall be non-smoking and clothing-optional if possible.
Spencer Tunick (born January 1, 1967) is an American photographer known for shooting nude photographs that often include thousands of participants. His first human installation took place in 2003 in in London’s Selfridges department store.
While many NIFTY members are nudists and naturists, we are neither a nudist nor a naturist group. Membership is open to any person who supports our vision of Canada and a world free of legislated clothing requirements.
(NIFTY Constitution, Paragraph 3)
Pavel Popov was born in 1966 in the city of Perm. In 1994 he entered the Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, studied at historical painting workshop led by Professor Glazunov. Pavel is a Member of the Moscow Union of Artists.
Answer=”Incorrect”
Although nudists feel comfortable in the nude, some of them are shy of cameras.
Attention Newcomers:
Your first NIFTY swim is only $1. Please click on the image below, print, photograph or save the discount coupon on your smartphone or camera and present it at the next NIFTY swim. We accept the coupons on paper, digital cameras and smartphones.
Notwithstanding (7) above, to amend the NIFTY constitution, a two-thirds majority vote at a legitimate NIFTY meeting shall he required. Notwithstanding (7) above, to amend these bylaws, a simple majority vote at a legitimate NIFTY meeting shall be required.
Answer=”Incorrect”
Scientists believe that humans lost body hair more than 1,500,000 years ago and began wearing clothes only about 170,000 years ago. This means that for more than 1,000,000 years humans lived without any clothes at all!
NIFTY’s first official meeting was held in 1993, and we began renting Vancouver’s Templeton Park Pool for monthly clothing-optional swims in 1998. Since then, our membership has grown significantly, and several thousand people have been NIFTY members at some point over the years, with about 500 up-to-date members at any given time.
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Nudists are sexual beings, but they conduct their activities in private.
Tips for organising clothes-optional swims
By Greg DePaco, NIFTY secretary
If the NIFTY swims are too infrequent for you – or if you live too far away from Templeton Pool to participate as often as you’d like – you may have thought about starting a clothing-optional swim of your own at a local pool. We here at NIFTY strongly encourage you to do so, and would like to help if we can! Here are some suggestions if you take the plunge:
1. Contact the pool and make an appointment with the programmer to discuss rentals. (This is their title in Vancouver Park Board sites, it may be different in your area.) Arrange an in-person appointment. There’s no need to mention at this point that you intend to have a clothing-optional event, but if they ask you if this is the case you should certainly (of course) say so, just as you would answer any initial questions they might have about your rental.
2. You will likely have to buy insurance. In BC, you should contact Sport BC insurance to discuss rates and terms. This would be a good thing to have looked into before your meeting with the pool programmer. If you know another group that rents the same pool, they might be willing to share their policy with you. Talk to them and to Sport BC.
3. It’s best to bring two people to your meeting with the pool programmer, a male and a female. (Sex shouldn’t matter, of course, but given societal stereotypes about people who like to do things naked, it helps to present your group as one whose membership represents a wider cross-section of your community.) Sorry (but needless) to say, you should really wear clothes for the meeting.
4. Use your judgment as the meeting unfolds, but you should probably explain your intention to have clothing-optional events early on during the meeting, as one of the parameters of your rentals. Most programmers will probably be at least willing to consider the idea, though they may say they have to check with their superiors first. At this point, be sure to mention all the other groups (like NIFTY) that have sucessfully run clothing-optional swims and events for years without any significant problems and with wide community support. Offer to meet with their superiors yourselves if needed.
5. If the meeting ends without a firm yes or no, give them a week or so to get back to you before calling to follow up. If you do so, start the call by thanking them for having met with you to consider renting their facility to your group. (Also do this when they call with their answer, if they do.)
If you need any help with the process, just call us here at NIFTY – we’ll do what we can. Good Luck! And let us know about the responses you get.
Mark Mathews Alberich is an American photographer living in California, United States. His photographs, usually portraits and nudes, emit an aura of originality and mysticism, the results are spectacular. Photo aquatic effects of layers of fabric and cascades of smoke, a visual delight.
Underwater Gallery 1
Underwater Moms
Breastfeeding Gallery
Underwater Gallery 2
NIFTY has held many events over the years: topfree and clothing-optional parades and marches, topfree picnics and book readings, clothing-optional dances and movie nights, and more. We also usually host a clothing-optional picnic following the Vancouver portion of the annual World Naked Bike Ride. While these events are celebratory in nature, they also serve to educate the public about the harmful effects of suppressing the natural body, and to advocate for clothing-optional rights.
NIFTY shall be, as much as possible, a grassroots democratic organization. No president or permanent chair shall exist. A chair shall be elected at each NIFTY meeting for the purpose of that meeting only, their term ending with that meeting. The only table officers are the secretary and the treasurer.
NIFTY is first and foremost an activist political entity. Although organizing and engaging in social and recreational activities is necessarily part of our function, our primary focus must always remain on political organization towards full clothing-optional rights in all public spaces in Canada.
(NIFTY Constitution, Paragraph 2)
Answer=”Incorrect”
Nudists have all kinds of bodies, all sorts of sizes and shapes, all sorts of ages. You can be fat, have a scar, have mastectomy, etc. Nudism is not a beauty contest.
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3 comments
I am one of the most liberal people you will ever meet regarding nudism. I believe clothing should be 100 % optional except where there is a health or safety risk. I would allow nudism in all parks, public streets, shopping malls, etc. I would not allow it on construction sites, public transport or hospitals (hygiene). Churches would be allowed to decide for themselves (morality issue).
However I think we have to be reasonable in our expectations in what society is ready to allow. The Vancouver Parks Board, being an elected body, would never take a political risk so huge to allow nudism at such a super high profile location such as 3rd beach, with thousands of tourist streaming by on rental bicycles.
There is no place for even a bit of privacy for those of us who don’t want hundreds of tourists with telephoto cameras taking photos and posting them online. Cameras would be impossible to police. That is one of the reasons Wreck is so successful is that it offers a bit of seclusion from the mainstream.
The Parks Board will be brief and dismissive. They will not take naturist organizations seriously if you make requests for clothing optional areas in super high profile locations. (I.e. behind closed doors their reaction would be “are they crazy?”)
I suggest you revise your petition to a slightly lower profile location and save 3rd beach for another time when it might have a chance. Currently it would cause the Parks Board to slam the door and not take nudists seriously.
Your location should be at least a little to the side and it is essential that it offers at least a partially secluded area for a bit of privacy. If that does not happen then you would only get a tiny group of people who strongly believe in nudist philosophy (mainstream would not use it, except to voy). I suggest a place like a corner of kits beach near the cliffs or near some trees, or perhaps an area of a city park with some hills or other backdrop like Queen Elizabeth Park.
I love that you are forward thinking. The idea certainly opens up a conversation but it needs revision for others to take naturists seriously.
Thankyou.
Respectfully yours
I think it’s a great idea thank you for your help and support
NIFTY did not start the petition. We just published a link to it. Many of the people who go to Third Beach would go nude if it was allowed and they wear minimal clothing as it is. Some of them visit Wreck Beach too. But as for changing the location — you would have to contact the petition creators themselves.