Gay Naturism - Early History

Early History

In the early 1980s, a number of unaffiliated local clubs for gay naturists began independently springing up in major metropolitan areas of the United States and Canada. By that time, many major cities were served by LGBT newspapers that were established during the gay liberation movement of the 1970s. These papers—e.g., L.A. Frontiers, Seattle Gay News and the Houston Voice—were important means of spreading the word about the first wave of gay naturist social clubs. Among the oldest and largest of the clubs that are still extant are Males au Naturel (MAN) in New York, Los Angeles Nude Guys (LANG), San Francisco Kindred Nudists (SKiNS), and the Greater Atlanta Naturist Group (GANG) .

The first nationwide organization to promote gay naturism also originated in the early 80's. In 1980, Lee Baxandall founded The Naturist Society (TNS). In contrast to the more conservative American Sunbathing Association (ASA) (which in 1995 was renamed the American Association for Nude Recreation, or AANR), TNS openly welcomed diverse groups of people and was a loose association of special interest groups (SIGs). According to Baxandall, from its inception TNS received almost daily inquires about a SIG for gay naturists. Baxandall approached Murray Kaufman (d. 2003), an openly gay New Yorker who had been hosting private nude socials for gay men in his home. Kaufman agreed to oversee a gay SIG for TNS, and Gay and Lesbian Naturists (GLN) was formed in 1983. GLN had its first gathering at the Summit Lodge in Rockbridge, Ohio in 1985. About 60 members, all of them men, attended.