Gay Naturism - Growth in The 1990s

Growth in The 1990s

Annual GLN gatherings grew steadily in the late 80's and early 90's. In 1992, the group reorganized, with two key changes: it became an independent entity (no longer a SIG of TNS); and it was renamed Gay Naturists International (GNI) . Although GLN had been founded with the intent of attracting both gay men and lesbians, it had been a de facto all-male organization as there had never been any significant lesbian participation in the group. The new GNI became gender specific in its mission. GNI also became an umbrella organization for networking local gay naturist clubs.

In 1994, there was a schism in GNI due to a legal dispute over records and money with respect to the paid employee. Out of this split, the employee in question founded International Men Enjoying Naturism (IMEN). Its goals were similar to those of GNI, including being a registry of local clubs, providing referrals to local groups, helping new local gay naturist groups organize, and holding an annual gathering. He was later terminated in a similar fashion from IMEN over the same issues.

The number of local gay naturist clubs continued to grow in the 90's, particularly the latter part of the decade. GNI and IMEN provided organizational assistance to new clubs, and the advent of the Internet meant greater publicity opportunities for new and existing clubs. The website Spike's Naked Planet lists over 100 gay naturist clubs in the United States, about half a dozen in Canada and a scattering in other places across the world.