‘Freedom’: the Taiwanese naturists defying social – and legal – norms while nurturing body positivity
- Strictly speaking, public nudity is against the law in Taiwan. But one group holds monthly events where they can bare all without outside interference
In the mountains of Miaoli county, about an hour-and-a-half drive from Taipei, a group of friends have rented out all eight bedrooms and the lobby of a bed and breakfast. It’s a fairly remote area of Taiwan, surrounded by forest and 40km (25 miles) from Miaoli’s central railway station.
It’s where the group can embrace nature without any interference from the outside world, and here, that’s important; because here, everyone is naked.
Strictly speaking, public nudity is against the law in Taiwan, as it is, for the most part, in the rest of Asia. And while Taiwan is known to be among Asia’s most progressive places – it voted in the island’s first female president in 2016 and legalised same-sex marriage in 2019 – there are no private nude resorts or nude beaches, although there are some hot springs where nudity is allowed.
Naturism – as the practice is known – is more common in Europe, where Freikörperkultur (“free body culture”) has been an accepted and celebrated part of German society since the late 19th century.
In Britain, and in other parts of the world, the term naturist is usually preferred over nudist, because the former also encompasses a love of nature.
According to the International Naturist Federation, headquartered in Austria and the largest such organisation in the world, naturism “isn’t sexual” and is rather “a way of life in harmony with nature characterised by the practice of communal nudity with the intention of encouraging self-respect, respect for others and for the environment”.
