Nudism in a Cold Climate: The Visual Culture of Naturists in Mid-20th Century Britain

This book explores the idiosyncratic phenomenon of social nudism in mid-20th-century Britain, an island nation fabled for its lack of sunshine and reserved social attitudes. It examines the movement's genesis in the 1920s, its proliferation in the postwar era, and its redefinition as naturism in the 1960s. Unadorned bodies were the central campaigning tool of British naturisms photographic propaganda, drawing attention to the cause and driving publication sales but also attracting regular public opprobrium.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 18 January 2022
Publisher: Atelier Editions

A captivating exploration into an experimental British nudist culture that boldly challenged and revolutionized traditional perceptions of bodies and their representations

This meticulously illustrated volume delves into the peculiar phenomenon of social nudism in mid-20th-century Britain, a nation renowned for its lack of sunshine and its conservative social attitudes.

Structured across three interconnected phases, readers are first introduced to the movement during its nascent stages in the 1920s, when nudism was closely associated with vegetarianism, intellectualism, and utopianism. This fledgling culture flourished in the postwar era, accompanied by a growing landscape of amateur clubs, governing organizations, high-circulation publications, and photographers who defied censorship.

Finally, Annebella Pollen examines the movement's redefinition as naturism, its cultural battles, and its struggle to survive amidst the shifting sexual liberation of the permissive 1960s. Unadorned bodies served as the primary means of visual propaganda employed by British naturists. While they successfully drew attention to the cause and boosted publication sales, they also faced regular public criticism. Naturism's evolving visual culture thus offers a microscopic glimpse into British moral, legal, and aesthetic transformations during a period of rapid social change, revealing evolving perspectives on health, sex, gender, ethnicity, pleasure, and power.

Annebella Pollen holds the position of Reader in History of Art and Design at the University of Brighton. Her previous work, Mass Photography: Collective Histories of Everyday Life, examined a collection of 55,000 amateur snapshots captured on a single day in 1987. Additionally, her book, The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift, delved into the modernist craft and occult spirituality of former scoutmasters in 1920s England.

Weight: 700g
Dimension: 235 x 173 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781733622066