Issue date: 12/2/05 Section: News

Ivan Flores - The Battalion

While some Hollywood depictions of nudist resorts depict havens for the sexy and studly, in actuality several sites for nude recreation are not so much single-and-mingle but family-oriented establishments. Of these, Lone Star Resort in Navasota is close to home, nestled just south of College Station in Grimes County.

Fluffy Felton, who manages the Lone Star Resort along with her husband, Dale, said Lone Star Resort started construction in 2001.

"We opened in May 2003 and put in a bathhouse, bathtub, pool, pier, office, barn plus two pavilions," she said.

The resort has facilities for swimming and hot-tubbing; volleyball, croquet and badminton courts, horseshoe pits, paddleboats and fishing areas. Special-event weekends feature food (often potlucks) and dancing.

Arnold LeUnes, an A&M professor specializing in sports psychology, said ties exist between nudity and athletic activities.

"Nudity in sports goes back to the Greek tradition of the Olympics," LeUnes said. "This came out of an admiration, almost worship, for the human body. I came back from Italy and my kids saw the photographs and said, 'All you did was take pictures of (art showing) nude men!' Well, that's a lot of what's there when you look at the ancient artifacts - sculptures, paintings and such."

LeUnes said a difference exists between Americans and Europeans, in terms of their varying levels of comfort with regard to nudity.

"I've spent the past five summers in Europe and it's very clear, at least in my view, that they have a more evolved outlook on the human body," he said. "I think our outlook goes back to Puritanism, with sex and the body being taboo. We haven't evolved in the same way as the Europeans."

LeUnes said that while there is "lots of sex" and exposure of the human body in American movies and on television, mores regarding sexuality, nudity and the body have not drastically changed.

"In general, unlike many Europeans, Americans have a narrower view - typically, they can't make the separation between nudity and sexuality."

Fluffy Felton insists that nudity is not a sexual thing.

"Children are natural nudists!" she said. "And most adults, when they take their clothes off, become kids. Here, adults and kids really talk to each other on an equal basis. It's funny, when you see someone that could be your grandmother, crocheting by the pool, except naked."

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