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Sample Articles Sunshine and Cancer Prevention
Sample Articles - Volume 23, Number 4 (Winter 2008–09) DWOBS goes 'BAD'!
Winter 2008–09 (gN/aN 23:4)
DWOBS goes "BAD"!
by Judy Williams
If the Spanish Naturist Federation can call for a día sin bañadores (Day WithOut Bathing Suits—DWOBS), as it did in July 2007 and 2008, for anyone visiting any beach, so can Canada! Vancouverites decided to do the same at Wreck Beach on August 31, 2008 (after our August 23 date was defeated by unseasonably cold weather). Even though we don’t have the freedom in North America that Spanish beaches do with topfreedom and nudity, if we continue to encourage body acceptance over body shame, our day will come.
Just as the Spanish media pre-publicized their day, so did our wonderful media here. CBC television, CKNW Radio, 24 Hours, and Canadian Press gave us great “coverage.” One station even referred to our rain date as our “shrivel date”!
It was chilly again on the eventual Body Acceptance Day (BAD) 2008. Still, folks loved the idea of the naked passports we distributed to those brave enough to forgo their clothing after checking out the multi-coloured Body Acceptance Machine (BAM). It’s a large tent that clothed people crawl into to be “churned out” naked, to the sound of a hailer making its siren noise!
The visas
The visas are beach activities for which you get signatures, provided you are naked when you do so. You may still order food, for example, if you are clothed, but in that case you cannot get your naked passport signed in the naked dining visa.
Thanks to our wonderful volunteers, we were able to present our 50/50 raffle winner with a sizeable chunk of change at the end of the day. We also operated our skin cancer screening checkpoints and provided body painting, which many folks thoroughly enjoyed receiving. One woman was transformed into a pirate buccaneer before she plied her spatula at the grill.
Next year we challenge all of Canada to get on board with us for Canada’s second annual Body Acceptance Day, July 19. We suggest that discount coupons from area merchants be included in those naked passports. Those fun passports read, in part: “In case of severe sunburn or other beach calamity such as tan lines, please notify the nearest Naturist diplomatic or consular office and the individual named below…”
