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A Nude with Attitude |
Like feminists thirty years ago, some naturist leaders refuse to acknowledge the lavender element in their midst, fearful that it might be used by their political enemies to discredit the naturist movement as a whole. In both cases, they were challenged by LesBiGay activists who demanded to be heard, and who were not afraid to rock the boat. Such was the case with Rita Mae Brown and the National Organization for Women, and such is the case with Rob Boyte and South Florida Free Beaches [SFFB], the group responsible for making the north end of Miami's Haulover Beach a clothing-optional beach. According to Rob Boyte's biography, his "first naturist experiences were in the clothing optional crash pads and communes of New Orleans, and the occasional rural rock concert during the social rebellions of the early '70s." He joined SFFB in 1987, after "seeing a TV news report about National Nude Weekend on Miami Beach." Boyte's "Nude Attitude" column, which first appeared in the SFFB newsletter in 1988, has since been published in Nude & Natural, Naturally, and the Naturist Gay-zette. Boyte has also contributed photographs, line drawings and cartoons to naturist magazines and addressed naturist issues in the op-ed pages of local newspapers, both straight and gay. Openly bisexual, Boyte's writings and artworks looks at naturist issues from a decidedly queer perspective. He is also active in gay and bi rights groups and with AIDS causes.
Some naturists were not amused. "After the question was posted, I immediately received e-mail responses from SFFB Board members Bruce Frendahl and Richard Mason questioning my methods, motives, and judgment." Writing in Haulover-Digest, Mason worried that "if the beach is classified as a predominately gay beach, this would cause many newcomers not to go there. Should this happen, then a majority of the newcomers going to Haulover who are not gay would drop off. If this was to happen, then the beach would become more of a gay beach. Those who do not care if this happens are entitled to this opinion. It think it would cause the beach to lose its community support. . . . This opinion of mine does not mean that I think Gays conduct themselves in any inappropriate way more so than a non-gay person. It is simply based on the reality of life in America." I should point out that, in my own personal contacts with Mason, I found him to be gay-friendly, and under his leadership SFFB has been open to both GLBT individuals and same-sex couples. Others made no pretense at rational discourse. "What surprises me is the way people jumped to conclusions without even knowing what was written," says Boyte. "As the moderator of Haulover-Digest pointed out in a defense of me, people who didn't know me were apparently assuming my motives were anti-gay." A woman “questioned the motives of seeking a gay nude beach and implied stereotypically that it must be for sexual reasons." One especially rude respondent wrote, "This guy Rob is a real a--h--- because of people like him we may have to cut some peoples' opinion out of printing ... Maybe he should just get a life! ”
Boyte attributes these negative attacks to a combination of homophobia, political correctness, and the fear that the authorities might use the gay issue to close down the Beach. "I am the outsider with SFFB because, while I really appreciate the nude beach, it is not my primary civil rights focus. I am more involved with gay rights and gay visibility, and although the naturists claim to be inclusive of gays, they admit that gay visibility is bad marketing. So, we're told to acquiesce to the ignorance of those straight people who would pass judgment on us for our sexual orientation. The fear may be justified, because these ignorant people are the ones who attack gay rights and nude beaches and other civil rights. But when you know the history of gays in society and have had that history personally impact on you with discrimination and ridicule, then it becomes more difficult to keep a low profile for the sake of projecting a false image." "Homophobia is a widely misused word, inadequate for what we need to describe most hate mongers," Boyte continues. "However, in the case of SFFB it is literally valid. They do believe in equality for gays and are supportive of gay rights and are inclusive of gays, but apparently they are homophobic because they fear the impact of a gay identity to their nude beach. The 'political correctness' is just the tool of this homophobia, by insisting that we need not classify people by sexual orientation. No, we need not discriminate against anyone for any reason, but it is a false assertion that all people are the same. We are not. We each have our individual history, and our group history that differentiates us from others." Boyte agrees with the theory that men are more naturally promiscuous than women, which would make it easier for a man to find a same-sex partner than an opposite-sex partner. Does this mean gay or bisexual men are more likely than heterosexuals to have sex on the Beach? "I'm a bisexual man who's been gay for the past two years by default. Since my divorce I've been intimate with more than a half dozen men, but not one woman. I'm still very attracted to women, but you have to pursue them and make commitments, whereas you can get a guy in your bed without really knowing his name or being able to speak his language. Also, men seem to be more daring and less inhibited about having sex in public. But in my stays at Haulover, I've seen as much heterosexual playing around as homosexual. Straight men with a receptive girlfriend can be just as bold as two men together."
 Writing for the gay Naturist Gay-zette, Boyte noted "a prejudiced double standard that many straights have about same gender love that causes them to see more inappropriate sexuality than is actually there. This double standard, of course, is from people who think that two men kissing on a public beach is inappropriate behavior, while the same kiss between a man and a woman is a cute affectionate moment." "I saw this a couple of years ago when a prejudiced lifeguard was quite loudly admonishing a man who had laid his head on another man's chest, while nearby there was a male/female 'octopus' (it appeared that eight entwined limbs were attached to one body). The gay couple and I confronted the lifeguard and the supervisor assured us that there would be further sensitivity training as to what is actually lewd behavior." This wasn't the first time that Boyte clashed with the board of the Free Beaches. As he tells me, "there was an incident in February 1997 where Richard [Mason] and I had a major disagreement similar to this one. I had already established myself as a naturist with a Herald Neighbors reporter. She called me for input on something else but asked how it was at Haulover. I told her that they were concerned about Lewd and Lascivious behavior and were handing out fliers on the beach. She asked for one and I sent it." "Everyone at the club was surprised when an article, 'Nude, lewd? That's rude' was published about sex on the beach. The story quoted a hostile life guard who said most complaints were about gay men, but they also quoted me and Shirley Mason. I was surprised when I got chewed out by Richard Mason for alerting the media by sending a flier to the reporter. I almost left the club at that time because I wasn't Richard's paid employee, and he was acting as if I worked for him and the club. Again, I reserve the right to talk to anyone I wish, including news reporters, and to give them fliers that are being freely distributed on a public beach. I'm really quite candid by nature, very shameless in many regards, and I don't like the kind of "marketing" that sells a product under false pretenses. That seems to be the major difference in my philosophy and SFFB." As a result of this latest controversy, Boyte resigned from South Florida Free Beaches: "With these criticisms from the SFFB Board members I started seeing a larger concern. They were trying to dissuade me from mentioning the gay population by discrediting the accuracy of my count, and then questioning my motives. All this intrusion into my writing project without having the slightest idea of what I was actually planning to write, gave me the impression that there was a real knee jerk reaction to any mention of the gay population at Haulover. I finally realized that I had very little in common with these people. So by the next day I told them to take me off the mailing list, that I wished not to remain a member of THEIR club." Now a free agent, Rob Boyte plans to enjoy Haulover Beach, like 99% of the people who go there do. "I see a lot of gay men enjoying the beach, who apparently aren't interested in the politics or marketing of it. If they were political naturists, they would have joined SFFB and I wouldn't have been alone in this "gay nude beach" debate." "I really enjoy the beach. I'm a 'user,' almost a denigration among the activist nudists, who look down on people who don't come out to Haulover to WORK. Well, I work all week and want to chill on the weekend, to lie naked on this sand and soak up the breeze and sun, and socialize with like minded people. I think most of the people around me are users who don't even hold membership in a naturist organization or club, much less get involved in politics or activism." Though there are many gay nudist groups--Gay Naturists International, International Men Enjoying Naturism and scores of local clubs--they are more social than political. "There will still be a need for watchers and activists. It is nice having someone keep an eye on all the weird people who want to prevent others from enjoying themselves, but if you can't enjoy yourself, then what's the use? I'll continue as I have, assessing the situation at the beach and alerting others to any problems thru the Internet or local press. Not much, but it's my contribution. I would hope that more gay men would get more involved in some capacity. Stay informed, check out Haulover-Digest or the other Internet nudist sites." |
Rob Boyte 
Even so, “the kooks didn't bother me so much as the
SFFB Board members, because they do know me and they questioned my motives
and judgment without even knowing what I was going to write. Most of the
responses were of the nature of 'why does it matter?' followed by 'I don't
care what a person's sexual orientation is - as long as they act
appropriately in public.'”
© 1997-2000 BEI