International- Nudists in Spain want the government to do something about clothed tourists visiting nudist beaches.
- They make naturists feel uncomfortable by taking photos and staring, one nudist group said.
Nudists in Spain are fed up with people coming to nudist beaches in their swimsuits and are calling on officials to do something about it.
The Naturist-Nudist Federation of Catalonia recently sent a letter to the Government of Catalonia, which is an autonomous community of Spain, asking it to address what it described as "the discrimination that nudists face on the beaches of Catalonia," The Guardian reported.
"Before, people would arrive at a nude beach and either leave or strip down," Seigmon Rovira, the head of the Naturist-Nudist Federation of Catalonia, said in an interview with The Guardian.
"Now they stay and keep their swimsuit on," he said. "But what they don't realize is that if there are a lot of them, they end up making us uncomfortable. It's a lack of respect."
Rovira said that tourists who actively seek out secluded spots often overlook the nudist identity of certain beaches, according to the newspaper.
These clothed beachgoers then proceed to take photos on their cellphones, a practice that is offputting to those who are nude, he said.
"People that are naked don't want to end up with their photos on social media," Rovira told The Guardian.
The Naturist-Nudist Federation of Catalonia did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
The Guardian said the association has yet to receive a response from Catalan's government. The government did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Rovira also said that clothed beachgoers frequently disregard signs that indicate a beach is specifically for nudists, per The Guardian.
Nudists are also, on occasion, laughed at or subjected to staring and disparaging remarks, with women being the main target of harassment, he said, according to the newspaper.
Rovira told the newspaper that it's challenging to practice naturism when surrounded by people in clothes.
That's why the association penned the letter to the Catalan government to better protect nudist spaces in the region.
Proposed initiatives include enhancing signage near beaches to inform visitors of the specific nature of each beach, and implementing a public awareness campaign, The Guardian reported.