A town in the south of the Netherlands has started a campaign to dissuade nudist beach visitors from sex on the beach and in the dunes.
On Thursday, Veere municipality put up amended beachside boards warning frisky guests that the dunes are legally off limits, public sex is banned and there is “increased monitoring” to combat “sexual meeting place activities in the dunes, nature reserve and beach”.
“Project Oranjezon” – orange sun – was inspired by a stream of complaints to the municipality, water board and local nature organisation about “sex acts carried out by naked recreationists”, and indications that certain groups were pre-arranging liaisons.
“The dunes are hugely important to the local community and must be protected from undesirable behaviour that damages the natural environment and can disturb other holidaymakers,” Veere’s mayor, Frederiek Schouwenaar, told the Observer in a statement. “[This] is an important step to ensure public order and safety.”
There will be no more warnings from authorities, but immediate “verbal” enforcement and eight new information boards bang the message home.
The SGP – a conservative, Calvinist party, which recently won the largest share in local elections – backed the campaign. “We greatly appreciate the fact that our mayor is taking enforcement action: these excesses need to be combatted,” Perry de Visser, a spokesperson for the party, told the Observer. “There are regular complaints to the municipality and local organisations, and this is why we applaud strong council action.”
Naturist organisations also believe it is important to distance nude sunbathing from sexual activity. Karlien Lodewijk, a spokesperson for the NFN Open en Bloot (open and bare) naked recreation association, said: “Sex outdoors is not naked recreation, and people who come to sunbathe find it just as much of a nuisance as other people do. Naked recreation … gives a real feeling of freedom, and it’s very healthy to see real, naked bodies that are not photoshopped.
But we distance ourselves from sex outdoors.”
Marco Wiechert, the owner of the Aloha Beach restaurant at the heart of the action, is more concerned about checking ID for guests ordering a sex on the beach cocktail than illicit activities outdoors. “I have been here on the beach for 14 years and I’ve never had a problem with it,” he said.
“It’s mostly in August, Belgian men, and also swingers who make dates with each other … If some people have a rendezvous in the dunes – well, that has been happening since the world began. Some people would rather do it outside than in a bedroom. And others might come to do it because it has been banned.”
Others decried more prudishness around sex. “It has become a bit of a trend in the Netherlands and other countries that, because of a conservative movement, people who are less happy about sexuality and nudity have a louder voice,” said Yuri Ohlrichs, a sexologist and senior consultant at Rutgers, the Netherlands Centre on Sexuality.
“That’s what we are seeing with this outdoor sex in the dunes [ban]. Who does it bother? Someone who does it in order to be seen is breaking the Dutch law by confronting people with sexuality against their wishes.”
On the Oranjezon nudist beach itself, many German tourists and families were surprised. Maria Zimmermann, from Aachen in Germany, said. “I haven’t heard about it, although I think in Germany they have the same problem.”
But there were also approving noises. “Now there is a fence so you can’t go into the dunes,” said Els den Dulk, 74, from Eindhoven. “It was always a bit threatening, and you didn’t feel happy or comfortable. This has been going on for 20 years with a few unsavoury types.”
Her husband, Ron den Dulk, 75, nodded in agreement. Struggling to get up his wind break against a stiff North Sea breeze, he added: “They should also ban the wind.”
