Inspiring First Time Story on Sunny Day's site.

[KC]

OK, I can see where John P is coming from. Some of the Sunny Day stories seem a little too good to be true. But so what? Does it really harm me if Sunny Day, or anyone who posts here or anyone else, isn't who they claim to be?

Hi Patrick. I agree with you. I'm not a fan of Sunny Day and it has nothing to do with believing that the site is "true" or not. I simply don't find much to interest me there. The debate here goes beyond matters of veracity. If I choose to relate an event that happened to me, I use the format and conventions of a "story." I give it a beginning, a middle, and an end. Like most stories, then, it is neatly tied up and might look like, well, just a story. Writing, even about things that occur, has a fictive element to it. we choose how to organize the story, what details to include. We compress or expand time to make it fit the purpose of the story. No one would read if we didn't do that to some degree. This seems to me what happens with the Sunny Day site. The stories are formulaic but, so what?

I hope you and Nia are well.

[DipperDave]

I'm interested to see that there are people here taking this "Sunnyday" person seriously. Can you explain what it is that makes the material seem real, as opposed to fiction? There are so many of us eager to hear about young women in naturism (of whom there are very few in reality) and here's one who'll tell us all about herself--yet she's carefully vague about who's involved or when or where. Both what's put in and what's left out make me suspicious. What a nasty cynical person I am.

The only way any of us ever "believes"...by interaction over time. I've been on and off that site for as long as it's existed and, at least to me, she's much more "real" than you're ever likely to be.

Evolution of a Dipper

[John P]

I don't agree. We "believe" in something because we've seen convincing evidence that it exists. And as I said before, in a case like this what I'd need would be to see "Sunnyday" tie herself into a network of other people and locations, extending out to people and places which are personally known to witnesses. True, we could imagine a whole web of fictional people vouching for each other, but if some of those impostors claim to have their pictures in magazines, or even on the Internet in multiple places, then the pretense wouldn't work. This goes right back to the days when computers were still largely in a predicted future--think of the "Turing Test"! You say Sunnyday is "much more "real" than you're ever likely to be", but I could tell you to go down to Black's Beach and talk to any of three members of the Black's Beach Bares who know me personally. Two of them have actually visited my home. Is Sunnyday ever likely to do that?

But still, I haven't proved that Sunnyday is a fake and I know I can't prove it. We just have to believe what seems right to us. Though I think we should apply an extra dose of skepticism when something comes along that we want to believe in.

[DipperDave]

I don't agree. You say Sunnyday is "much more "real" than you're ever likely to be", but I could tell you to go down to Black's Beach and talk to any of three members of the Black's Beach Bares who know me personally.

You could tell me to do that, but I won't because I'm not willing to break my anonymity any more than SunnyDay is. So, I guess you'll be taking me on faith, too (or not!). I see anonymity as essential to our cause. Too many of our fellow travelers need it just to get along in a cruel world.

Are fakers a problem? They certainly can be, and I try to watch out for them, but there's no way to avoid the problem entirely. For politeness, though, I never publicly call people into question without good reason. And there is none in this case.

[sanua_chap]

OK, I can see where John P is coming from. Some of the Sunny Day stories seem a little too good to be true. But so what? Does it really harm me if Sunny Day, or anyone who posts here or anyone else, isn't who they claim to be?

Hi Patrick. I agree with you. I'm not a fan of Sunny Day and it has nothing to do with believing that the site is "true" or not. I simply don't find much to interest me there. The debate here goes beyond matters of veracity. If I choose to relate an event that happened to me, I use the format and conventions of a "story." I give it a beginning, a middle, and an end. Like most stories, then, it is neatly tied up and might look like, well, just a story. Writing, even about things that occur, has a fictive element to it. we choose how to organize the story, what details to include. We compress or expand time to make it fit the purpose of the story. No one would read if we didn't do that to some degree. This seems to me what happens with the Sunny Day site. The stories are formulaic but, so what?

I hope you and Nia are well.

People are talking as if the stories are the only thing on the site. Whether you like the stories seems to be as much a question of taste as anything else, so there is not much point in commenting further there.

But when I have visited the site, I have always been impressed by SunnyDay's responses to people on the message board. Her replies have almost always been caring and thoughtful, and are often quite insightful. So I am impressed by the person who sends the messages, and am willing to say she sounds genuine to me. If she is really a middle aged man with ulterior motives, she hides it very well!

[John P]

DipperDave, I'm sorry that you feel the need to be an anonymous naturist. That's especially true because you live in San Diego, and if you chose to, you could join two excellent groups, the Blacks Beach Bares and the Camping Bares (maybe a little lack of imagination in selecting names there, but never mind). Personally, I'm active in the Naturist Society and I have a lot of naturist friends, and it adds a lot to my own enjoyment of naturism. Perhaps it's largely because I interact a lot with other naturists "in the flesh" that I'm skeptical about anyone who just tells their story on the Internet. That person could and should be getting involved with other people. Just a week ago, there was a swim party here in Massachusetts, and there were about 60 people crowded around a pool (indoors, it being New England in early March!) of whom I knew about half by name.

As for "calling people into question without good reason", the first message in this thread says, "There's a lot here for both people thinking of becoming naturists, and for those of us who get the chance to introduce someone to naturism." I can just imagine someone offering Sunnyday's site as a way to interest another person in naturism, and having that person respond that it all seems like fiction. It would end up being totally counterproductive. I don't think it's wrong to add a little skepticism.

[calgarymark42]

My two cents worth:

I discovered naturism on the internet in 1999 and it wasn't long after that I discovered SunnyDay's earliest writings - her first web site was a successor to writings on (I think) Streaking.org. As the years have progressed she has charted her progress from teenager at college to her present status of married and mother; most of that has been reported by her in her stories. The point is that throughout she has displayed maturity and wisdom as well as an enjoyment of nudity and I for one am happy to believe in SunnyDay. She has certainly helped me progress from internet enquirer to occasional practitioner. Sanua Chap hit it on the head - she has given sound advice. Her writing, to me, has always been realistic and believable.

It seems to me to be eminently sensible (on the internet) to use a 'nom-de-plume' for fear of problems if your real identity is revealed - and you all know what those can be. I use one myself, as do most of us (I think - I haven't counted'em). I have no fear of 'this SunnyDay person'.

[Gymnos42]

I don't dwell on whether Sunny Day's stories are true or not. Frankly, they're actually so tame I have no reason to doubt them. And sometimes when I'm bored for fun I will go back and read one of her late night runs through a field or undeveloped neighborhood. I find them cute and rather fun.

Could she be a fake, well I guess so. But then again I may really be a 13 year old girl impersonating being a 46 year old man with gray hair, heart disease, Meniere's Disease, glaucoma and osteoporosis. How do you know?
~ Larry

[Toby_StH]

Could she be a fake, well I guess so. But then again I may really be a 13 year old girl impersonating being a 46 year old man with gray hair, heart disease, Meniere's Disease, glaucoma and osteoporosis. How do you know?

We know by instinct.

[John P]

Can't be real. No kid could have that kind of medical knowledge.

[phoebe]

maybe its a 13 y.o. kid that watches discovery health channel.

[Toby_StH]

Can't be real. No kid could have that kind of medical knowledge.

It could be a kid who looks up some random medical things on the Internet.