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The 2001 NOP Poll - Questions and Answers |
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During the debate over the proposed Sexual Offences Act, British Naturism was prompted by concerned individuals to commission NOP to carry out a poll with a number of questions about public attitudes to nude recreation. To date this is the only properly constructed and reliable survey ever carried out on this subject in the UK.
The poll enabled the number of people who describe themselves as naturists to be calculated reasonably accurately and also an estimate to be made of the number of people whohave taken part in recreation without clothes do not think of themselves as "a naturist".
The poll was conducted by face-to-face interviews in people's homes between January 18 and 23, 2001. 1823 people aged 16 or over were interviewed, using carefully controlled quota sampling techniques to achieve a set of responses which was fairly representative of the population as a whole. The raw data was weighted using official population data to produce demographically representative numbers.
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| Q1 Now for some light-hearted questions about your attitude to nudity. Please tell me which of the following things you have ever done |
Yes:
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Yes:
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| Sunbathed without a costume to get an all-over tan |
14%
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57%
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| Swum without a costume |
24%
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57%
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| Been on a foreign naturist beach |
11%
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51%
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| Visited a British clothes-optional beach, resort or club |
7%
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20%
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| Q2 Naturists enjoy activities such as sunbathing and swimming without clothes. Do you think such people are...? |
Yes:
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Yes:
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| Criminal |
2%
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3%
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| Disgusting |
7%
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3%
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| Harmless |
88%
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97%
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| Sensible |
40%
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74%
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| Q3 If you were walking along the coast on a hot day, and you came across a group of naked people sunbathing, swimming or playing cricket, which, if any, of the following would you do? |
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| Ignore them and keep walking |
78%
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49%
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| Be alarmed and keep well away from them |
2%
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0%
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| Go naked yourself |
2%
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34%
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| Settle down but keep your swimming costume on |
13%
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11%
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| Call the police because you were frightened or distressed |
1%
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0%
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| None of these |
2%
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0%
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| Don't know/no answer |
1%
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3%
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| Q4 If it is not intended to give offence, in which, if any, of these places do you think nudity should be legal? |
Yes:
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Yes:
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| In back gardens |
66%
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80%
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| In quiet areas of public parks |
10%
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23%
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| On some beaches |
82%
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94%
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| At certain times in public swimming pools |
35%
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60%
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| Anywhere that is specifically declared a clothing-optional zone |
69%
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77%
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| Q5 And would you describe yourself as a naturist, or not? |
Yes:
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Yes:
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| Yes |
2%
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?
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| No |
97%
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?
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| Refused/don't know |
1%
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Mike Hopkins summarised the results of the January 2001 NOP poll very nicely:
- 97% of the adult public would not describe themselves as a naturist
- 88% of the adult public consider sunbathing or swimming without clothes to be harmless
- 82% of the adult public consider that adult nudity should be legal on some beaches
- 69% of the adult public consider that adult nudity should be legal anywhere that is a specifically declared a clothes optional zone
- 66% of the adult public consider that adult nudity should be legal in back gardens
- 40% of the adult public consider sunbathing or swimming without clothes to be sensible
- 24% of the adult public have swum without a costume
- 14% of the adult public have sunbathed naked to get an all-over tan
- 11% of the adult public have been on a foreign naturist beach
- 7% of the adult public consider sunbathing or swimming without clothes to be disgusting
- 2% of the adult public consider sunbathing or swimming without clothes to be criminal
- oddly enough, only 2% of the adult public would describe themselves as a naturist
This article is a slightly edited version of an article that first appeared in BN 148, the Summer 2001 issue of the CCBN magazine. Tim Forcer.
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