Bernarr Macfadden - naturism wiki

Introduction

Bernarr McFadden (1868 – 1955), was an American health guru and early advocate for social nudity. He was born Bernard Adolphus McFadden in 1868 in Mill Spring, Missouri.¹ He was a sickly child, and he was orphaned by the age of 11 years old. He found wellness and health working on a farm and eating a healthy diet. ²

He was arrested twice and convicted. By accounts of some family members Macfadden was an autocratic husband and father. He was married four times and had a reputation for having several affairs. He died in 1195 from a urinary tract infection for which he refused to seek medical treatment.³

Physical Culture

Macfadden is often called the “father of physical culture”. ⁴ His physical culture principles formed much of the foundation for what would later be called naturism or nudism. He was an advocate for nude exercise and avoiding restrictive clothing. ⁵. His magazine Physical Culture would inspire the name of the first US nudist organization, the American League for Physical Culture, or ALPC. ⁶ Macfadden may have also influenced other proponents of early modern naturism like German Richard Ungewitter.

“We shut up our bodies in cloth and leather boxes” ⁷

Publishing

Macfadden published several magazines including a health magazine for women titled Beauty and Health as well as several books including, Physical Culture Cookbooks and fitness books. Macfadden published the magazine Physical Culture for four decades. In 1905 he opened Physical Culture City in New Jersey where a small but dedicated group of participants practiced a wellness lifestyle. The fitness and health regime that included dietary restrictions of no red meat, white bread and dress restrictions of no high heel shoes presumably for women. ⁸

Wellness Guru

Macfadden was the original wellness guru who preceded 20th century fitness icons like Charles Atlas and Jack Lalane. He was a bare-footer (he walked 25 miles barefoot from NJ to NYC) and an adamant believer in naturopathic medicine and was and antivaxxer and didn’t believe in the conventions of the medical establishment. Macfadden was a sexual health advocate who believed a vibrant sex life contributed to overall health and wellness. In today’s terminology he might be described as sex positive. ⁹

Dr. Bernarr McFadden, the most outspoken advocate of nude sunbathing, claims that safe sunbathing without sunscreen does not cause skin cancer or wrinkles, but actually helps heal these conditions. He writes that “… all we need do is pay attention to our bodies. … If the sunshine is going to be harmful to us, our bodies will feel uncomfortable in the sunshine. This will force us to withdraw.”¹⁰

References

1
Bernard Macfadden (1868 – 1955), the “Father of Physical Culture”
2
Bernarr Macfadden – The Father of Physical Culture
3
Bernarr Macfadden (1868 – 1955), the “Father of Physical Culture”
4
Bernarr Macfadden – American physical culturist and publisher. Encyclopedia Britannia online
5
Bernarr Macfadden, Early American Champion of Nudists, Naturists or not? N magazine Fall 2016
6
Naturist Vintage
7
Bernarr Macfadden (1868 – 1955), the “Father of Physical Culture”
8
Nudity, Fasting, and Eyelid Workouts: The Original Wellness Guru
9
Putting the “Fad” in Macfadden
10
Natural Healing News