Taking off her t-shirt, jeans and panties, Mel Shelton lies down naked to sunbathe.
But she’s not on a nude beach or in a secluded private garden – she’s on the balcony of her third-floor flat in Warrington, Cheshire, in full view of dozens of neighbours.
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“I’ve been sunbathing naked for 10 years and I have no intention of stopping,” said Mel, 29. “As well as giving me a big dose of vitamin D – which is good for my physical and mental health – it also ensures I’m free from tan lines in the summer.
“My neighbors might think ‘cover it up’, but I just ignore them.
“I’m not doing this to shock anyone, and a naked body is nothing to be ashamed of.”
Mel isn’t the only one who thinks this way. According to a survey carried out IPSOS14% – or a staggering 6.75 million people – in Britain consider themselves naturists, admitting to being naked in their gardens or other outdoor areas.
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Who cares about a naked body?
Skinny-dipping tops the list, with 21% admitting to skinny-dipping, while one in five confessed to being partially nude around other people, including on Zoom calls and video conferences.
Mel, a hairdresser, started sunbathing naked when she left home at 19 and believes it helped boost her low self-confidence.
“When I was a teenager, I hated my body,” she said. “I never felt like I fit in.
“I had acne and had difficulty losing weight.
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Overcoming body problems getting more severe
“When I left the house, I vowed to overcome my lack of body confidence and challenged myself to sunbathe naked in the garden – which was very private and not overlooked by any other house – when my flatmates were away.
“I thought it would be something unique, but instead it was the most freeing thing I’ve ever done.”
From then on, Mel regularly sunbathed naked at home, and even started doing so at friends’ houses.
“I always asked if they minded,” she said. “None of them did.”
When Mel moved into her two-bedroom apartment in February 2020, her sun-screened balcony was a big draw. “I have clear glass balcony railings,” she said. “Sometimes I place a towel over the edges of the glass to limit neighbors’ eagle eyes.
Plant plots hide the rough bits
“If people look from above or anywhere, they can see me sunbathing.
“It depends on the angle and how far they ‘hang’ over the porch railing.
“I bought some extra potted plants to create some privacy.
“I discovered that my neighbors only use their balconies to hang clothes. But as soon as summer arrived, she was reclining there, naked.
Neighbors use balconies to wash clothes… Not Mel!
“There were a few times when I opened my eyes to guys gaping, the odd wolf whistle, or a thumbs up,” she said.
“Window cleaners and repairmen often work outside the apartment building.
“The first time this happened, I ran inside. Now I just wave hello and cover myself with a newspaper or move my lounger.
While some neighbors in his four-story, 50-apartment block look closely the other way, others have made their disapproval clear.
But she was reprimanded
“A woman who was visiting a friend knocked on my door to tell me that I was a bad influence and that I should think about the children in the neighborhood.
“I think she was right, but on my side there are only couples and singles. The apartments are not really family apartments due to the stairs.
“Some people criticized me in the elevator, but no one made official complaints.
“We are constantly told to love our bodies, and I learned to love mine, curves and all. We shouldn’t feel like our bodies are something shameful that needs to be hidden.”
Is it legal to sunbathe topless?
Being naked in the comfort of your home or sunbathing topless in the garden may not seem like a big deal.
But this can cause problems.
Under the law, it is technically legal to be naked anywhere in the UK unless the nudity is to cause shock, outrage or disturbance.
For it to become illegal, it must be proven that the withdrawal was made deliberately.
This means it’s legal to be naked in your backyard, as long as you don’t do it to bother your neighbors.
So if you’re thinking about sunbathing naked, make sure your neighbors don’t ignore it or don’t mind.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service, “a balance needs to be struck between the naturist’s right to freedom of expression and the right of the general public to be protected from harassment, alarm and distress”.
Now, Mel doesn’t just sunbathe naked. She explained: “I cook naked. I clean naked and do yoga and low-impact aerobics too – I find it very relaxing. It is an expression of self-love and self-expression.
“Although it has been awkward occasionally when my mom walks in and finds me totally doing a complicated yoga move! She was initially horrified and begged me to cover myself with a towel or put on my bathing suit. Now she just rolls her eyes or looks away.”
As for holidays, it’s no secret that Mel frequents nude beaches in England and Greece.
Show the flesh at home and abroad
“It’s not about showing my flesh. For me it’s an act of liberation and a chance to show other women that it’s okay to break taboos about nudity,” she said.
“It’s great to see all shapes and sizes enjoying the sun.
“I have no intention of covering up, neither on the beach nor on my balcony. If people are offended, then don’t look. I don’t spy on anyone when they’re hanging out their underwear or arguing about whose turn it is to take out the trash.
“I live and let live – and so should they.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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