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In a society where only the prettiest of faces makes it onto television, and in a country where billions of dollars are spent on plastic surgery to fix the most minor flaw, Lake Edun stands apart from the rest. Here, at this all-nude lake on the outskirts of south Topeka, men aren’t judged by the size of their members and women with breasts that hang from their bodies like tube socks full of sand can feel proud of who they are.

Director of the lake, Webb Garlinghouse, said people came to the park to become more comfortable with their bodies, whether they are perfect or not.

“They have a better body concept,” Garlinghouse said, “People come out here with all kinds of body flaws and they are comfortable.”

Lake Edun has been operating for 25 years and is open year-round. Webb said an average weekend usually brought 25 to 75 people to the park.

While the lake has sand volleyball courts, hiking trails and canoes for its members, the one ingredient the naturalistic facility lacks is new blood. Webb said that there has been a gradual decrease of college students in the last 20 years, mainly because younger people are becoming more concerned about their body images and are afraid to show their imperfections to the world.

“How sick is this is that you go to a gym class and you don’t take a shower because some other guy might be looking at you,” Garlinghouse said. “To me this illustrates a grave sickness on our society.”

Mike, a middle aged man who traveled all the way from Nebraska to go to Lake Edun, said he thought the media had made it difficult for younger people to be proud of who they really were.

“We want to look at the beautiful people, but we don’t think we can participate,” Mike said.

Garlinghouse said another major concern among young people was the fear of pedophiles at nudist resorts. He said that Lake Edun did background checks on everybody who becomes a member.

Another fear among men is they are afraid of becoming embarrassed if they happen to get aroused when they are nude, Webb said it isn’t much of a problem.

“Usually the first time men come out here they are too nervous to get a woody,” Garlinghouse said, “If it happens it is no big deal, they can just cover it up with a towel or they can go jump in a lake.”

Most of the people who go to Lake Edud regularly eventually end up becoming friends. Many members said the different backgrounds among the people at the lake kept them coming back. Lake Edun had residents come in wheelchairs, and even a blind woman made it out to the park.

“I think it can be a very growing experience and a healthy experience if they allow it to be,” Garlinghouse said.

- Edited by Rebekah Scaperlanda

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