Conformity and Dragonfly Festival

According to the psychology website VeryWellMind.com, “Conformity is the act of changing your behaviors to fit in or go along with the people around you.” The tendency to conform is embedded in human nature because, historically, we survive better when protected by others in a group. And yet, an overwhelming number of those who are revered or distinguished throughout history were non-conformists.

As I write this, I am less than 48 hours removed from my third Dragonfly Festival (going back to 2023 when it was called the Ecstatic Forest Festival), held every April near Austin, Texas. As I reflect back on my experience both at this year’s event and at the previous two, I keep coming back to that sociological urge to conform.

Dragonfly Festival is a five day camping event built around Ecstatic Dance, yoga, and other conscious living practices, offering workshops during the days and raucous Ecstatic Dance sessions at night. Attendees (although participants might be a better word) are instructed to “be at your fullest expression at all times” and are told that the “entire festival is a judgement free zone and a safe space”. In other words, participants are encouraged to be themselves, to be non-conformists.

In 1984, I modeled nude for an art class for the first time, launching me on a now 40-year-long career. The following summer, I visited a nudist resort called The Ponderosa Ranch about fifty miles east of Dallas. That Ponderosa Ranch no longer exists, but I have visited no less than fifteen other such nudist resorts as well as several nude beaches and events over the years. Since June 2024, I have been the President of the Southwest Region of the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR). This desire to be without clothes is such a non-conformist idea that it is prohibited in most locales.

Being nude at a nudist resort or event is just about as conformist as being clothed in regular society. I’m nude; you’re nude; everyone else is nude. We are conforming with those around us. While at these resorts, I’ve heard many people say things like, “I wish I could be nude all the time,” or “What if the whole world became clothing optional?” And yet, only a small percentage of the nudists I know would ever pose nude in an art class. “Why not?” I ask, and they say something like, “Oh, I don’t think I could be the only naked person and be the center of attention like that.” They want to be nude without being non-conformists.

When I first read about Ecstatic Forest (before it was Dragonfly Festival), I was intrigued by that statement, “be at your fullest expression at all times.” So I sent an email to them, explaining that I was a professional nude model and a nudist and that my “fullest expression” honestly didn’t include the wearing of clothing. “Would I be welcome there in my purest state?” I asked. They not only wrote back to say that I would be welcome, they added a “Can I be nude at Ecstatic Forest” entry into the Frequently Asked Questions section on their website.

So in April 2023, I arrived at my first Ecstatic Forest/Dragonfly Festival just before sundown, hurriedly set up my camp while I still had light, and then made my way down to the main activity hub. The opening ceremony was just ending, but the first Ecstatic Dance set was about to start. As the music got going, I took off my shirt and then my shorts and joined in the dance. It was joyous, the feel of the air on my skin, the freedom of full movement. I had taken off the mask, removed the society-imposed cocoon, and become my purest self. I took my clothes back to my tent and resolved not to put them back on until the festival was over.

That resolve was tested the next morning. In the light of day, people saw me, and their expressions ranged from puzzlement to shock. There were a few classic double takes, and I had to ask myself if I should be doing this. Out of two to three hundred people, I was the only naked person. Maybe I should throw on a pair of shorts, I thought. But then I remembered that instruction, be at your fullest expression at all times. So I continued on just as I would if I were wearing clothes.

I went to my first workshop, wondering if the leader or the other participants would welcome me. When someone stopped me and thanked me for being an example of freedom and for making them feel like they were now free to be their true self, I felt such a rush of gratitude. That urge to conform, to be more like everyone else, subsided just a bit. And later on that first day, I saw a beautiful young redheaded lady fully nude standing at the food vendor cart, ordering a meal. I talked to her a short time later, learned her name, that she and her boyfriend had come from the San Francisco Bay Area just to attend and volunteer at the festival, and that she had wanted to at least go topless but had been afraid to until she saw me. Just knowing that I encouraged her to break that social norm kept me going for the rest of the festival.

The weather forecast, at least temperature-wise, for the 2025 Dragonfly Festival was favorable, so I didn’t even pack any clothes for my trip. I jokingly told people that the festival wristband issued upon entry was my complete festival outfit and that I was daring to wear the same thing every day. I have made several friendships at these festivals such that 2025 seemed more like a homecoming than a getaway. I still felt like a non-conformist as I was the only nude person at the nightly dances and at most of the workshops. (I have to say “most” of the workshops as there was a guy named Paul who was also nude at the Feline Flow class.) Several people were openly nude at their own campsites away from the event spaces, and most of them thanked me for making them feel free enough to do that.

Even though I was the only naked person at the common areas for 98 percent of the time, I never felt that urge to conform like I did at my first or second festival. I felt welcome and accepted. And it was such a wonderful and beautiful feeling.

The next Dragonfly Festival will be held on April 15 - 19, 2026 at River Forest Haven near Austin, Texas. Put it on your calendar and check out www.dragonflyfest.com to keep updated.