I have recently received a new commentary on a research paper about perceived stigma within the naturist community. It can be seen here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374088047_A_qualitative_insight_into_the_experiences_of_naturists_perceived_stigma_of_naturismand
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372763010_A_review_of_the_literature_on_the_complex_relationship_between_stigma_and_naturismIt looks at a sample of naturists, and concludes that there is a feeling among naturists that they are stigmatised by society generally. My own comments on this paper (which I have passed to the author) are below.
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1. I am surprised you can come to conclusions based on a sample of only 10 people, who are largely self-selected and (as you admit) are all drawn from a fairly narrow demographic. Why did you not expand the study to include a wider demographic and some randomly chosen subjects? Though interesting, I doubt whether it could be considered representative of a section of society for this reason alone, which would be a pity.
2. The study deals only with the perceived stigma, without making any real attempt to establish whether this perception is based on fact or some non-factual factors. In my own experience of about 60 years as a practicing naturist, I have come across a lot of naturists who feel they are stigmatised in some way, or believe others are, but this is rarely, if ever, supported by hard facts. It may be that psychology is concerned with feelings only, and the factual basis of those feelings is irrelevant, but if this is the case it makes a layman like me wonder where it is leading, and what is the use of such research? It would be interesting to see some research following up on the roots of these beliefs.
3. Allied to the points above, I note that the research is qualitative only. Without a quantitative aspect this reduces the usefulness of the study to me, as it puts it into the category of observations of a few individuals rather than something from which wider conclusions can be drawn. Maybe I am misunderstanding social psychology in this respect and mixing it up with sociology or anthropology.
