Nature's Ambiguous Sex: The Body as a Feminist Resource in German Naturism Around 1900

While gender relations around 1900 were generally marked by sharp dichotomies grounded in nature and the body, the case of naturism appears paradoxical. An influential movement in Germany, it promoted a reform of the body according to natural principles. While sharing conventional ideas about gender roles, naturist practices—vegetarianism, naturopathy, and nudism—largely refrained from sexing the body. Although scholarship has noted this phenomenon, it has not provided a systematic explanation. This article argues that the absence of sex differentiation in naturist practices can be explained through a praxeological analysis of competing body concepts. It shows that naturists operated with two bodies: an anatomical and a hygienic one. While anatomy justified gender dichotomy, hygiene privileged a non‐sexed model. The article explains the emergence of feminist activism within the naturist movement and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of gender and body history around 1900.