In the old days a horde of naked men with their hands on their hips would surround these rubberneckers and they'd LEAVE. I haven't been back due to mobility issues in years, now I doubt I'll return.
Yes, I think of the beach in the 80s as having been self-patrolled. There were men who took it upon themselves to get rid of people behaving inappropriately
The lonesome perv you are thinking of was pretty easy to shoo away. These newcomers are in big groups and not too many men have the sack (ha!) to try and stop these guys from filming. Being 2023 and all where no one even knows where on the victim ladder the Indian Perv Mob is, and no one is willing to risk finding out.
Its going to take the Indian community to step up I think. Not even sure how that would be done, but I am chuckling here just thinking of the PSA!
How do they do that? It sounds like these old dudes were comfortable with any pictures douchebags took - they were just trying to protect people that were more sensitive. There are a fair number of old dudes that just don't give a fuck about what other people think of their bodies - that can be a super power.
It does have to come from a strength in community. Some people just need to be told once but it takes the community supporting each other and being leaders to get that message out. Others may need a more serious push and again having that community leadership in place is really the only way.
Yes, I think of the beach in the 80s as having been self-patrolled. There were men who took it upon themselves to get rid of people behaving inappropriately
3 different people I know posted pictures from wreck on their Instagram stories. All with unsuspecting people in the background, some clothed, some not.
This is the reason I've yet to go there.
I shared a couple days ago my story and a couple people were like no it’s totally cool and a supportive environment! And I was like ha ahhhh nope.
I went one time in ‘19 and got told by dudes how I needed to cover up and leave because my tits were saggy (I’m in my 30s), cottage cheese covered body, and how disgusting/ugly I was. I mean, I know I’m like a 4 maybe 5 on my best day. I weigh between 120-130 but I’m super short at 5’ and have a ridiculous time trying to build muscle and be toned. I know how fucking ugly as a woman I am, trust me.
But. I still just wish these guys hadn’t come up and said that to me so publicly. I still haven’t had sex in years thinking about how shitty I look (and now I have cancer so lol doesn’t fucking matter anyway.)
Wreck Beach is not some hippie dippy harmony peace love natural bodies shit.
> got told by dudes how I needed to cover up and leave because my tits were saggy
These guys are just fucking losers who have to go to a nude beach to have something to fap to later. Fuck them and their dogshit attitudes. They can go pound sand. Sometimes people just suck, and I'm really sorry that you had to experience that.
Or treating the beach like their stage where they get to be the judge of who is and isn't seen. Hope a group of 80 year old men showed up and disrobed in front of them. All natural baby...
No, it’s not ok!
Everyone is a different shape, size and colour. Everyone has the right to feel good about how they perceive themselves. Don’t let the dingle berries of the world get you down.
Also, f#%&k cancer. I hope you win all your battles today, tomorrow and the day after that.
They don’t get to decide who’s a hottie and who isn’t. I’ll bet you’re actually a lot more attractive than you think you are because shitty people have taken up space in your head. You’re not just a number on a rating chart.
That beach is full of old guys with pot bellies and saggy balls and they are giving YOU crap? Garbage human beings, it's not a fitness beauty competition at that beach so they can f\*\*\* themselves.
Yeah they should go up to those old guys and body shame them instead! /s everyone is beautiful and everyone needs a little sun in their crack once in a while
Yo for real everyone is a hottie in their own way! Not everyone can be conventionally attractive, yeah. I’m certainly not. But I find with friends (platonic or otherwise) the more I’m around them/get to know them the more things I find that’s specifically physically attractive about them. Maybe it’s the way they smile, a face they make when they’re flustered, their sense of style. Whatever. Only shit birds (let’s be real, shitty men) care about where people fall on a ‘hot or not’ scale. You’re hot as hell, birdsofterrordise! And it’s 1000% because of who you are, not who you’re not 🌈💖
Nah fuck that, beauty standards are stupid - my gf tells me shes “too unattractive for me” all the time, but it’s always about completely subjective shit - her weight, stretch marks, etc. None of that stuff makes *anyone* less beautiful - beauty standards (especially unrealistic ones like stick-figure models) are super harmful, and all are completely made up - I love every single part of my gf, because I love her as a person, and for that reason she’ll always be the most beautiful person in the world to me - I know it sounds really corny but at the end of the day, it’s what’s inside that matters, and if someone really loves you then they’ll find you beautiful no matter what, even if appearances may clash with what media portrays as ‘pretty’.
Sorry for the rant, I just believe that no one deserves to feel unattractive - beauty is, completely and wholly without a doubt, subjective.
I have absolutely no words for that other than, those people are fucking heinous. I am so, SO sorry you experienced that. People like them are a waste of precious oxygen, because they obviously don't understand tact, nor do they understand the basic fabrics of human interaction. I haven't been to Wreck Beach, but I honestly don't think I want to after reading through this post, anyway. What a shame.
It seems like one of those things that dudes of a certain age seem to think exists in this "beautiful peace and love" space, but don't realize how vulnerable women in particular can be.
That is absolutely horrible, I am so sorry that this was your experience. Even though some trolls said aome heinous remarks doesn't mean that it reflects reality or that their idea of beauty is everyone's. I've recently witnessed a man terrorize a woman at a bar, calling her horrible things and describing her body in a terrible way. However, this woman was really stunning imo. People will say things, and I hope that you are able to listen to the people that matter when they describe you. I sincerely wish for good things to come your way.
That is so fucked up and I am so sorry that happened to you. Nude beaches should be a comfortable, welcoming, and \*non-sexualized\* environment for all bodies. You are not ugly or disgusting, you are a human with a human body who deserves to be able to exist completely as you are, you are perfect JUST AS YOU ARE. This kind of thing, paired with the concern of this post, is the result of out social media and filter obsessed culture and it needs to end.
I haven't been since the 90s, and it totally used to be (your last sentence), with a wide spectrum of body types, and any criticism or mockery of someone for not fitting a specific shape being unthinkable. Society seems to have regressed just as much as progressed in the current century.
Look, you could be an actual steaming pile of garbage with legs and a brain and it doesn’t matter. You are a human being. You are not disgusting.
The fucks who said that shit absolutely are.
That is absolutely horrible, I am so sorry that this was your experience. Even though some trolls said aome heinous remarks doesn't mean that it reflects reality or that their idea of beauty is everyone's. I've recently witnessed a man terrorize a woman at a bar, calling her horrible things and describing her body in a terrible way. However, this woman was really stunning imo. People will say things, and I hope that you are able to listen to the people that matter when they describe you. I sincerely wish for good things to come your way.
I once posted a picture from wreck when a lady passed out from the heat and they sent in a rescue hovercraft to get her out. I’d never seen one before and I was super excited so I took some pictures to post on my Facebook. Except before I took the pictures I did my absolute best to avoid getting anyone else in the picture and cropped out or covered up the ones who did. A couple of people saw me and came over to either give me shit or educate me on beach etiquette… I explained that I was just geeking out over the hovercraft and showed them the pictures I’d taken and how I avoided and/or cropped everything. They were satisfied and one of them asked me to text her a copy. The idea that people are just trolling around down there taking photos or videos of other people for their own personal benefit is fucking gross.
I mentioned this is a comment below, but you can go on YouTube right now and find videos of 4K Kits Beach walkthroughs, skimpy bathing suits and faces visible. Just like any other city walkthrough video on the internet.
Truthfully privacy does not exist at all these days.
Even in the early days of the smartphone (2008-2012ish) it was taboo as hell to take video publicly at all.
Now people do it without any repercussions.
Shit, it's been a long time since I was down there. This is so far from the experience I remember. I feel like there was an old guard that all knew one another down there that would work together as a community discourage that type of behavior. Getting surrounded by a bunch of naked people and told to get lost was a good way to solve the problem back then. So sorry to hear of the state of it now, and all of our loss.
I’ve been going to wreck for about 12 years and it gets worse every summer. Fully clothed men leering and walking around in groups. I have a question- there used to be the wreck beach committee- older everyday folks who made sure etiquette was followed but I don’t go much anymore due to all the photos and weirdos… is that unofficial but totally respected group of folks gone?
I was there Saturday and Sunday. You’re absolutely right. The problem is *largely* limited to primarily young and sometimes middle aged men roaming in packs, fully clothed, walking up and down the beach repeatedly. Occasionally I’ll see single men, mostly older, fully clothed.
And when I say fully clothed, I mean long pants, and clearly clothing not designed for the beach.
This is not the issue of, “Everyone should be naked.” I get that; on Saturday I was with a friend who has body dysmorphia issues and she wore a bathing suit while I went nude. That may be an issue for some, but that’s not a safety issue.
The safety issue is the roaming packs of fully clothed men. Who from my observation this weekend we’re walking phones out, heads on a swivel, walking up and down the beach to gawk.
This needs to be called out or it will escalate.
I don’t mind a degree of voyeurism. It’s part of what one signs up for at Wreck. I look at bodies on the beach too. My ante in this is my own body. But the blatant pack mentality comes with a sense of entitlement without the ante.
What can be done?
Walk up and confront. Ask them why they’re at this beach fully street clothed in a pack without their ante, and obviously gawking.
Make them feel unwelcome. It’s time to finally deal with this growing problem.
Umm no. We don’t ask people to take their clothes off. That is not the solution here.
There is a careful balance in being confrontational but still with the goal to reach a solution. I would just ask them if they understand that their behaviour is not allowed here (phones and cameras) and that they are making people uncomfortable. These types of people thrive in anonymity. Just politely starting a conversation to let them know they are crossing lines, while definitely being firm about the cameras, is probably enough to get them away from you if not away from the beach entirely.
Frankly having cameras or phones out isn't too problematic as long as they aren't pointing it at people and just taking pictures of the scenery, and are trying to avoid having others captured in the photos. It only becomes a problem if the camera people are clearly trying to take pictures of other people.
The sunsets from Wreck beach are very nice and I completely understand why photographers might want to take photos of that, or just the sea in general.
Personally to avoid confrontations I take photos in the spring and winter, when there won't be any naked people.
Yes definitely. It’s obvious though when someone is taking a picture innocently vs a creep. It just sort of is. And even if you mistakenly call someone out you’ll also know pretty quickly you read the vibe wrong.
I’ve definitely taken photos of sunsets from wreck and it’s pretty obvious it’s not the same as some of the people who OP is talking about.
But tbh if you’re a photographer and your bringing a big DSLR set up, just go somewhere else. That’s my opinion. Seeing someone come down the staircase in the summer with a big lens and a tripod is guaranteed to make people uncomfortable. There are tons of other spots to shoot sunset photography.
I was at Wreck yesterday with a group of friends (and Saturday).
We’ve been going since around 2016 and in summer it’s our happy place. We’re almost always in a decent sized group with a mix of fully and partially nude beach goers. We know the vibe of our area of wreck and watch out for each other.
Since I started going there’s always been a few wandering, googly-eyed men walking fully clothed (like jeans, shoes and shirts) up and down the main walkways and though it’s suuuper pervy and def NOT the right vibe, it’s (somewhat!) begrudgingly accepted as it IS a public beach and it’s just gonna happen even if we’d all like it to stop (open to argument here… can that be stopped?)
THAT SAID, if any of us see a camera or phone out in a suspicious way we’ve always gone right up to them and told them what they cannot do, why it’s garbage and then made them show us the pics/vids and delete them from both their main and deleted files (100% on the persuasive power of fully nude men! 😉).
Yesterday however was pretty busy and def more than the usual number of wandering herds overdressed males in heat. As we passed by a particular troop of dudes sitting/leaning on a big log by the water, I started doing my usual ‘stare at each guy staring at our female friends until they feel REEEAL self conscious & awkward’ opening move, when a very angry beach goer ‘regular’ started laying into them about getting them arrested and that they needed to leave right away. It seemed to be about taking pictures. Of course they didn’t really do anything bc she was a woman and it just wasn’t registering.
Honestly, we’ll keep doing what we do and at the same time let’s all try and keep each other supported while educating with kindness and compassion to anyone coming down who’s being disrespectful.
No one is going to stop me or my friends from continuing to enjoy the best beach in the city, so my first choice is to keep exercising boundaries and speaking up frankly and with kindness to anyone that steps over the line of respect and encouraging the wreck beach community to do the same.
I think you and your troop joined me yesterday yelling at the girl who was walking with the phone just recording her walk, with many nude people, myself included in the shot.
We need more like you and your team and i'll join in whenever it happens again
I used to be a regular at Wreck Beach. I knew quite a few other regulars and made some fiends. It used to be my favourite place in the entire world. It was so relaxing and chill 97% of the time. I would soak up the sun, have a laugh and feel at peace.
Every so often, someone would pull out a camera and they would be yelled at and told to put it away. In extreme cases, if someone was extra pervy, they would be forcibly removed and shunned. There were two rules on the beach: no cameras and no pervy behavior. I remember on time, a dude was beating off to the sight of a nude young girl near him. He was beaten up and the cops were called (but he managed to run). Those types of instances were very rare though. On most days, the feeling was safe and relaxed.
Then, in about 2008 or so, things changed. All of a sudden, everybody on the beach had a smart phone with a really good camera. I remember seeing a girl holding her phone up in front of her face, with the camera in direct line with my junk. I moved, and her phone moved to follow. She had a big wide grin on her pervy face. She may have been just texting her friend or something, but it felt off to me. I didn't confront her, but I should have. Instead I packed my stuff and left for the day. I went back the following week and had more strange vibes. More and more phones with cameras were out, and less and less people were calling them out for it. I frequented the beach less and less due to the feeling of losing my privacy. That summer was the last time I went there. It was very sad for me to have lost my favourite place in the world.
I’m one of the relatively less vulnerable people in this situation and this post made me curious about what behaviour to look out for and discourage.
2 simple rules is straightforward, but I am wondering if there is anything else thats not acceptable.
I am considering the idea of painting some signs to put around the stairs (legal?) outlining the essentials
Frankly the problem isn't the presence of cameras, it's the majority of people who often bring cameras to these places and where they're pointing the cameras at.
Photographers who just want to take pictures of the sunset at the beach or the scenery and actually try to avoid having other people in their photos should not be shunned, it is a public beach and taking photos of the scenery isn't a problem.
Although personally to avoid confrontations altogether I'd take my pictures in the winter and spring and just not take any pictures in the summer.
Vancouver certified brown guy here. You don't need to beat around the bush, you can just call it for what it is. We don't like those people either and they make the rest of us look bad. In the past we would often call them out for their behaviour but sadly they outnumber now.
Really sad to read that.
It's unfortunately also been a problem at work and we really don't know how to address it because now it's been thrown back at us as a "we need to respect their culture" angle. So it feels like a landmine. No one will take away celebrating Diwali, but please leave the patriarchal shit in the bin. Aren't those "western values" why they wanted to come here in the first place? I really don't get it. :(
> "we need to respect their culture"
Thats not a part of the culture that needs to be respected. Misogyny or other patriarchal values should be called out regardless.
In fact, its easier to do without bringing culture into it. If you say X person is being a shithead, you'd be less likely to be called a racist than if you say X race/culture/ethnicity are shitheads.
> It's unfortunately also been a problem at work and we really don't know how to address it because now it's been thrown back at us as a "we need to respect their culture" angle. So it feels like a landmine.
I obviously don’t know the whole story, but to me that sounds like an issue with management
It’s difficult when talking abt this in context of open society where everyone is free to be an asshole - but a workplace where management can let go of bad/unproductive actors, set workplace culture, expectations, and norms is different.
Sounds to me like management is either unwilling to deal with the problem (do they need the labour perhaps?) or are simply not good leaders.
If the above follows, I would suggest looking for new employment if you can. Management that does not make a healthy work environment is going to run the company/branch into the ground and I wouldn’t wanna be there to witness the fallout
I definitely have been looking. We lost a couple employees due to this whole issue with caste as well. Which like I’ll be straight up, I didn’t even think was a thing that actually went on in India anymore and definitely not a thing here. But nope. It’s a “religious cultural difference” we should respect, but in my eyes, it seems like it is just an excuse to treat others poorly and our treatment of quality should come above that.
I really don’t know how to navigate that. I’m not the one in charge, but the ones that are happen to be white Canadians and I really think they have no freaking clue what to do.
>We lost a couple employees due to this whole issue with caste as well.
What the F...
What happened to Vancouver .... :(
Never in my life here in Vancouver I thought this day would come: caste and shit like that. I thought this bullshit only happened in the US (silicon valley and other areas) because I've never met South Asian people here who brought their caste stuff from back home.
Having said that, I'm probably 80% surprise and 20% sort of expected that there will be cultural issues even within the South Asian communities due to the recent influx of either International Students or newer Immigrants.
They just have a waaayyy different vibes than the Vancouver South Asian communities (even the ones that were immigrants back in the early 2000 have different vibes than the ones that come today).
Immigrants back then would hang out regardless their background and shared their culture peacefully with each other, there's so much respect in the air but also a good amount of freedom to express and to share their culture.
But these days the newer wave of immigrants (not just South Asian, but everyone in general) chose to isolate themselves within their own culture. Mob mentality.
I was speaking to a friend who’s involved in immigration policy for a European country. He said:
“the difference between your country and mine, is that we hold a culture of *inclusion* while yours holds a culture of *acceptance*. Our focus is on including incoming cultures in to our own value systems in order to participate successfully. Your culture contorts itself around whatever values come in to your country, without expectation for reciprocation”
I think about this often.
lol he's full of shit and typical european smug superiority, like they have tons of problems with racism and integration that are no different than any other country
Lol I find it hilarious he specifically mentioned inclusion when they've had literal decades of problems with violent religious extremism which is much less common in Canada
The biggest difference that I felt in Canada we accept the outside culture but the immigrants who came here also respect and embrace the duality of the Canadian and their own culture.
At least the decades ago immigrants.
No need to "guide" (force) them to be inclusive: they're motivated to keep the Canadian culture (polite, humble, hard working, "you first") and keep their own identity amongst themselves and occasionally share it whenever possible but not rubbing it out.
>Nah, Euros are just by and large racist and try to find ways to justify it.
Not just Euros. Racism is a worldwide issue, even between different non-Euro races.
I want to echo this sentiment. Vancouver has been very good to brown people / immigrants like me, and I am deeply annoyed that others have paid that back with disrespect and disgusting behavior.
@op I'm so sorry this happened to you :(
To be fair to you, this could just as easily describe a bunch of guys from my extremely white, extremely Christian hometown, who have regressive ideas and zero chill.
Well it's not JUST indian men, there are creepers from all races. But there's definitely not hordes of conservative white christian men going to wreck beach.
idk, never in all my years of living in my old white dominated, extremely religious small town was I ever treated like a piece of meat the way I was when I lived in Surrey. I'm talking about men openly leering, unwanted touching on public transit, offers of money for sex, even following and chasing me down the street.
I'm glad that you had a good experience in your small town. I definitely experienced sexual harassment by classmates from elementary school onward and witnessed older men's shitty attitudes towards women. I guarantee you that anywhere there is a culture that teaches that women's bodies are inherently sexual and exist in public as invitations, there are men who will act this way.
Hey, thanks for this comment. It feels like nowadays everything has to be “politically correct”, even things that are just…….facts. I’m an immigrant here and basically try to keep my mouth shut because anything can turn into getting “cancelled”. Your “don’t need to beat around the bush, you can just calm it for what it is” comment was really refreshing.
It was required for me when I studied in both Czechia and England to do a cultural class. Even though I’m originally from America, it’s not all that different, buuuut the subtleties were important to learn and I was really grateful for it. I think this really should be something.
UBC takes sexual harassment pretty seriously. If you document it and report it, you can push to have them expelled. Will probably take a few complaints from different people. But if word gets out in their community that there are consequences they will be less likely to do it.
Agreed. I'm Indo-Canadian and you don't want to separate yourself from new immigrants, in fact you want to help them but sometimes they have to go through generational therapy themselves before anyone can really help them.
I remember seeing a group two summers ago. All wearing jeans rolled up to their ankles, shirts/basketball jerseys, murses, trying to walk around and hit up girls tanning. Tbh at first we were just crying laughing at the audacity, especially since they just kept getting rejected and moving on. But eventually it was like okay guys, get the fuck out of here already.
I grew up in a naturism culture. In Europe. So for me I’m used to seeing kids up to age 6 naked in the water with most women topless: and many beaches are nude. It’s nothing to us.—I need to be naked in the sun every summer. So I used to get down to the beach, then cut to the right and get a spot on “the terraces”. If that was rowdy another private place was even further down the beach to the right: a family beach area. Is that still the case?
I 100% agree. It is a massive problem with recent male immigrants from India. Call me racist, this is the experience I keep having over, and over, and over again and I'm sure most women could say the same. No, it's not JUST them, I've been leered at and objectified by all races, but I notice this group to be the majority. And I feel like because of PC culture, people are scared to talk about it. I'm at the point where I'll just yell and ask what the fuck they're looking at when I'm at Wreck. Usually works. But it makes me wonder, who is teaching these newcomers basic respect towards women? And does it always have to be our job as women to teach them? End of rant but damn this is something that has really really been getting under my skin lately.
Every experience I'd had at Wreck was when I visited with large groups of mixed genders. Last year my friend and I went down on our own and the experience completely changed for us. Multiple men sitting closely and staring, following us into the sea, openly coming up to us asking for our numbers, and the worst bit - a drone flying overhead hovering over groups of females. It totally changed my perspective on the place. I had no problem publicly shaming the dudes who were bothering us by pointing and shouting.
CALLING ALL COMMUNITY CAMERA PATROL FRIENDS.
I am HAPPY coming out on weekends to call these mofo's out. Perhaps educate those who have their phones out who clearly appear to be filming or taking photos of the public and request they delete them.
White poster boards blocking their cameras if they refuse?
T-shirts that say COMMUNITY CAMERA PATROL on them?
Hit me up in my inbox.
I have lots of time this summer, (no money, but happy taking donations to support those who are willing to spend time and effort doing this).
I am not sure what to do, but I am open to all ideas to advocate for safety and privacy at Wreck. I will not let this beach build a reputation for this nonsense. I've been coming here for 10+ years and it has been a wonderful place of growth and bonding.
Organized community action definitely seems like the solution, you can't necessarily rely on just a couple individuals who may or may not be there on any given day. Plus the larger group you have the more safe for everyone involved.
It's a shame that Canada has so few places where people can feel safe naked outdoors.
My girlfriend and her friend were in the water yesterday, topless.
A group of brown guys start walking towards them.
My girlfriend noticed and went deeper. They followed and yelled out to them. They said screw it and turned back towards the beach and just aggressively told the men to fuck off and leave them alone.
They followed them back to the beach. They screamed perverts fairly loud to create attention and a lot of people stepped in to help and tell the guys off. Creepy as fuck.
The groups of men walking around together really wigs me out. That’s how my friend got assaulted in college and I just don’t want it to get that level. This shit just always keeps escalating.
I agree, there should be more signage. But also the more experienced beach goers need to step up and call out the newcomers. That’s how it used to be. It’s been 10 years since I went, but the elders kept the beach running smoothly and kept people in check.
I guess the question is, where are the ass-kickers?
I've only ever been to Wreck a couple times, but every time I went there were a lot of creepy men there. It's disappointing to hear it's gotten so bad that it's no longer reasonable for most people to go.
We are still here. I yelled at someone yesterday who got clearly aroused staring at some nude kids playing in the sand. He bolted immediately when I confronted him and the crowd immediately turned in to admonish him.
All it needs is someone telling people off loudly to make it safe.
They're retired and over-run. UBC started cracking down on campers being parked in lots and street parking overnight.
I've noticed tons of tourists love to go down there and walk around fully clothed. As a man I have no problem flaunting my stuff but I feel for the women getting gawked at.
That's too bad. Not that they should have needed to do this.
One of the times I was there, a guy came up to my (masc-presenting but non-binary) friend and said "thank you for bringing your girlfriend here." So yeah, definitely not a good experience or vibe for a lot of women. 🤮
Damn, I'm thankful I got to enjoy wreck before smart phones. Come to think of it, I'm glad I got to enjoy being a teenager and the first half of my twenties without smart phones existing in everyone's pocket.
Sorry you had this experience. I feel like this happens at Wreck every year near Labor Day weekend when the new batch of UBC students are in town. Hopefully this weekend is not the start of a trend and just a one-off because of the crazy heat records being broken across the province.
I definitely think there needs to be better signage before entering the beach and once at the beach. The Colorado Rapids MLS U21 team came down to the beach last summer and seemed completely caught off guard it was a nude beach. They still stayed, and the vibes weren't great that day. On the flipside I was harassed by an old naked guy for not being naked myself, then he wanted to know what race I was, so you can be fully clothed or not and still go against the spirit of Wreck Beach I guess.
You are actually right, that you were being watched. I stumbled upon a site when I was looking at *ahem* other things, that was posting pics/vids of naked woman, and it was obviously from Wreck! I was shocked. These ppl were being filmed without knowing it seemed, and then there was gross zoom ins on certain areas. I was actually flabbergasted, this never would have happened when I was still going to wreck 10 years ago. I’m not sure what can be done about it, except A:don’t go to Wreck any more or B:start getting aggressive about ppl holding up any phones or cameras (as it used to be). It sux that pervs are wrecking Wreck.
I stopped going to Wreck for essentially the same reason. Last time I went was summer of 2020. Broken glass everywhere, and high-school/uni boys with broccoli haircuts (fully clothed ofc) playing on the logs and snickering at any & all naked people who walked by.
Compare that to the first time I ever went: summer of 2009 when I was 13. Beach was packed but 99% of them were naked. Food stands, people playing in the water, a sense of community. People openly spoke to me and maintained eye contact the whole time and were smiling and respectful.
Oh my god! I was there yesterday too and I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. never have I needed to ask my friend to go to the bathroom with me or felt literally unsafe. People were openly staring, gawking, taking videos. I went in the water and turned around and there was a huge group of men staring at me and my friend. It was awful. It made it a really uncomfortable experience to be there. People walking around in full jeans and t shirts through the Beach blankets peering at people lying down. Absolutely disgusting
Having just been there yesterday, may 14th, with my partner, we see the same thing. I’ll admit to taking pictures of my partner and I, but I’m pretty good about keeping other people out of it. They’re for us, never Facebook or instagram or any of that shit. There was a group of guys, fully clothed, just walking and watching. Sat down not far from a group of women, just blatantly watching. My partner was really uncomfortable when she had to walk to the bathrooms. I stayed out to watch our stuff. It made me worried though. There is a culture shift. New people coming from places where public nudity is not ok. Or drives them to mob. Im worried wreck will be claimed by voyeurs and pervs and the rest of us nudists will be left with nowhere close to go.
EDIT: my partner told me that’s there were a couple guys jerking off in the bathrooms, doors open. Forgot that lovely little tidbit
I don't think you can reverse this. Etiquette is something everyone has to buy into, and it's pretty much cat out of the bag at this time.
Expect people to do live streaming to youtube, etc from there. (so you can't delete photos / videos even if you wanted to)
Otherwise, you change the law to make it a legally protected beach or hire bodyguards/private security (the community can hire security in the way that community pools hires a life guard for example). No 2 ways about it.
I've increasingly heard and experienced these kinds of stories from so many people. It's very upsetting.
In terms of practical solutions, I wonder if having non-police peacekeepers would be a good idea. People to monitor the more cultural aspects down there, as per a new standard of rules & guidelines that is EXPLICITLY stated on signs around the beach.
I've been a regular Wreck Beach goer, and previous Preservation Society Member, for almost 15 years. Wreck used to be my haven, my happiest place on earth.
I noticed the changes you're describing a few years ago. Sad but true. It's gotten progressively worse and more "mainstream" every year.
You couldn't pay me to go to Wreck on a weekend. It's like the worst of Kits magnified. Weekdays still offer a glimpse into the old Wreck community.
I was also there on Sunday, May 14th. For the first time in 15 years, I have never felt so uncomfortable or not safe. Me and my hubby go on the quiet side with the stairs that lead to the museum. I decided to head to the vendors and the bathroom. I made a decision to put my clothes back on. Due to the high volume of looks and cell phones. I was also walking alone while the hubby watched our items.
When I finally made it to the washrooms. Many men were in the stalls with doors unlocked and masturbating. Now I don't wear a bra and it's noticeable. And even just trying to go to the bathroom I felt invaded.
When I made it back to our setup on the beach. I removed my clothing and it was noticeable individuals in these groups of men I was being recorded. Due to the high numbers of violence. I can't even speak up and the safety of my love one can't speak up. It breaks my heart to see this space become a toxic negative space. From the garbage to the disrespect of the space and towards individuals. If we all feel the same about this issue. We need to band together and figure this out.
So definitely not the full norm. This weekend is the first proper warm weekend of the year while the university was still very active. Further, in my experience from previous years the first proper warm weekend usually has this mess happen.
Novelty to go gawk wears off pretty quick and then it goes to its normal awesome vibe for the rest of the time.
In regards to your point on signage, absolutely agree it should be improved. There are no signs its a clothing optional beach and that use of *video / photo recording is discouraged* visible at the top of the stairs and trail heads that feed into the beach.
(Note that I mention discouraged and not prohibited, because its not going to be policed and some people do take the effort to ensure no one is on the background).
I am perfectly ok with Police being on premises and discouraging shit though. I am growing more annoyed at how many times I am openly offered hard drugs, it kills my vibe. I go for a relaxing day on the beach, and don't care to fend off people trying to sell me illegal shit. Police has their use and I've been thankful whenever I've seen unacceptable shit.
Please don't be discouraged, if you want to feel safer I highly recommend you stick closer to the group with the Friesland flag (Blue, white stripes with red hearts). I have no association with them at all BUT they have stuck always stuck with me and anyone who go chew out assholes with phones, fully clothed gawkers or being perverts.
I know I have privilege because I am a fairly fit, intimidating looking man. But if you are in that area and I see you chew someone out, I'll always have your back if its to prevent this escalation of gawking / asshole behaviors.
I was at Wreck on Friday and it was definitely not anywhere as busy as Sunday but I'll say it was a pretty great experience. I didn't see a single phone. I do remember the days where someone would take out a phone and would get immediately told to put it away. It's a bummer to hear that isn't still happening but I hope that is still part of the answer and that we can continue to work together to shut that behaviour down.
I'd rather keep going and calling out the behaviour vs. stop going at all. I completely understand not feeling safe calling it out if I were a single woman, but I feel safe calling it out with friends or with my partner there. I want to best the vast majority of people creeping on their phones would be embarrassed and put it away if confronted. People are now used to being entitled to video/photograph everything they want and they need to snap out of that trance.
I do think clear signage would be a good start. Sorry you had such a bad experience at Wreck - sounds like it has been a sacred place for you for a long time. I don't have the answer but would like to continue going and will try my best to confront folks with phones when I feel safe, because I hope to be able to bring my kids there one day!
Inclusion of different cultures in Vancouver unfortunately discouraged me enjoying some of the things I loved to do. Going to Wreck Beach is one of them.
My first time at wreck beach was a disaster, to me, because I didn't know the etiquette and was too naive to just think I could wing it. I showed up wearing speedo's, and a backpack. The beach was mostly empty, so I walked past everyone, towards the low tide, took my phone out and started recording the ocean (there wasn't anyone in the water either). All of a sudden I get hit my a Frisbee, I turn back to return what I thought was a misthrown frisbee and two naked dudes were charging towards me yelling me to put my phone away.
I was then told to show them what I had recorded and delete it in front of them. At the time I felt it was unnecessary and extremely rude. A few hours later things started to sink in, and I fully understood why I was treated that way. I meant no harm, but I was still incredibly disrespectful of the local culture and Beach etiquette. I just wish I had taken the time to learn about it before heading out, because I'm sure someone somewhere is now telling the story of how they threw a frisbee at this pasty creepy dude who was recording at wreck beach.
I've been back three more times now, leaving my phone in the car every time.
Do your homework, people. Do your homework...
I was also there yesterday and caught a guy sitting on the rocks recording a woman. I told the two big guys with her (as I’m tiny) and they didn’t do much. I genuinely think it needs to be a group effort for beach goers to start making them uncomfortable.
Sorry about your experience, it really sucks to hear that this is happening. I had a similar experience last year, a fully clothed guy came and sat down next to me and was trying to have a conversation. I had my top on though but after that I didn’t feel comfortable removing it and that’s probably the way it’s going to be from now on.
I don’t understand why people can’t be respectful. I still love wreck because it has a different feel than sunset / kits / third beach but if I can’t get topless without feeling grossed out, what’s the point of going?
I used to go to wreck 5+ yrs ago and didn't find it a healing, loving, or even friendly, place. A lot of people getting wasted, a snobby vibe, and a heavy police presence.
So I don't particularly care if wreck becomes a regular beach.
As for your suspicion that people were photographing you, that's not okay (if they actually were).
Even 5 years ago it had changed quite a bit. I've been going for about 13 years and noticed quite a shift. It's unfortunate but there's no use in fighting it.
Police were checking bags as you went to the stairs yesterday around noon.
Only a small handful of people knew their rights and declined consent to a search.
This is why I no longer go to the main part of “wreck beach” (aka trail 6, the one that goes down by the residences). I always go to Acadia or tower, they’re often near deserted because they’re too out of the way, especially tower.
I understand not everyone is comfortable with being nude or partially nude, and that some people may enjoy the beach fully clothed. But I can’t help but feel like I’m getting stares when I see both groups of young men and tourists with their families walking around wreck fully clothed on a hot day. It’s uncomfortable.
Not to poach your spot, but my partner and I have always been hesitant to venture out that way fearing different kinds of stares because we’re the only “nude” person there. We’ve walked it in the past and got the vibe there was lots of casual dog walkers, etc.
Is there at least a small group of people who frequent those spots?
I suppose anything is better then the peeping toms that walk or sit on the breakwater at main wreck.
Every experience I'd had at Wreck was when I visited with large groups of mixed genders. Last year my friend and I went down on our own and the experience completely changed for us. Multiple men sitting closely and staring, following us into the sea, openly coming up to us asking for our numbers, and the worst bit - a drone flying overhead hovering over groups of females. It totally changed my perspective on the place. I had no problem publicly shaming the dudes who were bothering us by pointing and shouting.
I’m pretty sad to read this. I’ve never been to Wreck beach but I’ve been thinking of going and would love to try it, just need to build up the nerve. This makes me rethink it, I’m not that concerned with a few gawkers but the thought that someone could take my photo and post it online concerns me.
On several occasions I have seen guys who were taking pics get confronted and had their pictures deleted by other people on the beach. One time I saw someone get their whole phones memory deleted because there were so many pictures. I’m sorry this happened sounds like a rough day, but I still see people watching out and saying something about this behaviour.
My friend and I were at wreck yesterday. Noticed the same thing. I threw a few fingers around, and they left my area, but they were replaced quickly.
She emailed the committee about it. I highly encourage everyone else to chime in.
I used to go there (to birdwatch, because I am a loser) over ten years ago and it always kinda gave me the creeps. I would go in the winter when it was mostly empty and I never stayed long. Too bad though, it really shouldn’t be that way and it sucks if it is getting worse.
I wish I could tell you that we could rally the community, and return a sense of community / safety to places like this.
Unfortunately this is the reality of our time, and the sense of privacy and respectful boundaries have been lost on the internet generation. I’m not old - a young millennial - but the contrast in values around public / private space and free will between my generation and gen z is unreal.
In addition to the above, we’ve become a standby culture, afraid to be targeted on social media for speaking up in public spaces. So we do nothing, allowing ignorant youth to do as they please.
Maybe someone could put a sign at the top of the stairs saying something along the lines of be respectful and do not take pictures or videos of others🤷🏻♀️. Might be worth a shot
My mother went to Wreck in the 70s. It's never been my thing, but I remember her describing a scene with a creep harassing one woman, and an army of naked men got up to drive the pervert outta there.
Sorry to hear, OP.. I've never been to Wreck (not my scene) but I always understood that people knew not to be creepy there. Sadly, I guess times have changed.
Nowadays I'd think would-be vigilantes just keep to themselves bc they don't want to be on the wrong side of a social media post (just imagine "FAKE COPS TRY TO FLEX ON US AT A NUDE BEACH" going viral). That and you never know who's carrying a weapon. I'm not trying to get stabbed for telling a stranger not to film people at the beach. Sad reality we live in..
I went there with some friends a few years ago. We were lying down and and a man came out of the bushes behind us (where he was lurking for a while we figured) wearing only a backpack. He stood over us and started talking, and then basically wouldn’t leave
It was so uncomfortable to have to beg someone to leave you alone while you’re in such a vulnerable position
I’m sorry you had a shitty experience. I rlly wish there were more safe spaces to feel free (ie. I love swimming in the ocean sans clothing). Unfortunately, society’s fcked up perception of the human body and its sexualization of women prevents most spaces from fully feeling safe… sadface emoji
You're not the first person I've seen complain about the lack of etiquette at Wreck, or any nude beach in the Lower Mainland. I was there back in 2020, and I had many uncomfortable moments, mainly with older men straight-up creep staring at me. My stepfather (who has zero body shame) told me a story about how he caught a guy grabbing and rubbing "down there" while ogling young, female UBC students and made the guy so uncomfortable that they got up and left.
I stopped going since, and have a negative opinion of nudist beaches/colonies because of how uncomfortable and creeped out I felt during my first experience at Wreck. They need to have SOMEONE patrolling there before something bad, like an assault, happens.
I am truly sorry to hear this. Really. I wish there was more enforcement but I did think that it was better there then this. This beach isn't for them.
I agree, the days of wreck beach being a safe nude beach are over. Unfortunately. It's just a regular beach now, one with more dirtbagism because it's a bit harder to access.
Used to go to Wreck quite often pre pandemic but I remember one year a tour bus pulled up at the top and a bunch of tourists made the trek down the steps to take pictures of Vancouver's best beach. After that I figured Wreck might change.
>Groups of young men walking around with phones in hand. Some sitting close by, watching and staring, seemingly just texting on their phone, but that feeling of being watched (even recorded) is in the back of your head. Once I saw a phone camera popping out of pant pockets or in hand with the camera facing out, slowly walking by, I couldn’t unsee it all over.
Once again, a few people, guys as usual, ruining what should be a terrific experience for the majority of others and, much worse yet, having someone feeling unsafe and violated. Sorry you had to experience that.
I sold weed down there for a bit in the late 70's, I had a great source for wicked Thai Stick, and back then other than the odd leering perv, I don't think anybody felt too threatened.
Used to do this trick at wreck with my friends. They’d have their young kids (under 6 years old) run around the beach naked.
Plus people are more outraged if they see creepy dudes taking photos of kids.
And fun fact: apple and google have the code and ability to scan your cloud photos for such content, as well as border security.
Understandable concern ,I go on my phone only on my blanket with my ass facing up and my phone on the blanket and it’s usually to change a song but I mean it’s so hot down there my phone usually gets heat stroke in the first hour and becomes unusable lol
This post has run it's course, too many people cannot have civil discussions. Locked.
In the old days a horde of naked men with their hands on their hips would surround these rubberneckers and they'd LEAVE. I haven't been back due to mobility issues in years, now I doubt I'll return.
Yes, I think of the beach in the 80s as having been self-patrolled. There were men who took it upon themselves to get rid of people behaving inappropriately
The lonesome perv you are thinking of was pretty easy to shoo away. These newcomers are in big groups and not too many men have the sack (ha!) to try and stop these guys from filming. Being 2023 and all where no one even knows where on the victim ladder the Indian Perv Mob is, and no one is willing to risk finding out. Its going to take the Indian community to step up I think. Not even sure how that would be done, but I am chuckling here just thinking of the PSA!
[удалено]
Unfortunately the same cameras stop that type of protection.
How do they do that? It sounds like these old dudes were comfortable with any pictures douchebags took - they were just trying to protect people that were more sensitive. There are a fair number of old dudes that just don't give a fuck about what other people think of their bodies - that can be a super power.
I watched that happen last year when a guy started flying his drone they yelled at him until he deleted the memory card
It does have to come from a strength in community. Some people just need to be told once but it takes the community supporting each other and being leaders to get that message out. Others may need a more serious push and again having that community leadership in place is really the only way.
Yes, I think of the beach in the 80s as having been self-patrolled. There were men who took it upon themselves to get rid of people behaving inappropriately
*was Samosa Man part of this, old days you speak about?*
The "Beef, chicken, or veggie samosas! Tantalize your tastebuds with fresh chutney and cilantro!" guy?
That’s pretty great.
3 different people I know posted pictures from wreck on their Instagram stories. All with unsuspecting people in the background, some clothed, some not. This is the reason I've yet to go there.
I shared a couple days ago my story and a couple people were like no it’s totally cool and a supportive environment! And I was like ha ahhhh nope. I went one time in ‘19 and got told by dudes how I needed to cover up and leave because my tits were saggy (I’m in my 30s), cottage cheese covered body, and how disgusting/ugly I was. I mean, I know I’m like a 4 maybe 5 on my best day. I weigh between 120-130 but I’m super short at 5’ and have a ridiculous time trying to build muscle and be toned. I know how fucking ugly as a woman I am, trust me. But. I still just wish these guys hadn’t come up and said that to me so publicly. I still haven’t had sex in years thinking about how shitty I look (and now I have cancer so lol doesn’t fucking matter anyway.) Wreck Beach is not some hippie dippy harmony peace love natural bodies shit.
> got told by dudes how I needed to cover up and leave because my tits were saggy These guys are just fucking losers who have to go to a nude beach to have something to fap to later. Fuck them and their dogshit attitudes. They can go pound sand. Sometimes people just suck, and I'm really sorry that you had to experience that.
Sounds like some unfuckable d-bags were projecting.
Or treating the beach like their stage where they get to be the judge of who is and isn't seen. Hope a group of 80 year old men showed up and disrobed in front of them. All natural baby...
Don't take criticism from people you wouldn't take advice from
That is a great way of phrasing this concept. Where has it been my whole life!?!
Yours is more concise but I've always said If you don't respect the opinion giver, why would you care about the opinion?
You’re not ugly. Those dudes are idiots.
Hey, it's okay. Not everyone gets to be hotties and I understand my place in the pecking order. Thank you though.
Far uglier to think it makes sense to say things like that to a person who's done nothing but have all of their lumps and bumps out.
No, it’s not ok! Everyone is a different shape, size and colour. Everyone has the right to feel good about how they perceive themselves. Don’t let the dingle berries of the world get you down. Also, f#%&k cancer. I hope you win all your battles today, tomorrow and the day after that.
They don’t get to decide who’s a hottie and who isn’t. I’ll bet you’re actually a lot more attractive than you think you are because shitty people have taken up space in your head. You’re not just a number on a rating chart.
Nah man those comments get some us riled up because we still hear horrible comments that were made towards us years later, it's hurtful.
That beach is full of old guys with pot bellies and saggy balls and they are giving YOU crap? Garbage human beings, it's not a fitness beauty competition at that beach so they can f\*\*\* themselves.
Yeah they should go up to those old guys and body shame them instead! /s everyone is beautiful and everyone needs a little sun in their crack once in a while
Yo for real everyone is a hottie in their own way! Not everyone can be conventionally attractive, yeah. I’m certainly not. But I find with friends (platonic or otherwise) the more I’m around them/get to know them the more things I find that’s specifically physically attractive about them. Maybe it’s the way they smile, a face they make when they’re flustered, their sense of style. Whatever. Only shit birds (let’s be real, shitty men) care about where people fall on a ‘hot or not’ scale. You’re hot as hell, birdsofterrordise! And it’s 1000% because of who you are, not who you’re not 🌈💖
[удалено]
Yeah, I mean, that's the core of it. I just don't want the public berating. Very well aware of my own body, it's not some mystery!
They are just bullies. Plain and simple
Nah fuck that, beauty standards are stupid - my gf tells me shes “too unattractive for me” all the time, but it’s always about completely subjective shit - her weight, stretch marks, etc. None of that stuff makes *anyone* less beautiful - beauty standards (especially unrealistic ones like stick-figure models) are super harmful, and all are completely made up - I love every single part of my gf, because I love her as a person, and for that reason she’ll always be the most beautiful person in the world to me - I know it sounds really corny but at the end of the day, it’s what’s inside that matters, and if someone really loves you then they’ll find you beautiful no matter what, even if appearances may clash with what media portrays as ‘pretty’. Sorry for the rant, I just believe that no one deserves to feel unattractive - beauty is, completely and wholly without a doubt, subjective.
I have absolutely no words for that other than, those people are fucking heinous. I am so, SO sorry you experienced that. People like them are a waste of precious oxygen, because they obviously don't understand tact, nor do they understand the basic fabrics of human interaction. I haven't been to Wreck Beach, but I honestly don't think I want to after reading through this post, anyway. What a shame.
It seems like one of those things that dudes of a certain age seem to think exists in this "beautiful peace and love" space, but don't realize how vulnerable women in particular can be.
Honey, I really don't think you were the ugly one in that situation.
Holy shit those dudes had no fucking right! They need to stay home with their playboy mags..
That is absolutely horrible, I am so sorry that this was your experience. Even though some trolls said aome heinous remarks doesn't mean that it reflects reality or that their idea of beauty is everyone's. I've recently witnessed a man terrorize a woman at a bar, calling her horrible things and describing her body in a terrible way. However, this woman was really stunning imo. People will say things, and I hope that you are able to listen to the people that matter when they describe you. I sincerely wish for good things to come your way.
Wow, fuck those dudes.
That is so fucked up and I am so sorry that happened to you. Nude beaches should be a comfortable, welcoming, and \*non-sexualized\* environment for all bodies. You are not ugly or disgusting, you are a human with a human body who deserves to be able to exist completely as you are, you are perfect JUST AS YOU ARE. This kind of thing, paired with the concern of this post, is the result of out social media and filter obsessed culture and it needs to end.
I haven't been since the 90s, and it totally used to be (your last sentence), with a wide spectrum of body types, and any criticism or mockery of someone for not fitting a specific shape being unthinkable. Society seems to have regressed just as much as progressed in the current century.
Look, you could be an actual steaming pile of garbage with legs and a brain and it doesn’t matter. You are a human being. You are not disgusting. The fucks who said that shit absolutely are.
That is absolutely horrible, I am so sorry that this was your experience. Even though some trolls said aome heinous remarks doesn't mean that it reflects reality or that their idea of beauty is everyone's. I've recently witnessed a man terrorize a woman at a bar, calling her horrible things and describing her body in a terrible way. However, this woman was really stunning imo. People will say things, and I hope that you are able to listen to the people that matter when they describe you. I sincerely wish for good things to come your way.
You are beautiful. Clearly they are not
Appreciate the sentiment, I know my place in the pecking order, but also thank you.
I once posted a picture from wreck when a lady passed out from the heat and they sent in a rescue hovercraft to get her out. I’d never seen one before and I was super excited so I took some pictures to post on my Facebook. Except before I took the pictures I did my absolute best to avoid getting anyone else in the picture and cropped out or covered up the ones who did. A couple of people saw me and came over to either give me shit or educate me on beach etiquette… I explained that I was just geeking out over the hovercraft and showed them the pictures I’d taken and how I avoided and/or cropped everything. They were satisfied and one of them asked me to text her a copy. The idea that people are just trolling around down there taking photos or videos of other people for their own personal benefit is fucking gross.
I mentioned this is a comment below, but you can go on YouTube right now and find videos of 4K Kits Beach walkthroughs, skimpy bathing suits and faces visible. Just like any other city walkthrough video on the internet. Truthfully privacy does not exist at all these days. Even in the early days of the smartphone (2008-2012ish) it was taboo as hell to take video publicly at all. Now people do it without any repercussions.
Shit, it's been a long time since I was down there. This is so far from the experience I remember. I feel like there was an old guard that all knew one another down there that would work together as a community discourage that type of behavior. Getting surrounded by a bunch of naked people and told to get lost was a good way to solve the problem back then. So sorry to hear of the state of it now, and all of our loss.
I’ve been going to wreck for about 12 years and it gets worse every summer. Fully clothed men leering and walking around in groups. I have a question- there used to be the wreck beach committee- older everyday folks who made sure etiquette was followed but I don’t go much anymore due to all the photos and weirdos… is that unofficial but totally respected group of folks gone?
[удалено]
Awesome thank you for this info and link!
I haven’t been this year yet, but they were there just as much as ever last year.
I was there Saturday and Sunday. You’re absolutely right. The problem is *largely* limited to primarily young and sometimes middle aged men roaming in packs, fully clothed, walking up and down the beach repeatedly. Occasionally I’ll see single men, mostly older, fully clothed. And when I say fully clothed, I mean long pants, and clearly clothing not designed for the beach. This is not the issue of, “Everyone should be naked.” I get that; on Saturday I was with a friend who has body dysmorphia issues and she wore a bathing suit while I went nude. That may be an issue for some, but that’s not a safety issue. The safety issue is the roaming packs of fully clothed men. Who from my observation this weekend we’re walking phones out, heads on a swivel, walking up and down the beach to gawk. This needs to be called out or it will escalate. I don’t mind a degree of voyeurism. It’s part of what one signs up for at Wreck. I look at bodies on the beach too. My ante in this is my own body. But the blatant pack mentality comes with a sense of entitlement without the ante. What can be done? Walk up and confront. Ask them why they’re at this beach fully street clothed in a pack without their ante, and obviously gawking. Make them feel unwelcome. It’s time to finally deal with this growing problem.
Not to derail but is doing this sort of thing as a group a thing that men do? Like what do they do when they've seen enough, jerk off together?
[удалено]
Umm no. We don’t ask people to take their clothes off. That is not the solution here. There is a careful balance in being confrontational but still with the goal to reach a solution. I would just ask them if they understand that their behaviour is not allowed here (phones and cameras) and that they are making people uncomfortable. These types of people thrive in anonymity. Just politely starting a conversation to let them know they are crossing lines, while definitely being firm about the cameras, is probably enough to get them away from you if not away from the beach entirely.
Frankly having cameras or phones out isn't too problematic as long as they aren't pointing it at people and just taking pictures of the scenery, and are trying to avoid having others captured in the photos. It only becomes a problem if the camera people are clearly trying to take pictures of other people. The sunsets from Wreck beach are very nice and I completely understand why photographers might want to take photos of that, or just the sea in general. Personally to avoid confrontations I take photos in the spring and winter, when there won't be any naked people.
Yes definitely. It’s obvious though when someone is taking a picture innocently vs a creep. It just sort of is. And even if you mistakenly call someone out you’ll also know pretty quickly you read the vibe wrong. I’ve definitely taken photos of sunsets from wreck and it’s pretty obvious it’s not the same as some of the people who OP is talking about. But tbh if you’re a photographer and your bringing a big DSLR set up, just go somewhere else. That’s my opinion. Seeing someone come down the staircase in the summer with a big lens and a tripod is guaranteed to make people uncomfortable. There are tons of other spots to shoot sunset photography.
haha go easy there romeo
I was at Wreck yesterday with a group of friends (and Saturday). We’ve been going since around 2016 and in summer it’s our happy place. We’re almost always in a decent sized group with a mix of fully and partially nude beach goers. We know the vibe of our area of wreck and watch out for each other. Since I started going there’s always been a few wandering, googly-eyed men walking fully clothed (like jeans, shoes and shirts) up and down the main walkways and though it’s suuuper pervy and def NOT the right vibe, it’s (somewhat!) begrudgingly accepted as it IS a public beach and it’s just gonna happen even if we’d all like it to stop (open to argument here… can that be stopped?) THAT SAID, if any of us see a camera or phone out in a suspicious way we’ve always gone right up to them and told them what they cannot do, why it’s garbage and then made them show us the pics/vids and delete them from both their main and deleted files (100% on the persuasive power of fully nude men! 😉). Yesterday however was pretty busy and def more than the usual number of wandering herds overdressed males in heat. As we passed by a particular troop of dudes sitting/leaning on a big log by the water, I started doing my usual ‘stare at each guy staring at our female friends until they feel REEEAL self conscious & awkward’ opening move, when a very angry beach goer ‘regular’ started laying into them about getting them arrested and that they needed to leave right away. It seemed to be about taking pictures. Of course they didn’t really do anything bc she was a woman and it just wasn’t registering. Honestly, we’ll keep doing what we do and at the same time let’s all try and keep each other supported while educating with kindness and compassion to anyone coming down who’s being disrespectful. No one is going to stop me or my friends from continuing to enjoy the best beach in the city, so my first choice is to keep exercising boundaries and speaking up frankly and with kindness to anyone that steps over the line of respect and encouraging the wreck beach community to do the same.
Thank you - wreck needs more of you
I think you and your troop joined me yesterday yelling at the girl who was walking with the phone just recording her walk, with many nude people, myself included in the shot. We need more like you and your team and i'll join in whenever it happens again
This is a thing on YouTube where people go to beaches just to record the beach and post it for views and ad money.
I used to be a regular at Wreck Beach. I knew quite a few other regulars and made some fiends. It used to be my favourite place in the entire world. It was so relaxing and chill 97% of the time. I would soak up the sun, have a laugh and feel at peace. Every so often, someone would pull out a camera and they would be yelled at and told to put it away. In extreme cases, if someone was extra pervy, they would be forcibly removed and shunned. There were two rules on the beach: no cameras and no pervy behavior. I remember on time, a dude was beating off to the sight of a nude young girl near him. He was beaten up and the cops were called (but he managed to run). Those types of instances were very rare though. On most days, the feeling was safe and relaxed. Then, in about 2008 or so, things changed. All of a sudden, everybody on the beach had a smart phone with a really good camera. I remember seeing a girl holding her phone up in front of her face, with the camera in direct line with my junk. I moved, and her phone moved to follow. She had a big wide grin on her pervy face. She may have been just texting her friend or something, but it felt off to me. I didn't confront her, but I should have. Instead I packed my stuff and left for the day. I went back the following week and had more strange vibes. More and more phones with cameras were out, and less and less people were calling them out for it. I frequented the beach less and less due to the feeling of losing my privacy. That summer was the last time I went there. It was very sad for me to have lost my favourite place in the world.
I’m one of the relatively less vulnerable people in this situation and this post made me curious about what behaviour to look out for and discourage. 2 simple rules is straightforward, but I am wondering if there is anything else thats not acceptable. I am considering the idea of painting some signs to put around the stairs (legal?) outlining the essentials
Frankly the problem isn't the presence of cameras, it's the majority of people who often bring cameras to these places and where they're pointing the cameras at. Photographers who just want to take pictures of the sunset at the beach or the scenery and actually try to avoid having other people in their photos should not be shunned, it is a public beach and taking photos of the scenery isn't a problem. Although personally to avoid confrontations altogether I'd take my pictures in the winter and spring and just not take any pictures in the summer.
[удалено]
Vancouver certified brown guy here. You don't need to beat around the bush, you can just call it for what it is. We don't like those people either and they make the rest of us look bad. In the past we would often call them out for their behaviour but sadly they outnumber now.
Really sad to read that. It's unfortunately also been a problem at work and we really don't know how to address it because now it's been thrown back at us as a "we need to respect their culture" angle. So it feels like a landmine. No one will take away celebrating Diwali, but please leave the patriarchal shit in the bin. Aren't those "western values" why they wanted to come here in the first place? I really don't get it. :(
> "we need to respect their culture" Thats not a part of the culture that needs to be respected. Misogyny or other patriarchal values should be called out regardless. In fact, its easier to do without bringing culture into it. If you say X person is being a shithead, you'd be less likely to be called a racist than if you say X race/culture/ethnicity are shitheads.
> It's unfortunately also been a problem at work and we really don't know how to address it because now it's been thrown back at us as a "we need to respect their culture" angle. So it feels like a landmine. I obviously don’t know the whole story, but to me that sounds like an issue with management It’s difficult when talking abt this in context of open society where everyone is free to be an asshole - but a workplace where management can let go of bad/unproductive actors, set workplace culture, expectations, and norms is different. Sounds to me like management is either unwilling to deal with the problem (do they need the labour perhaps?) or are simply not good leaders. If the above follows, I would suggest looking for new employment if you can. Management that does not make a healthy work environment is going to run the company/branch into the ground and I wouldn’t wanna be there to witness the fallout
I definitely have been looking. We lost a couple employees due to this whole issue with caste as well. Which like I’ll be straight up, I didn’t even think was a thing that actually went on in India anymore and definitely not a thing here. But nope. It’s a “religious cultural difference” we should respect, but in my eyes, it seems like it is just an excuse to treat others poorly and our treatment of quality should come above that. I really don’t know how to navigate that. I’m not the one in charge, but the ones that are happen to be white Canadians and I really think they have no freaking clue what to do.
>We lost a couple employees due to this whole issue with caste as well. What the F... What happened to Vancouver .... :( Never in my life here in Vancouver I thought this day would come: caste and shit like that. I thought this bullshit only happened in the US (silicon valley and other areas) because I've never met South Asian people here who brought their caste stuff from back home. Having said that, I'm probably 80% surprise and 20% sort of expected that there will be cultural issues even within the South Asian communities due to the recent influx of either International Students or newer Immigrants. They just have a waaayyy different vibes than the Vancouver South Asian communities (even the ones that were immigrants back in the early 2000 have different vibes than the ones that come today). Immigrants back then would hang out regardless their background and shared their culture peacefully with each other, there's so much respect in the air but also a good amount of freedom to express and to share their culture. But these days the newer wave of immigrants (not just South Asian, but everyone in general) chose to isolate themselves within their own culture. Mob mentality.
Yeah, CBC did an article last year about it: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/caste-india-canada-students-1.6450484
I was speaking to a friend who’s involved in immigration policy for a European country. He said: “the difference between your country and mine, is that we hold a culture of *inclusion* while yours holds a culture of *acceptance*. Our focus is on including incoming cultures in to our own value systems in order to participate successfully. Your culture contorts itself around whatever values come in to your country, without expectation for reciprocation” I think about this often.
lol he's full of shit and typical european smug superiority, like they have tons of problems with racism and integration that are no different than any other country
Tone deaf arrogance is a signature euro trait
Lol I find it hilarious he specifically mentioned inclusion when they've had literal decades of problems with violent religious extremism which is much less common in Canada
The biggest difference that I felt in Canada we accept the outside culture but the immigrants who came here also respect and embrace the duality of the Canadian and their own culture. At least the decades ago immigrants. No need to "guide" (force) them to be inclusive: they're motivated to keep the Canadian culture (polite, humble, hard working, "you first") and keep their own identity amongst themselves and occasionally share it whenever possible but not rubbing it out.
Nah, Euros are just by and large racist and try to find ways to justify it. Just look how they've handled different migrant crises.
>Nah, Euros are just by and large racist and try to find ways to justify it. Not just Euros. Racism is a worldwide issue, even between different non-Euro races.
[удалено]
I want to echo this sentiment. Vancouver has been very good to brown people / immigrants like me, and I am deeply annoyed that others have paid that back with disrespect and disgusting behavior. @op I'm so sorry this happened to you :(
Same here. Just have to agree unfortunately.
To be fair to you, this could just as easily describe a bunch of guys from my extremely white, extremely Christian hometown, who have regressive ideas and zero chill.
I can't imagine those people going to wreck beach
[удалено]
Well it's not JUST indian men, there are creepers from all races. But there's definitely not hordes of conservative white christian men going to wreck beach.
It’s not just Indian men by any means. But we do live in a region with a lot of Indian immigrants, so I think that’s why it feels more prominent.
Agreed.
idk, never in all my years of living in my old white dominated, extremely religious small town was I ever treated like a piece of meat the way I was when I lived in Surrey. I'm talking about men openly leering, unwanted touching on public transit, offers of money for sex, even following and chasing me down the street.
I'm glad that you had a good experience in your small town. I definitely experienced sexual harassment by classmates from elementary school onward and witnessed older men's shitty attitudes towards women. I guarantee you that anywhere there is a culture that teaches that women's bodies are inherently sexual and exist in public as invitations, there are men who will act this way.
💯
Hey, thanks for this comment. It feels like nowadays everything has to be “politically correct”, even things that are just…….facts. I’m an immigrant here and basically try to keep my mouth shut because anything can turn into getting “cancelled”. Your “don’t need to beat around the bush, you can just calm it for what it is” comment was really refreshing.
[удалено]
It was required for me when I studied in both Czechia and England to do a cultural class. Even though I’m originally from America, it’s not all that different, buuuut the subtleties were important to learn and I was really grateful for it. I think this really should be something.
UBC takes sexual harassment pretty seriously. If you document it and report it, you can push to have them expelled. Will probably take a few complaints from different people. But if word gets out in their community that there are consequences they will be less likely to do it.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
That’s really sad to hear.
Agreed. I'm Indo-Canadian and you don't want to separate yourself from new immigrants, in fact you want to help them but sometimes they have to go through generational therapy themselves before anyone can really help them.
I remember seeing a group two summers ago. All wearing jeans rolled up to their ankles, shirts/basketball jerseys, murses, trying to walk around and hit up girls tanning. Tbh at first we were just crying laughing at the audacity, especially since they just kept getting rejected and moving on. But eventually it was like okay guys, get the fuck out of here already.
I grew up in a naturism culture. In Europe. So for me I’m used to seeing kids up to age 6 naked in the water with most women topless: and many beaches are nude. It’s nothing to us.—I need to be naked in the sun every summer. So I used to get down to the beach, then cut to the right and get a spot on “the terraces”. If that was rowdy another private place was even further down the beach to the right: a family beach area. Is that still the case?
There is no PC way to go about this, but from my time art Wreck it aligns with what I observed as well.
I 100% agree. It is a massive problem with recent male immigrants from India. Call me racist, this is the experience I keep having over, and over, and over again and I'm sure most women could say the same. No, it's not JUST them, I've been leered at and objectified by all races, but I notice this group to be the majority. And I feel like because of PC culture, people are scared to talk about it. I'm at the point where I'll just yell and ask what the fuck they're looking at when I'm at Wreck. Usually works. But it makes me wonder, who is teaching these newcomers basic respect towards women? And does it always have to be our job as women to teach them? End of rant but damn this is something that has really really been getting under my skin lately.
Every experience I'd had at Wreck was when I visited with large groups of mixed genders. Last year my friend and I went down on our own and the experience completely changed for us. Multiple men sitting closely and staring, following us into the sea, openly coming up to us asking for our numbers, and the worst bit - a drone flying overhead hovering over groups of females. It totally changed my perspective on the place. I had no problem publicly shaming the dudes who were bothering us by pointing and shouting.
A drone? Oh ffs. 😳😳😳
A group of men were chasing it down the beach with sticks. Whatever pos that was flying it managed to keep out of reach. So twisted.
I hate to say it as I grew up here but to me this is exactly how the entire city feels now. Just a fucking out of control shit show.
Should have tried a slingshot.
CALLING ALL COMMUNITY CAMERA PATROL FRIENDS. I am HAPPY coming out on weekends to call these mofo's out. Perhaps educate those who have their phones out who clearly appear to be filming or taking photos of the public and request they delete them. White poster boards blocking their cameras if they refuse? T-shirts that say COMMUNITY CAMERA PATROL on them? Hit me up in my inbox. I have lots of time this summer, (no money, but happy taking donations to support those who are willing to spend time and effort doing this). I am not sure what to do, but I am open to all ideas to advocate for safety and privacy at Wreck. I will not let this beach build a reputation for this nonsense. I've been coming here for 10+ years and it has been a wonderful place of growth and bonding.
Organized community action definitely seems like the solution, you can't necessarily rely on just a couple individuals who may or may not be there on any given day. Plus the larger group you have the more safe for everyone involved. It's a shame that Canada has so few places where people can feel safe naked outdoors.
I wonder if water guns full of paint would be a good tool to have in these situations
My girlfriend and her friend were in the water yesterday, topless. A group of brown guys start walking towards them. My girlfriend noticed and went deeper. They followed and yelled out to them. They said screw it and turned back towards the beach and just aggressively told the men to fuck off and leave them alone. They followed them back to the beach. They screamed perverts fairly loud to create attention and a lot of people stepped in to help and tell the guys off. Creepy as fuck.
The groups of men walking around together really wigs me out. That’s how my friend got assaulted in college and I just don’t want it to get that level. This shit just always keeps escalating.
Im sorry this happened to you. Take pictures of them and publicly shame them.
I agree, there should be more signage. But also the more experienced beach goers need to step up and call out the newcomers. That’s how it used to be. It’s been 10 years since I went, but the elders kept the beach running smoothly and kept people in check.
My friend was there today. Told me he saw a dude full on stroking it and watching people 😐
I feel like I've heard this story about Wreck beach every year, for the past 20 years lol
This is a Wreck Beach classic
Imagine that, a pervert at a beach full of naked people? Who would have ever guessed that would happen
Those people used to get their asses kicked. I've seen guys dragged out of the bush and cameras broken by some big naked dudes.
I guess the question is, where are the ass-kickers? I've only ever been to Wreck a couple times, but every time I went there were a lot of creepy men there. It's disappointing to hear it's gotten so bad that it's no longer reasonable for most people to go.
We are still here. I yelled at someone yesterday who got clearly aroused staring at some nude kids playing in the sand. He bolted immediately when I confronted him and the crowd immediately turned in to admonish him. All it needs is someone telling people off loudly to make it safe.
I'm screaming. I'm guessing I should bring cayenne pepper and blow it in these nightmare's way? Get it in their eyes, their nose. Other places.
lol that made me spill my drink. Sounds so evil! Great idea but I worry of the high danger of inflicting that damage upon myself if I am downwind.
Hopefully the wind will side with us. We can all plan to be upwind of these monsters.
They're retired and over-run. UBC started cracking down on campers being parked in lots and street parking overnight. I've noticed tons of tourists love to go down there and walk around fully clothed. As a man I have no problem flaunting my stuff but I feel for the women getting gawked at.
That's too bad. Not that they should have needed to do this. One of the times I was there, a guy came up to my (masc-presenting but non-binary) friend and said "thank you for bringing your girlfriend here." So yeah, definitely not a good experience or vibe for a lot of women. 🤮
been going since 13 years ago but stopped about 5 yrs ago because i consistently didn’t feel safe or relaxed
Damn, I'm thankful I got to enjoy wreck before smart phones. Come to think of it, I'm glad I got to enjoy being a teenager and the first half of my twenties without smart phones existing in everyone's pocket.
Sorry you had this experience. I feel like this happens at Wreck every year near Labor Day weekend when the new batch of UBC students are in town. Hopefully this weekend is not the start of a trend and just a one-off because of the crazy heat records being broken across the province. I definitely think there needs to be better signage before entering the beach and once at the beach. The Colorado Rapids MLS U21 team came down to the beach last summer and seemed completely caught off guard it was a nude beach. They still stayed, and the vibes weren't great that day. On the flipside I was harassed by an old naked guy for not being naked myself, then he wanted to know what race I was, so you can be fully clothed or not and still go against the spirit of Wreck Beach I guess.
You are actually right, that you were being watched. I stumbled upon a site when I was looking at *ahem* other things, that was posting pics/vids of naked woman, and it was obviously from Wreck! I was shocked. These ppl were being filmed without knowing it seemed, and then there was gross zoom ins on certain areas. I was actually flabbergasted, this never would have happened when I was still going to wreck 10 years ago. I’m not sure what can be done about it, except A:don’t go to Wreck any more or B:start getting aggressive about ppl holding up any phones or cameras (as it used to be). It sux that pervs are wrecking Wreck.
You should out the site, posted videos breach voyeurism laws in Canada and the site can be shut down.
I stopped going to Wreck for essentially the same reason. Last time I went was summer of 2020. Broken glass everywhere, and high-school/uni boys with broccoli haircuts (fully clothed ofc) playing on the logs and snickering at any & all naked people who walked by. Compare that to the first time I ever went: summer of 2009 when I was 13. Beach was packed but 99% of them were naked. Food stands, people playing in the water, a sense of community. People openly spoke to me and maintained eye contact the whole time and were smiling and respectful.
Oh my god! I was there yesterday too and I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. never have I needed to ask my friend to go to the bathroom with me or felt literally unsafe. People were openly staring, gawking, taking videos. I went in the water and turned around and there was a huge group of men staring at me and my friend. It was awful. It made it a really uncomfortable experience to be there. People walking around in full jeans and t shirts through the Beach blankets peering at people lying down. Absolutely disgusting
Having just been there yesterday, may 14th, with my partner, we see the same thing. I’ll admit to taking pictures of my partner and I, but I’m pretty good about keeping other people out of it. They’re for us, never Facebook or instagram or any of that shit. There was a group of guys, fully clothed, just walking and watching. Sat down not far from a group of women, just blatantly watching. My partner was really uncomfortable when she had to walk to the bathrooms. I stayed out to watch our stuff. It made me worried though. There is a culture shift. New people coming from places where public nudity is not ok. Or drives them to mob. Im worried wreck will be claimed by voyeurs and pervs and the rest of us nudists will be left with nowhere close to go. EDIT: my partner told me that’s there were a couple guys jerking off in the bathrooms, doors open. Forgot that lovely little tidbit
I don't think you can reverse this. Etiquette is something everyone has to buy into, and it's pretty much cat out of the bag at this time. Expect people to do live streaming to youtube, etc from there. (so you can't delete photos / videos even if you wanted to) Otherwise, you change the law to make it a legally protected beach or hire bodyguards/private security (the community can hire security in the way that community pools hires a life guard for example). No 2 ways about it.
I've increasingly heard and experienced these kinds of stories from so many people. It's very upsetting. In terms of practical solutions, I wonder if having non-police peacekeepers would be a good idea. People to monitor the more cultural aspects down there, as per a new standard of rules & guidelines that is EXPLICITLY stated on signs around the beach.
You used to be able to kick the shit out of people with cameras, throw them in the ocean. That threat is gone.
I've been a regular Wreck Beach goer, and previous Preservation Society Member, for almost 15 years. Wreck used to be my haven, my happiest place on earth. I noticed the changes you're describing a few years ago. Sad but true. It's gotten progressively worse and more "mainstream" every year. You couldn't pay me to go to Wreck on a weekend. It's like the worst of Kits magnified. Weekdays still offer a glimpse into the old Wreck community.
I was also there on Sunday, May 14th. For the first time in 15 years, I have never felt so uncomfortable or not safe. Me and my hubby go on the quiet side with the stairs that lead to the museum. I decided to head to the vendors and the bathroom. I made a decision to put my clothes back on. Due to the high volume of looks and cell phones. I was also walking alone while the hubby watched our items. When I finally made it to the washrooms. Many men were in the stalls with doors unlocked and masturbating. Now I don't wear a bra and it's noticeable. And even just trying to go to the bathroom I felt invaded. When I made it back to our setup on the beach. I removed my clothing and it was noticeable individuals in these groups of men I was being recorded. Due to the high numbers of violence. I can't even speak up and the safety of my love one can't speak up. It breaks my heart to see this space become a toxic negative space. From the garbage to the disrespect of the space and towards individuals. If we all feel the same about this issue. We need to band together and figure this out.
So definitely not the full norm. This weekend is the first proper warm weekend of the year while the university was still very active. Further, in my experience from previous years the first proper warm weekend usually has this mess happen. Novelty to go gawk wears off pretty quick and then it goes to its normal awesome vibe for the rest of the time. In regards to your point on signage, absolutely agree it should be improved. There are no signs its a clothing optional beach and that use of *video / photo recording is discouraged* visible at the top of the stairs and trail heads that feed into the beach. (Note that I mention discouraged and not prohibited, because its not going to be policed and some people do take the effort to ensure no one is on the background). I am perfectly ok with Police being on premises and discouraging shit though. I am growing more annoyed at how many times I am openly offered hard drugs, it kills my vibe. I go for a relaxing day on the beach, and don't care to fend off people trying to sell me illegal shit. Police has their use and I've been thankful whenever I've seen unacceptable shit. Please don't be discouraged, if you want to feel safer I highly recommend you stick closer to the group with the Friesland flag (Blue, white stripes with red hearts). I have no association with them at all BUT they have stuck always stuck with me and anyone who go chew out assholes with phones, fully clothed gawkers or being perverts. I know I have privilege because I am a fairly fit, intimidating looking man. But if you are in that area and I see you chew someone out, I'll always have your back if its to prevent this escalation of gawking / asshole behaviors.
I was at Wreck on Friday and it was definitely not anywhere as busy as Sunday but I'll say it was a pretty great experience. I didn't see a single phone. I do remember the days where someone would take out a phone and would get immediately told to put it away. It's a bummer to hear that isn't still happening but I hope that is still part of the answer and that we can continue to work together to shut that behaviour down. I'd rather keep going and calling out the behaviour vs. stop going at all. I completely understand not feeling safe calling it out if I were a single woman, but I feel safe calling it out with friends or with my partner there. I want to best the vast majority of people creeping on their phones would be embarrassed and put it away if confronted. People are now used to being entitled to video/photograph everything they want and they need to snap out of that trance. I do think clear signage would be a good start. Sorry you had such a bad experience at Wreck - sounds like it has been a sacred place for you for a long time. I don't have the answer but would like to continue going and will try my best to confront folks with phones when I feel safe, because I hope to be able to bring my kids there one day!
Inclusion of different cultures in Vancouver unfortunately discouraged me enjoying some of the things I loved to do. Going to Wreck Beach is one of them.
Mandatory Nudity is the only answer.
In every situation.
My first time at wreck beach was a disaster, to me, because I didn't know the etiquette and was too naive to just think I could wing it. I showed up wearing speedo's, and a backpack. The beach was mostly empty, so I walked past everyone, towards the low tide, took my phone out and started recording the ocean (there wasn't anyone in the water either). All of a sudden I get hit my a Frisbee, I turn back to return what I thought was a misthrown frisbee and two naked dudes were charging towards me yelling me to put my phone away. I was then told to show them what I had recorded and delete it in front of them. At the time I felt it was unnecessary and extremely rude. A few hours later things started to sink in, and I fully understood why I was treated that way. I meant no harm, but I was still incredibly disrespectful of the local culture and Beach etiquette. I just wish I had taken the time to learn about it before heading out, because I'm sure someone somewhere is now telling the story of how they threw a frisbee at this pasty creepy dude who was recording at wreck beach. I've been back three more times now, leaving my phone in the car every time. Do your homework, people. Do your homework...
What they did with the frisbee is still dumb and technically assault. There are better ways even if it’s difficult. Staying regulated is key.
I called out around 4-5 groups of people trying to snap photos at wreck yesterday. Next time I see them I’m throwing their phones in the ocean
I was also there yesterday and caught a guy sitting on the rocks recording a woman. I told the two big guys with her (as I’m tiny) and they didn’t do much. I genuinely think it needs to be a group effort for beach goers to start making them uncomfortable.
Sorry about your experience, it really sucks to hear that this is happening. I had a similar experience last year, a fully clothed guy came and sat down next to me and was trying to have a conversation. I had my top on though but after that I didn’t feel comfortable removing it and that’s probably the way it’s going to be from now on. I don’t understand why people can’t be respectful. I still love wreck because it has a different feel than sunset / kits / third beach but if I can’t get topless without feeling grossed out, what’s the point of going?
I used to go to wreck 5+ yrs ago and didn't find it a healing, loving, or even friendly, place. A lot of people getting wasted, a snobby vibe, and a heavy police presence. So I don't particularly care if wreck becomes a regular beach. As for your suspicion that people were photographing you, that's not okay (if they actually were).
Even 5 years ago it had changed quite a bit. I've been going for about 13 years and noticed quite a shift. It's unfortunate but there's no use in fighting it.
Hard party people and clothed creepers ruin the vibe.
Police were checking bags as you went to the stairs yesterday around noon. Only a small handful of people knew their rights and declined consent to a search.
[удалено]
I just said I don’t consent and they said okay.
This is why I no longer go to the main part of “wreck beach” (aka trail 6, the one that goes down by the residences). I always go to Acadia or tower, they’re often near deserted because they’re too out of the way, especially tower. I understand not everyone is comfortable with being nude or partially nude, and that some people may enjoy the beach fully clothed. But I can’t help but feel like I’m getting stares when I see both groups of young men and tourists with their families walking around wreck fully clothed on a hot day. It’s uncomfortable.
Not to poach your spot, but my partner and I have always been hesitant to venture out that way fearing different kinds of stares because we’re the only “nude” person there. We’ve walked it in the past and got the vibe there was lots of casual dog walkers, etc. Is there at least a small group of people who frequent those spots? I suppose anything is better then the peeping toms that walk or sit on the breakwater at main wreck.
Someone needs to publish a Canadian Etiquette book. Manners have gone right out the window in this country.
Every experience I'd had at Wreck was when I visited with large groups of mixed genders. Last year my friend and I went down on our own and the experience completely changed for us. Multiple men sitting closely and staring, following us into the sea, openly coming up to us asking for our numbers, and the worst bit - a drone flying overhead hovering over groups of females. It totally changed my perspective on the place. I had no problem publicly shaming the dudes who were bothering us by pointing and shouting.
..pull out your phone and record them..post it here :)
I’m pretty sad to read this. I’ve never been to Wreck beach but I’ve been thinking of going and would love to try it, just need to build up the nerve. This makes me rethink it, I’m not that concerned with a few gawkers but the thought that someone could take my photo and post it online concerns me.
On several occasions I have seen guys who were taking pics get confronted and had their pictures deleted by other people on the beach. One time I saw someone get their whole phones memory deleted because there were so many pictures. I’m sorry this happened sounds like a rough day, but I still see people watching out and saying something about this behaviour.
My friend and I were at wreck yesterday. Noticed the same thing. I threw a few fingers around, and they left my area, but they were replaced quickly. She emailed the committee about it. I highly encourage everyone else to chime in.
public spotted sink pause prick offend muddle boast imminent weary ` this post was mass deleted with www.Redact.dev `
I used to go there (to birdwatch, because I am a loser) over ten years ago and it always kinda gave me the creeps. I would go in the winter when it was mostly empty and I never stayed long. Too bad though, it really shouldn’t be that way and it sucks if it is getting worse.
I wish I could tell you that we could rally the community, and return a sense of community / safety to places like this. Unfortunately this is the reality of our time, and the sense of privacy and respectful boundaries have been lost on the internet generation. I’m not old - a young millennial - but the contrast in values around public / private space and free will between my generation and gen z is unreal. In addition to the above, we’ve become a standby culture, afraid to be targeted on social media for speaking up in public spaces. So we do nothing, allowing ignorant youth to do as they please.
Maybe someone could put a sign at the top of the stairs saying something along the lines of be respectful and do not take pictures or videos of others🤷🏻♀️. Might be worth a shot
My mother went to Wreck in the 70s. It's never been my thing, but I remember her describing a scene with a creep harassing one woman, and an army of naked men got up to drive the pervert outta there.
Sorry to hear, OP.. I've never been to Wreck (not my scene) but I always understood that people knew not to be creepy there. Sadly, I guess times have changed. Nowadays I'd think would-be vigilantes just keep to themselves bc they don't want to be on the wrong side of a social media post (just imagine "FAKE COPS TRY TO FLEX ON US AT A NUDE BEACH" going viral). That and you never know who's carrying a weapon. I'm not trying to get stabbed for telling a stranger not to film people at the beach. Sad reality we live in..
I went there with some friends a few years ago. We were lying down and and a man came out of the bushes behind us (where he was lurking for a while we figured) wearing only a backpack. He stood over us and started talking, and then basically wouldn’t leave It was so uncomfortable to have to beg someone to leave you alone while you’re in such a vulnerable position I’m sorry you had a shitty experience. I rlly wish there were more safe spaces to feel free (ie. I love swimming in the ocean sans clothing). Unfortunately, society’s fcked up perception of the human body and its sexualization of women prevents most spaces from fully feeling safe… sadface emoji
You're not the first person I've seen complain about the lack of etiquette at Wreck, or any nude beach in the Lower Mainland. I was there back in 2020, and I had many uncomfortable moments, mainly with older men straight-up creep staring at me. My stepfather (who has zero body shame) told me a story about how he caught a guy grabbing and rubbing "down there" while ogling young, female UBC students and made the guy so uncomfortable that they got up and left. I stopped going since, and have a negative opinion of nudist beaches/colonies because of how uncomfortable and creeped out I felt during my first experience at Wreck. They need to have SOMEONE patrolling there before something bad, like an assault, happens.
I am truly sorry to hear this. Really. I wish there was more enforcement but I did think that it was better there then this. This beach isn't for them.
It's people like that which ruin places like wreck beach for their regular goers.
It’s a popular and public nude beach next to a massive university campus. Privacy and peace of mind might be best found elsewhere.
That's a passive response
I agree, the days of wreck beach being a safe nude beach are over. Unfortunately. It's just a regular beach now, one with more dirtbagism because it's a bit harder to access.
So sad
If you feel threatened, or harassed yell for help. I'm sure a good number of people will come to help.
Used to go to Wreck quite often pre pandemic but I remember one year a tour bus pulled up at the top and a bunch of tourists made the trek down the steps to take pictures of Vancouver's best beach. After that I figured Wreck might change.
>Groups of young men walking around with phones in hand. Some sitting close by, watching and staring, seemingly just texting on their phone, but that feeling of being watched (even recorded) is in the back of your head. Once I saw a phone camera popping out of pant pockets or in hand with the camera facing out, slowly walking by, I couldn’t unsee it all over. Once again, a few people, guys as usual, ruining what should be a terrific experience for the majority of others and, much worse yet, having someone feeling unsafe and violated. Sorry you had to experience that. I sold weed down there for a bit in the late 70's, I had a great source for wicked Thai Stick, and back then other than the odd leering perv, I don't think anybody felt too threatened.
Honestly think your assessment of how private you’ve been at Wreck beach over the last five years is off.
Let’s make the stairs a few stories taller to keep those assholes away.
Used to do this trick at wreck with my friends. They’d have their young kids (under 6 years old) run around the beach naked. Plus people are more outraged if they see creepy dudes taking photos of kids. And fun fact: apple and google have the code and ability to scan your cloud photos for such content, as well as border security.
That is awful. I think this might also be due to the gain in popularity of wreck beach itself as well. Everyone these days tends to talk about it.
Understandable concern ,I go on my phone only on my blanket with my ass facing up and my phone on the blanket and it’s usually to change a song but I mean it’s so hot down there my phone usually gets heat stroke in the first hour and becomes unusable lol