The AANR (American Association for Nude Recreation) has the view that public nudity should be legal as long as the person is not doing anything with the intent of sexually arousing either themselves or anyone else.
The most stated reason by members is to get over "body shame", because doing so helps boost self esteem and confidence. There have been studies showing that children raised in nudist family have higher self esteem and confidence and are just generally more comfortable with who they are as a person.
On the other side there are those persons who seek out nude beaches and nudist events who have seual agendas. AANR nudist clubs don't tolerate such persons, and forcibly remove them shoudl they show up. I refer to such persons as "swingers" because they seem to fit the swinger lifestyle more than they do the nudist lifestyule
However, as a point of freedom. A freedom of expression, which does tno do harm to anyone, shoudl public nudity be legal? As atheists are nto burdened with religious mores , I was just wondering what the people here think?
I am a natuirst (nudist) and I have ridden the Portland (OR) World Naked Bike Ride, which has over 10,000 participants each year, and I have gone on nude hikes, visited clothing optional beaches
So, what are your thoughts?
First--I'm a very white woman and you need extra-dark sunglasses if you want to be near me when I'm nude outdoors! ( NOT a joke! ) Secondly, I see no reason why there can't be areas for nudists and their families, as long as somebody who doesn't want to see that is alerted beforehand.
I've been to several ''clothing optional'' areas and it's true that, after an hour or so, you don't notice so much that people are naked....although some of us really shouldn't play volleyball naked....or sit on rocks and then go on hikes!
Interestingly, there were more ''mature'' people with ''less-than perfect'' bodies at the places I visited than young, perky, erotically-focused people. I didn't see any erections and there just wasn't anything sexual going on.
The major problems I saw were sunburns in uncomfortable areas and mosquitoes.
It is true that at clothing optional places it seesm that there are more older generations than yo9unhger. I attribute this to more younger persons are insecure about theri bodies, while as people get older, many mor ewill adopt an attitude of "who cares".
As for sun burns.... I recommend Nutragena sun screens tht come in the little plastic tubes (not the spray on,which doesn't work as well). It is fast drying, meaning you are not oily and greasy all day long. I only have to apply it once at the start of the day, can go in and out of the water without having to reapply it, and I have never been burned when wearign it (I use and SPF of 45 on my body and spf 85 on my genitals). It is more expensive than other sun screens, but it works, and it will let you tan too. Definitely worth the expense.
@snytiger6 Thanks! As a public service, though, I'll remain clothed in public places. You'd thank me...yes, you would!
@LucyLoohoo You'd be surprised. I've met a person who was over weight who also had severe skin disorders several at nudist events. He wasn't pretty to look at, but I did get over my initial reactions, and he seemed like a nice person. His condition wasn't contagious, and by comparison my initial emotional discomfort would never compare to his physical discomfort
I think it is just sad that as a society we want anyone who does not meet the advertisers ideal of physical beauty to feel guilt fear and hame about hwo they look, which in many instances cant' be helped.
@snytiger6 Men have been afflicted with ''snow blindness" having seen me nekkid! Just saying...
@Hercules3000 I would nto have fit into Woodstock. I don't liek mud, don't use drugs, and AIDS was already around by the time I was sexually active, so free love alwasy seemed to come at too high of a cost to me. Is your info really that dated?
Nudist culture predates the counter culture of hte 1960's. Nudists existed both before and after that time period. If you want to criticize, which you seem intent on doing, perhaps you shoudl do more reading to learn more, so you can do it properly. Nudists & Naturists have been a constant subculture for much longer than the last century.
perhaps too many Americans have been perverted by glossy publications thst turned natural nakedness into a commodity: erotic nudity ...
Between that and just a general religious prude attitude....
Religions just associate nudity with sex. Most Americans have no experiences with nudity outside of sex or bathing.
Body image has a lot to do with it too. Unless a person feels insecure about how they look, advertisers won't be able to sell us a bunch of stuff that we really dont' need, which is supposed to make us look better, whether it be clothes cosmetics, skin care products, bogus weight loss products or whatever.
In Ontario Canada Women are allowed 2 go topless, Never seen anyone do that yet lol. If the health department say there are no health risks then yes freedom of choice.
@Hercules3000 You can't get a sexual transmitted disease off a bar stool or a toilet!
I think if everyone was publicly naked, there would not be less (nor more, i hasten to add) sexual violence, but there might be less stigmatization of the victim, since no one could try to blame the victim's attire for the assault. on the other hand, patriarchy would still find a way to assert itself. anyway, i think we'd be better off as human beings if we were not compelled by law or even tradition to hide ourselves. clothing should be for protection from weather or for adornment when desired, not to cover up some secret that's no secret because everyone has more or less the same couple sets of parts. i view the illegality of public nudity much the way i view not having women in the classroom because we might distract men from their studies. it's silly.
g
@Hercules3000 nope, not forgetting. you know what? those people are attacking us even when we're fully clothed. i don't see nudity as a further problem.
g
@Hercules3000 i think people will get used to nudity and those erections will happen less and less, but if overcrowding is a problem that way, maybe more subways cars will be built to ease crowding. i don't see this as a huge problem, really, apart from the fact that the crowding itself is.
g
@Hercules3000 nope, not even remotely like that. complete false conflation. that's just silly. are you trying to imagine potential problems? is there something else on your mind you're not revealing, regarding public nudity?
g
@Hercules3000 pretty much everything, including breathing! my skin is particularly sensitive, as it happens. but one doesn't have to have a problem in order to benefit from nudity. but that's not the point. the point is whether or not people should be forced to cover up whether they want to or not, just because SOME people might be titillated.
g
@Hercules3000 pretty much everything, not the special cases you named. as for children, they frequently ARE naked! what's the big deal?
g
@Hercules3000 neither are grownups. what's your point? we're not talking about whether nudity IS permissible in public. we're talking about whether it SHOULD be. if it were, then yes, children would be naked in shopping malls, and not getting erections either.
g
@Hercules3000 omg you're obsessed with danglies!
if everyone was nude, nobody would be looking all the time at the danglies! and if people were seated their danglies wouldn't really be dangling.
the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy says: always know where your towel is.
g
Should a society legislate morality? I think that is a bigger question. If the answer is yes, then the question is what criteria and procedure should the society use in order to define "morality" and how to enforce it to what degree. Then it is a simply a matter of communal agreement.
Atheists are not burdened with "religious" mores, but they do have "mores" stemming from other sources.
Personally, I think it is legitimate for a society to legislate morality, if morality is defined as "preventing individuals from causing unnecessary harm to others." In that sense, yes, I absolutely think that being nude in public should be legal.
I really appreciate it when people think out and explain their answers, and take the time to make thier answers worth reading. Thank you.
@Hercules3000 I don't think you understood my point. I've answered in a far broader sense than the context of your response. Ask yourself this: should an adultery be criminalized? In some countries they are. Should what is illegal in one society be illegal in all others? Or the other way around? My answer assumes the society in question can reach a consensus about "morality." We may or may not be able to. I was simply casting my vote on the perspective on morality. I won't forcibly impose my sense of morality on others.
@Hercules3000 If you had taken time to read the original post, you would know that the legality is exactly what we were discussing. More specifically what role should our sense of morality in criminalizing behavior. You want to skip the difficult question and go straight into what you believe to be moral or immoral. That's a different question. You have already formed your own subjective morality and you are shocked and scandalized when others disagree. That's a common response, but also an uninteresting one. But as atheist, we should learn to question whether our subjective sense of morality should be universally accepted.
I am a big fan of freedom and liberty. So, if you want to let it all hang out in public, by all means go for it. Additionally, you freedom and liberty only goes as far as the end of my nose. And, sight of someone's bits does not the end of my nose.
I have no issue with public nudity. In some way it might be good. Many parents teach there kids there bodies are private and wrong for people to look at them. Many countries allow public nudity and have a more open life style. Beside we are born that way. it should be the person choice.
But limit need to be in place to like some work and place that may be dangerous to everyone
I really don't care if people want to wear clothes or not. It is however, a point that identifies an atheist (by a Christian) as evil and will immediately polarize a conversation preventing any objective exchange of ideas. If that's OK then go for it but there are more subtle ways to indicate that religion is really contradictory, simply doesn't make sense, or follow logic that one would accept in any other aspect of one's life.
I am over body shame as are many others and I need no Eeeeewwwww factoring in, thankyuvurrymuch.
@Hercules3000 exactly! Instead of pretty colors, interesting textures, matching or not shoes........interesting & fun stuff!
I too am a naturist. But I don't believe "public" nudity is a good idea. If society as a whole embraced the nudist philosophy then yes it should be legal. However shame and fear are too deep-rooted in the world. It would be a distraction that could have deadly results.
Yest another reason to oppose religion which indoctrinates and teaches people to feel guilt, fear and shame about their bodies. I think the purpose of their doing that is to lower self esteem and self worth, so that they won't dare question church authority.
Freedom has to get its start somewhere. Why not here and why not now?
We certainly should allow women to go topless everywhere that men can go topless, but there's other issues that would come up - like how would restaurants deal with the change in rules? Would you really want to sit on chairs that had been exposed to hundreds of other people's unclothed posteriors?
People bring up the "not everyone looks like what you're hoping to see with nudity", without digesting the part where you talked about "no sexual agendas". While I think that for the most part, people would be a lot more modest in a clothing-optional society than the "everybody's naked" model, the existence of the web site peopleofwalmart.com suggests it would be more uncomfortable for everyone than our current set of circumstances is. That, and we already have problems with people who feel that seeing women in jeans or a revealing skirt is all the permission they need to catcall or grope them - of course those sorts will equate exposure with permission.
It is true that people will be rude whether or mot other pe9o0le are clothed or not.
Persons who are older and/or over weight will be denigrated whether or not they are wearign any clothes. Those who have bodies which their culture thinks is beatiful will get unwanted attention and ti will brign out the immaturatity of others.
Culturally, at least in the U.lS., we have a long way to go in terms of equality and personal freedoms. I think that the freedom of choice of whether or not to wear clothing falls under freedom of expression or freedom of speech under the U.S. constitution an dlaws that prohibit nudity are unconstitutional, in part also because they are based on religious beliefs, and also infringe on freedom of religion.
Women are still getting harassed for discretely breastfeeding their kids in public so your idea is very appealing. Breasts really are there mainly to feed babies after all.. In some cultures they are, or were, not seen as sexual, making National Geographic magazines popular reading material for American boys back when I was young.
(I just had an image of the treasonous GROPER naked. THAT should be illegal!)
I don't want to see Trump naked either. However, even with him the above stated rules that a person can't be anything with the intent of sexually arousign either themselves or anyone else would still apply. If public nudity were legal, I can't see him participating as he is all about image and in his mind "clothes make the man". I can't see him voluntarily putting himself in a position where nobody would be cued in to his status via the clothes he wasn't wearing and people saw him as just "equal".
On the other hand, seeing Trump naked would help people trying to lose weight as one look and they would lose their appetites.
On that ride trip I might have to pass the bike seat can very rough and shaky experience
When I bought my bike, P paid extra for a few conveniences, such as a more comfortable seat, puncture proof tires (the fivers in the rires are supposedly stronger than kevlar) and puncture resistant tubes, so I am comfortable on the ride and don't experience flats when riding.
I am aware some peopel buy special set sovers for when they ride naked.
I remember an Ottawa bylaw that forbade public display of 'any disgusting object'. There are some things that are best left covered up.
To see any human body as "disgusting" is something people are taught to do. People do nto have a natural abhorrence to th enuman body. It is a culturally learned stigma.
What is considering "disgusting" would vary a lot from one person to another. So who gets to decide what is disgusting? People raised with bad body image caused by religion?
@snytiger6 I don't find anything aesthetically pleasing about an old saggy or fat body (and I have one). This is not to say people shouldn't be naked at say the beach where the context is appropriate. Young fit people and children can look beautiful naked. Just look at all the art work dedicated to the naked form. When my boys were little, I thought them beautiful naked. But if I had thought that someone was sexually aroused by the sight of my naked sons, I would be revolted. As a parent I would want to protect my kids from the eyes of perverts so for this reason I'm not comfortable about kids (who aren't able to give legal consent) coerced into public nudity.
Wow I am having conflicting thoughts about this one. There are tribes of nude people and I have no problem with that but we do live in the natural world anymore and I don't think I would want to slide into a booth after someone else slid out of it for example. I mean it's all fine and good until germs get shared or bodily fluids are secreted and how could that be prevented without clothing? I think a nudist colony would be cool, that way people could have a choice but let's face it, getting hair in our food is bad enough without the risk of that hair coming from other places than the top of our heads. I would have to vote no, please no.
In the nudist villages of France, most everyone walks around with a towel that is used when sitting in public places as well as lounging on the beach. If you want to learn more about the nudist life style there are many free videos available online. Most are not designed to be erotic, but rather educational of the lifestyle.
@Barnie2years Thanks. I did not know that.
Nudity really isn't appropriate for city life - too many complications . But if you live in the country or want to go nude on your holidays at the seaside, why not. It might help people be more relaxed about different body shapes.
Did you know it's legal to be without a top (women) in NY City?