Nudity

[galen]

Will public nudity ever become "normal?" For example, on a warm day, will people ever stroll down the street wearing only sandals and no one would wear bathing suits? Why or why not?

[Lumpy]

I doubt it, except maybe for special places and circumstances. Clothing has the effect of making nudity much more of a sexual signal, and we're used to it that way. Especially in northern climates where you have to cover up much of the year, the contrast would be too much.

[John Corrado]

If it ever does become an accepted activity, I think 'people-watching' down at the mall may become the new past-time for teenage males...

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JMCJ

This is not a sig.

[handy]

Im thankful from the condition that americans are in that they wear clothes.

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“I have gathered a posie of other men’s flowers, and nothing but the
thread that binds them is mine own.”

[Stephen]

Yeah, because the human body is a nasty, disgusting, shameful thing and all nudity is equivalent to sex and perversion...

Seriously, travel to Europe some time. In many areas, nudity is fine just about anywhere you would go barefoot.

Funny how we can't seem to shake our puritanical roots.

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Stephen
Stephen's Website (http://stephen.fathom.org)
Satellite Hunting 2.0.1 (Y2K compliant!) visible satellite pass prediction
shareware available for download at
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[hansel]

It would happen wherever clothes serve no practical purpose. I'd be uncomfortable walking naked down a windy street, from a bobbling, bouncing, stinging grit perspective.

I suspect many large breasted women would feel the same way.

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Never attribute to an -ism anything more easily explained by common, human stupidity.

[hansel]

Upon rereading my post, please believe that I'm making no comparison between the vulnerable bits of large breasted women, and my own vulnerable bits.

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Never attribute to an -ism anything more easily explained by common, human stupidity.

[jaydabee]

Probably not, young good looking types may do it to show off but it would generally be impractible.

Things such as weather,insects,
hygene,style and loose change would
make it quite awkward.

The romans didn't do it except in the temples I believe, and they were about as decadent as it gets.

[mangeorge]

Well, in Berkeley...
Peace,
mamgeorge

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I only know two things;
I know what I need to know
And
I know what I want to know
Mangeorge, 2000

[zuma]

yeah, i think nudity will become "normal". it already is normal among every other species on earth. i don't think it will become totally normal within any of our lifetimes. this recent fascination with clothing is at odds with what our species has practiced throughout 99% of its existance.

it really makes no sense for us to wear clothing when weather does not demand it.

i would have no problem being naked in public, going to the hardware store, to work, etc. if not for nonsensical standards imposed upon us :)

what is really so wrong with driving to the grocery store naked during the hot summer months? anyway. if nudity were not so verboten in our society, if it was accepted, who many of you would be comfortable with not dressing up?

[DougC]

- - - TV shows could be rated "adult" for not containing nudity.
- - - Playboy could show centerfolds wearing snowmobile suits.
- - - Kids would sneak off to play "dress poker".
- - - I seriously doubt that clothes or lack of clothes has much to do with one's true attitude towards nudity. I understand that in many nudist camps, telling dirty jokes or having any contact other than handholding and/or excessive kissing, even just above the neck is considered enough to get one thrown out. All that doesn't sound so relaxed to me, especially since I'm young enough that every now and then my equipment does a partial self-test, regardless of what I happen to be thinking about. It's as if they are trying to reach some spiritual utopia, and they think that clothes are getting in the way when the real source seems not to be with, or with lack of clothes. The fact that people can be naked and still manage to be uptight about sexuality means they are quite missing the point of being naked. ( -sexuality being of course, one of the favorite demons we all know) - MC
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-
-
- " - for your clothes, as they conceal your beauty, do not hide your ugliness, , ," - K Gibran, The Prophet

[Thing 1]

From Mangeorge:

"Peace,
mamgeorge"

Appropriate typo for this topic.

John

[Ukulele Ike]

"Who cares if you're so poor
You can't afford to buy a pair of
Mod A-Go-Go Stretch Elastic Pants?

There will even come a time when
You can take your clothes off when you dance."

-- Frank Zappa, "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance," from WE'RE ONLY IN IT FOR THE MONEY, 1967

(Believe it or not, the above verses scan properly when they are sung to the very odd rhythms of Mr. Zappa's composition)

And if Frank says it, I believe it, and that's the end of it.

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Uke

[handy]

Stephen, the human body is a beautiful thing but americans are not in condition. Now if they all looked like Cindy Crawford & Arnold Swarzenegger, nudity might be okay.

But then everyone's naked asshole would contact all the chairs & everyone would be sharing naked asshole germs.....ever think of that Stephen?

[Eve]

"All God's children are not beautiful. Most of God's children are, in fact, barely presentable."

—Fran Leibowitz

[PTVroman]

what is really so wrong with driving to the grocery store naked during the hot summer months?
You obviously don't have vinal seats.

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"The large print givith, and the small print taketh away."
Tom Waites, "Step Right Up"

[Daniel]

"A naked driver is a careful driver."

--guest on radio show Whad'ya Know?

(by the way, in speech competitions I'm performing an essay by David Sedaris called naked; it's about a week he spends at a nudist park; really funny and really interesting; read it)


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Mayor of Snerdville (http://fathom.org/snerdville), the home of Mortimer Snerd

"I'm just too much for human existence -- I should be animated."
--Wayne Knight

[WillGolfForFood]

Allow me to chip in as one of the older participants here (one that gets to see what happens to an aging body first-hand). Given that the median population in the US is continually rising - to the point that within 30 years there will be one retiree for every two workers - the average nudist walking down the street will *not* look like Arnold Schwartznager. Picture Jerry Seinfeld's parents walking down the street...

You sure you want this? :)

[Prose]

It's already legal in some places of Ontario for women to go topless during summer months in public.
It's not unlikely that it will become more common place as we mature as a society here.
But I cannot see anything more than toplessness, just wouldn't be practical in most places to go completely nude during the whole year.
Nor can I see for public places like malls, men can't even go into malls or buildings without a shirt, so there would be no point.

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I am a fire whose flames lick and spit at the boundless sky forever desiring wonderous consummation
-me

[Guy Incognito]

I'm not sure public nudity would be such a great thing. It's bad enough trying to find a seats in fast food places that don't have food or drink spilled on them, you'd also have to find seats without skid marks on them.

EEEeeeeuuuuuuhhh!!!!

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"It's only common sense,
There are no accidents 'round here."

[Stephen]

I think the key phrase that most proponents would stress at this point is "Where you would normally go barefoot." It just seems so silly to get dressed to go to the beach.

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Stephen
Stephen's Website (http://stephen.fathom.org)
Satellite Hunting 2.0.1 (Y2K compliant!) visible satellite pass prediction
shareware available for download at
Satellite Hunting (http://stephen.fathom.org/sathunt.html)

[Billdo]

Originally posted by Prose:
It's already legal in some places of Ontario for women to go topless during summer months in public.

It's also legal for women to go topless in public in New York State. New York's highest court ruled that laws prohibiting women from exposing their chests in public but not men were improper sexual discrimination and invalid.

There are a few exceptions, though. Communities can prohibit both men and women from going shirtless. The Village of Southampton on Long Island, a high-end vacation community does this, and actively enforces its ban on walking around without a shirt against the people (mostly guys) who try to walk around the village topless.

Also, going topless cannot be done for lewd or commercial purposes. This means that a woman can sunbathe topless in the park, but she cannot dance topless at a bar for guys to give her dollar bills. It's wierd, but that's the way the law works.

Based on careful field research, I've found that, unfortunately, very few women do go topless in public. Oh well.

[NanoByte]

Well, that's the way to liberate women, OK: Make men wear shirts!

And you people don't figure restaurants could provide holeless seat covers along with their napkins?

mangeorge:

I already [i]un[/b]covered the present status of nudity in Berkeley (http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/002597.html).

Ray (I don't think you're watching my webcam anyhow, so I'm running off to store. . .in my sandals.)

[tbea925]

Originally posted by hansel:
Upon rereading my post, please believe that I'm making no comparison between the
vulnerable bits of large breasted women, and my own vulnerable bits.


Great! Who has a link with images?


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This sig not Y2K compliant. Happy 1900.

[handy]

In California, you can go topless if you are feeding a baby.

[ignatiusjreilly]

And is there a minimum age for said "baby"?

[Stephen]

Recent nudity ordinances around Central Florida make it legal to mow your lawn nude, while forcing strip clubs to resort to putting on 'theatre' and allowing county park rangers, to arrest nude sunbathers, on national park beaches.

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Stephen
Stephen's Website (http://stephen.fathom.org)
Satellite Hunting 2.0.1 (Y2K compliant!) visible satellite pass prediction
shareware available for download at
Satellite Hunting (http://stephen.fathom.org/sathunt.html)

[salinqmind]

By golly, I'm inspired by the picture in my mind of all those casual Europeans strolling about nude everywhere that you can go barefoot! I plan to try it myself this summer, but only topless as that's as far as New York state, unfortunately, will let me go. Some places I'll try are out to flag down the ice cream truck; a stroll to the park to watch teenagers shoot baskets; riding on the tram alongside the lake; swimming, of course; maybe hitching a ride up to the 7-11. I'll let you know how it works out in , oh, let's say August.

[NanoByte]

johnnyharvard:

And is there a minimum age for said "baby"?

Do you really mean "minimum", not 'maximum'?

Stephen:

Well, Florida governments can't exactly tell the federal government how to run there parks. Here, in NoCal, beach nudity is lesslikely to be bothered, I understand, where it is on the local National Seashore (and not on a beach well-populated with the fully suited), although parts of state beaches aren't bothered either.

The Feb. 21 Time Magazine has an article (not online) on recent police activity even in Rio, of all places, against going topless. A 70-yr-old law was used. However, the public staged a bunch of protests and the mayor backed down, so the Girl from Ipanema (http://www.ipanema.com/ipanema.htm#top) is back. The local bishop is still bothered though.

Ray (Hey, in 2 yr, I'll be as old as that law.)

[Babar714]

I'm not sure I believe other peoples are allowed by law to be nude in public. Please post more links... please.

[cantara]

Reasons To Go To Work Naked

-No one ever steals your chair.
-Gives "bad hair day" a whole new meaning.
-Diverts attention from the fact that you also came to work drunk.
-People stop stealing your pens after they've seen where you keep them.
-So that -with a little help from Muzak- you can add "Exotic Dancer" to your exaggerated resume.
-You want to see if it's like the dream.
-To stop those creepy guys in Marketing from looking down your blouse.
-"I'd love to chip in, but I left my wallet in my pants."
-Inventive way to finally meet that special person in Human Resources.
-Can take advantage of computer monitor radiation to work on your tan.
-Your boss is always yelling, "I wanna see your ass in here by 9:00!"

[handy]

I went to UCSD, which is right behind Blacks beach which was once the first legal nude beach in the USA. Should be links to it on the net.

[Polycarp]

[abstruse "in" reference]Stephen, you're only permitted to use your lawnmower nude if you are married to it.[/abstruse "in" reference] :D

[handy]

There are plenty of tribes that walk around naked.

[Stephen]

How does the law treat nudist beaches? Is it a "don't ask, don't tell" policy, or is it actually legal if the beaches are private?

It appears to be a case by case, local issue. In Miami, for instance, topless sunbathing is the norm on some beaches. On others, there are areas where "Beyond this point you may encounter nude sunbathers." But, if you go up the coast to Canaveral, there are areas which have been traditionally nude for over 30 years, but local law enforcement keeps arresting people from time to time, hoping to get a test case to go their way for a change.

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Stephen
Stephen's Website (http://stephen.fathom.org)
Satellite Hunting 2.0.1 (Y2K compliant!) visible satellite pass prediction
shareware available for download at
Satellite Hunting (http://stephen.fathom.org/sathunt.html)

[Arnold Winkelried]

Let me join the crowd of topless sun-bathers by stating that even in conservative Switzerland, it is legal for women to be topless in public swimming places.

How does the law treat nudist beaches? Is it a "don't ask, don't tell" policy, or is it actually legal if the beaches are private?

Now you've got me thinking of Peter Sellars as the great Jacques Clouseau, in "A short in the dark." Hahaha!

Polycarp: I got it! :D
But its probably not a good idea to lawnmow while nude>but I guess in Your case, there'd be nothing to worry about!

[Vestal Blue]

Originally posted by zuma:




what is really so wrong with driving to the grocery store naked during the hot summer months?

Sun drenched vinyl seats......... :D



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VB

I could never eat a mouse raw...their little feet are probably real cold going down. :rolleyes: