# Is it illegal to have a clothed erection in public? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887 "2020-07-21T00:59:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/1 "2020-07-21T00:59:59Z")
Don’t need answer fast. I’ve always heard that having an erection in public even under jeans could be arrestable for “public indecency” even if you’re minding your own business sitting in your car if a cop happened to see it somehow. To me it seems laughable to think you’d be charged with having a boner in public, but curious where the hell this rumor came from considering I heard two different people online mention it as an example of “puritanical America”. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/2 "2020-07-21T01:03:46Z")
Experiencing physical arousal (or just needing to pee) has probably never been actionable, even in Mississippi. Humping a lamppost, on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/3 "2020-07-21T01:13:38Z")
Fortunately I live in the U.S. so I can just say I’ve got a gun in my pocket. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/4 "2020-07-21T01:27:37Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Don’t need answer fast. Or Don’t need answer anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/5 "2020-07-21T01:32:21Z")
It is not against the law unless you are manually stimulating yourself. It may be impolite or inconvenient, however. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/6 "2020-07-21T01:43:57Z")
Wow, I would have had a lengthy criminal record by the time I finished high school… ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/7 "2020-07-21T01:46:53Z")
Yeah. One aspect of male puberty is sudden intense erections without stimulus, and completely inappropriate times (“Hi, Gramma, oops gotta go!”). It’s simultaneously hilarious and horrifying to live through. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/8 "2020-07-21T01:53:11Z")
I think I remember reading the man with the largest penis in the world claimed a cop threatened to arrest him for having “an erection in public” but he had to tell the guy that wasn’t an erection that was his flaccid size. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/9 "2020-07-21T02:14:04Z")
In 1983 I was at a public pool in Washington, DC, and there was a kid there, maybe 14-15 years old, who was wearing swim trunks sitting on the concrete, with an obvious erection. I mean sticking-right-out-there obvious, like he wanted someone to know. It seemed lewd to me even though he was covered. I would think there is some fine line there. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/10 "2020-07-21T02:44:27Z")
If an involuntary erection is “lewd,” what do you think he should have done? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/11 "2020-07-21T02:46:18Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Humping a lamppost, on the other hand… Don’t you need both hands to hump a lamppost? ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/12 "2020-07-21T02:55:32Z")
Remember Borat’s swimsuit? I have to spoiler this because even if you don’t watch the video, which has other NSFW parts, the preview image itself is NSFW. Borat’s MPAA rating was R, not X…for whatever that’s worth. [spoiler] > **[Borat Baywatch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRQ1bqSOzSM%5B%2Fspoiler%5D)** > > Borat on BaywatchThat's a nice! ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/13 "2020-07-21T03:08:59Z")
Perhaps not looking at peoples crotches is an option to consider? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/14 "2020-07-21T03:14:08Z")
Nice user pic/post combo. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/15 "2020-07-21T03:20:08Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I think I remember reading the man with the largest penis in the world claimed a cop threatened to arrest him for having “an erection in public” but he had to tell the guy that wasn’t an erection that was his flaccid size. We seem to have strayed somehow into “Dear Penthouse” territory. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/16 "2020-07-21T03:38:41Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > We seem to have strayed somehow into “Dear Penthouse” territory. He’s probably referring to Jonah Falcon, who was the subject of a lot of articles and interviews for a short while. He always seemed to view his endowment as a burden he was saddled with, rather than any kind of boasting. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/17 "2020-07-21T03:42:13Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > In 1983 I was at a public pool in Washington, DC, and there was a kid there, maybe 14-15 years old, who was wearing swim trunks sitting on the concrete, with an obvious erection. I mean sticking-right-out-there obvious, like he wanted someone to know. It seemed lewd to me even though he was covered. I would think there is some fine line there. Loitering with a tent. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/18 "2020-07-21T04:28:56Z")
Anyone else remembering the video about “what if women’s arousal was as visible”? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/19 "2020-07-21T11:58:30Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > If an involuntary erection is “lewd,” what do you think he should have done? I don’t think it was involuntary. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887/20 "2020-07-21T12:20:36Z")
If it was against the law Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant would have been arrested long ago. > **[Robert Plant’s Most Famous “Led Zeppelin Era” Tight Jeans & Bulge Photos](http://www.feelnumb.com/2009/07/30/robert-plant-photos/)** > > Robert Plant's sexual orientation is definitely straight but his stage presence and many of his photos show a feminine side to him. Here's some of the better femmed out Robert Plant photo's during the Led Zeppelin era. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-illegal-to-have-a-clothed-erection-in-public/915887.md?page=2)