# Questions after reading Slate on nudity. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 29, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498 "2012-11-29T18:51:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/1 "2012-11-29T18:51:58Z")
Slate has this article [Why is public nudity illegal? The offense principle, the Bible, and taboos. - Slate Magazine]([http://www.slate.com/articles/news\_and\_politics/explainer/2012/11/why\_is\_public\_nudity\_illegal\_the\_offense\_principle\_the\_](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/11/why_is_public_nudity_illegal_the_offense_principle_the_) bible\_and\_taboos.html) Direct link in spoiler: [Why is public nudity illegal? The offense principle, the Bible, and taboos.](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/11/why_is_public_nudity_illegal_the_offense_principle_the_bible_and_taboos.html) And, I am inclined to ponder again, why is partial nudity allowed in many places while the \*\*\*female \*\*\*nipple must be somewhat obscured? Some men have some relatively gross nipples and they are permitted to be seen in many places where the view of female nipple is not allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/2 "2012-11-29T19:12:04Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > Slate has this article [Why is public nudity illegal? The offense principle, the Bible, and taboos. - Slate Magazine](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/11/why_is_public_nudity_illegal_the_offense_principle_the_bible_and_taboos.html) Note that the article includes a photo that may be NSFW. > [@](#): > > And, I am inclined to ponder again, why is partial nudity allowed in many places while the \*\*\*female \*\*\*nipple must be somewhat obscured? The answer the article gives: “Because it’s so difficult to ignore.” It may be circular, but it makes a certain sense: Because it’s conventional that women don’t bare their nipples in public, we have rules against it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/3 "2012-11-29T19:19:28Z")
Only young, fit women should be nude. Making such a law would run into equal protection issues. So it’s better to outlaw public nudity altogether than to allow people I don’t want to see naked to run around that way. As for the men’s and women’s nipple thing, it is kind of stupid. But it’s the situation people are used to, making change difficult. It’s not so much the nipple itself as what it’s attached to. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/4 "2012-11-29T19:51:21Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > Slate has this article [Why is public nudity illegal? The offense principle, the Bible, and taboos. - Slate Magazine](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/11/why_is_public_nudity_illegal_the_offense_principle_the_bible_and_taboos.html) > > And, I am inclined to ponder again, why is partial nudity allowed in many places while the \*\*\*female \*\*\*nipple must be somewhat obscured? > Some men have some relatively gross nipples and they are permitted to be seen in many places where the view of female nipple is not allowed. **WARNING! NSFW LINK!** I found out the hard way. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/5 "2012-11-29T20:09:53Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > nipples > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > It may be circular Well, I certainly hope so. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/6 "2012-11-29T20:30:57Z")
Learn something every day. This is the first I ever heard of NSFW . Slate is famous worldwide. And, NSFW ? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/7 "2012-11-29T20:47:59Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > And, NSFW ? From the [Rules for posting: What links are permitted?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7697028&postcount=9) > [@](#): > > (2) LINKS SHOULD BE WORKPLACE-SAFE > This means in terms of sounds as well as visual content. A site that is not safe for workplace is sometimes called “NSFW.” Note that being “workplace safe” doesn’t just mean that there’s no nudity or explicit visible sex. A page with a flashing banner in large, bright colors that says “Hot Nubile Young Teens” would NOT be workplace safe. The criteria is: if your boss walked by while that was on your screen, would it cause her/him to stop and stare, and would it potentially cause problems at work? If yes, then don’t provide a direct link. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/8 "2012-11-29T23:52:46Z")
The pro-nudity movement satisfied my only possible objection when they accepted the “towel” rule. Nudists would carry a towel, and put it on chairs or bus-seats or other places, so their naked sit-em-downs won’t leave poop-stains. Stay with that, and I’m on their side. Anyone here believe in “Natural Rights?” What in hell could possibly be a greater natural right than to be au naturel? Any libertarians? How dare the government put an unfunded mandate on me? They not only compel me to perform behavior I do not desire to, but make me pay for the clothes, too! Aesthetics? There are a lot of people out there who are damned ugly even wearing clothes. Maybe they should be compelled to wear veils or masks? It’s legal for two people to have a nasty, cussing, rude, emotional fight in public. It’s legal for two people to have a big wet smoochy kiss in public. It’s legal for a street preacher to tell me that God hates me and is going to burn me in hell forever…in public. Seems to me that being naked is less offensive than any of those! ETA: no, actually, the big wet smoochy kiss doesn’t offend me at all. There are other people who find it offensive, but I’m not one. Sorry. Bad example. ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/9 "2012-11-30T00:48:54Z")
GEORGE: “Because of society, right?” JERRY: (weary) “Yes George, because of society…” ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/10 "2012-11-30T02:13:13Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Only young, fit women should be nude. Making such a law would run into equal protection issues. So it’s better to outlaw public nudity altogether than to allow people I don’t want to see naked to run around that way. Yes, I agree with this statement 100%. However, I would like to make a small change to it and add the words: “fit **men** and women” 😃 You crack me up, **TriPolar** ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_I\_Am](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@Sam\_I\_Am](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_I_Am)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/11 "2012-11-30T05:40:50Z")
I wonder if exposed female nipples would cause more distracted driving accidents than male nipples would. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/12 "2012-11-30T06:50:37Z")
At first, yeah, probably. Very short “hot pants” worn by women probably caused more traffic accidents that very short pants worn by men. On the other hand, a man’s genitals in plain sight would probably cause more traffic accidents than a woman’s genitals, because the man’s are in so very much more plain sight. So it all events out, right? ---
**Author:** ![Saraya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Saraya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saraya)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/13 "2012-11-30T17:41:43Z")
1. Increased molestation, if not rape 2. Can we say AWKWARD? It’s tradition in amongst nearly all societies to have some form of clothing. Changing it now for a handful of weirdos in the minority? No point. 3. Government only enforces it because WE the people put it into legislation. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/14 "2012-11-30T18:01:38Z")
It may be societal, but I think it is also hardwired into human nature that men are a lot more easily aroused then women, and since most men are straight, a convention of women maintaining more modest dress has evolved. In less structured/polite/restrained societies, most men would be physically capable of raping an attractive woman. It is not a stretch that primitive cultures would evolve toward modest dress for women. I think that many women, and men who are not rapists, assume the crime is motivated by sexual attraction so you have the primitive notion that an immodestly dressed woman is “asking for it”. A wrong idea on many levels, but one that is apparently impossible to kill. And that, I think, is the biological basis of the double-standard as far as nudity. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/15 "2012-11-30T18:13:18Z")
Hey, if you want to walk around essentially nude, you really only have to cover up an extremely tiny part of your body. Women just need a couple of pasties and a skimpy thong, guys just need a cock sock. Considering that those states are technically legal, but are rarely ever seen, it would appear there just isn’t a very large demand for people to want to walk around nude. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/16 "2012-12-02T00:15:21Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > It may be societal, but I think it is also hardwired into human nature that men are a lot more easily aroused then women, and since most men are straight, a convention of women maintaining more modest dress has evolved. One word you left out: “visually”. Men find it easier to be attracted visually. And rape is at least partly caused by sexual lust. Whether than justifies the norm is debatable (as some say more exposure means less lust), but the idea that rape is completely about violence is false. It’s just that violence and lust are fairly easy to get intertwined, oddly enough. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/17 "2012-12-02T00:23:36Z")
how come the people who most want to go around naked are the same people who nobody wants to see naked? ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/18 "2012-12-03T15:13:03Z")
The reason is penises. Nobody really wants to see an erect one, and there’s not much the guy can do about it. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/19 "2012-12-03T15:41:44Z")
Male nudity always raises the question of intent. Is the person a flasher that’s getting gratification by showing off his junk? Or a harmless nudist. It seems in the majority of cases it is a pervert that eventually could escalate to more serious crime. Flashers have been considered sexual criminals for a long, long time. Florida had a nude jogger wearing only swim goggles. The arrest seems justified given his state of mind. [http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101013/NEWS01/10130337/Naked-stunned-jogger-gets-court-date](http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101013/NEWS01/10130337/Naked-stunned-jogger-gets-court-date) > [@](#): > > King told officers that he also had unidentified “super powers,” and that he left his southwest Palm Bay home sometime Sunday, records show. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498/20 "2012-12-03T15:43:36Z")
I don’t know what all this talk about rape and sexuality is about. Most people look disgusting without clothes on, that’s what this issue is about. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-after-reading-slate-on-nudity/642498.md?page=2)