I’ve seen a few people lament the fact that if you went streaking today you’d most likely get put on a sex offenders list somewhere, but now that I think about it is it really that big of a loss you can be criminally charged for streaking in public?
At least to me any man or woman who’s willing to run through a public place completely naked just for the thrill of it seems like I really don’t want to see what they come up with next.
Depends on your relationship with nudity - some people and cultures just don’t have the hangups about it that Americans seem to, so regard streaking as a bit of a laugh.
I remember having a long argument with an American in France once who just couldn’t understand that women going topless on the beach really weren’t doing it as a come on for the men.
Back when people were doing it from time to time, it never seemed especially creepy. They didn’t stand there and confront anyone. I don’t recall it ever developing into anything threatening. I think it was pretty innocent.
What does creepy mean in this context? I really don’t know. AFAICT it seems to be one of those words that means “something I don’t like”. It’s like “inappropriate” which is another currently trendy word that is similarly vague in meaning.
I don’t really understand the reasons you give in support of streaking being illegal.
Do you usually think things should be illegal if making them so is “not that big of a loss”? Would it be that big of a loss if your favourite food or music was made illegal? Should we do that?
And do you generally think people who do odd things should be banned from doing so because you don’t want to see what they come up with next?
I think it still takes place today in some countries as part of initiation in fraternities, but streakers usually wear masks.
Thinking back, isn’t the entire concept of people streaking in public creepy?
That was kinda the idea.
Was it? I thought it was a combination of–being naked outside feels nice, and the taboos against nudity are kind of silly, and this is a daring prank that doesn’t hurt anybody. I don’t remember anyone doing it being creepy-eyed about it or trying anything sexual while streaking (while I’m sure that happened, it seems to me a small minority); and I think the main reaction to it was laughter.
Yes, this.
Ditto. It was looked more as something to laugh at, as demonstrated by Ray Stevens’ homage.
I always thought streaking was just silliness. I didn’t find it offensive - just silly. I was at a Christmas party back in the 70s where the host hired a couple to mingle wearing only boots and Santa hats. All I could think was “What is this costing him?”
Our society is hung up on something stupid…
What? No. It was done for a laugh.
But the joke, such as it was, was “Look, I’m doing something creepy!”. It wouldn’t have worked in a society where nudity wasn’t considered creepy.
Well given that the OP hasn’t said what they mean by creepy, and neither have you, it’s a bit hard to comment. But from what little I understand about the term it seems to mean something like “unwanted sexual suggestiveness”. If so I don’t agree. It was against the social norm of being clothed but not sexual at all from what I could make out.
We are now in a more prudish age I think. At the time streaking was popular, there wasn’t the assumption that nudity was necessarily sexual. Nor was the vague term “creepy” thrown around like confetti as it is now.
Exactly this
Naw, it was, “look, I am violating a social norm”.
Do you think it’s creepy if someone stands facing away from the door in an elevator? Or shows up at a picnic in a tuxedo? I think “creepy” means “inappropriately sexy”, and i don’t think streakers were ever sexually suggestive.
You have done it now.
Is this “creepy”?
(a touch NSFW)
I know, right? The appropriateness police are going to be coming after me, sirens screaming.
Yeah pretty sexy. Though I do have a bit of a fetish for hairy assed football fans with firecrackers between their cheeks. So it’s probably just me.
No it’s wasn’t. It was never “creepy” because there was never anything sexual about it. It wasn’t a flasher going up to women and showing off his dick. That was and has always been creepy. Streaking was more “Look, I am doing something completely unexpected and out of the norm and wild and silly.”
I agree with people who are saying this.
It’s sort of like mooning: silly and inapprorpiate and disrespectful, but not sexual or what I’d call “creepy.”
Context is important here. You’re by yourself taking a lovely stroll in a public park and you encounter a nude person? That seems creepy. Dancing at prom in the school gym and some dude runs by in the nude shouting like a madman? It’s not so creepy. Inappropriate but not creepy.
There are very few countries where unrestricted public nudity is legal, so those “American hangups” are present in lots of places and cultures.
Try streaking through a Wal-Mart now and just imagine the sex offender charges, although they might be mitigated a bit if you were properly wearing a mask.