Another Look at Public Nudity

meh.. there is no point in it. Nudity serves what purpose? People feel they need to express every freedom possible, or they are being "oppressed." Clothes have been worn as early as people could think to make them.

They protect against the weather, the sun, insect bites, injury, etc. There is no real point to NOT wear clothes of some sort. On the beach where it's predominantly sand, I guess it's fine, tho many end up looking like lobsters.

All I know is when I served at the Presidio, we had a nude beach behind our barracks. We'd be run down that beach for PT. And the folks who decided to express their freedom of nudity, imo, were the last people that should have been shedding clothes...

I am not aginst it at all but I don't think I could handle my husband gawking at everyone and he wouldn't be able to handle it the other way around either, he is has way to low self esteem and I would pay.

Originally posted by fleabit
I guess it's fine, tho many end up looking like lobsters.

Its called sunscreen.

All I know is when I served at the Presidio, we had a nude beach behind our barracks. We'd be run down that beach for PT. And the folks who decided to express their freedom of nudity, imo, were the last people that should have been shedding clothes...

Baker beach was always fun.
Us navy guys just loved to watch the army guys run around in circles.

Originally posted by Solomons

Originally posted by die_another_day
Why do you care so much about being able to run around butt naked? Wear pants if you're a guy and a bra if you're a woman.

I'm trying not to be offensive, but I don't want to see your nasty bush.

Clothing was made for a reason.

Worry about more important things first.

[edit on 8/18/2009 by die_another_day]

To keep you warm! sooo...if it is warm outside you don't need clothes.

And the whole point of this thread..apart from it being a slow news day is that there should be nothing ugly or wrong with someone being naked,it's the most natural thing on earth.So it says more about our society than it does about naked people.

Why did Adam and Eve cover themselves?

Have you heard about the Feral child who likes to be stripped in the snow?

Why do we have T-shirts and shorts? Why swimming shorts? Why hats?


Good luck trying to convert the East to accept nudism. The impoverish 3rd world nations are all trying to find food, clothing, and shelter. And you know what? The West does not seem to respect what it has.

Originally posted by fleabit
Nudity serves what purpose? People feel they need to express every freedom possible, or they are being "oppressed."

I so agree with you on that. For some reason, I see the strangest things being defended around here with passion. Public nudity being another on an endless list.

Sometimes I feel like asking if anyone ever told them 'No. You cannot do that' during their childhoods. If you are against anything that even remotely places limits on what is acceptable to be done in a civilized world, they immediately start going on about 'But my Freeeeeeeedom. You're just a prude.'

Oddly enough, in nudity debates, the prude factor is the main focus but there is so much more to this debate than just 'it's natural' vs. 'it's indecent.'

I'm glad you pointed that out, though, because I was thinking about how people claim the slightest things as oppression. I generally try to avoid the social issue debates when it deals with what can be classified as decency issues because they lack common sense. Yes, nudity is natural and beautiful. So is sex but it shouldn't be going on in public.

There are a ton of things you can do in your own home or in private facilities you cannot do in public. Nudity is one. It's just not a big deal. Being naked does feel good but there is always a time and a place and it really boggles my mind how overboard some people take things.

There is a reason some form of coverings have been around since recorded time and it's not just modesty or fashion.

Clothes are a must in today's society. We have enough trouble trying to figure out who the baby-daddy is, thank you very much! If you want to lounge around with it all hangin' out, join a nudist colony or go to an all skin beach. I also heard there's some clubs out there that offer clothing optional socials once you're 'in'. Whatever floats your boat is the name of the game. All I know is that society cannot function all one way or that would be called conformity, &, frankly, that's against my religion.

Here's my take on the issue...

Full frontal nudity is not something you would want to be confronted with in public. I think we can all agree on that.....
It is not even ia question of how well shaped your body is. The openly showing of your genetals to both sexes is something which throughout history has been frowned upon.
Sure the first olympic games in greece were exercised by naked men but they were also only attented by men. And that's exactly it.....

I moved to Germany two years ago and even for a dutch guy i was surprised to find out the waterpark next door doesn't have individual dressing rooms but big big multi-person dressing rooms for either men or women. And to be honest, it doesn't bother me.
For a man i have no problem to walk around other men completly naked or to see other men naked because it doesn't have my interest in a sexual way. I guess it's the same for women??

So i think it without question people should not be allowed to walk around naked in public showing their genetals. But in the thread i started a few weeks ago i did raise the issue as to why americans seem to have such a big problem with the public display of breasts/nipples and especially the women's breasts.

I still stand by my assertion that prohibiting women from walking around topless is a form of discrimination which makes absolutly no sence what so ever.

No matter what shape, size or age they are, i couldn't be bothered with the public display of womens breast.

Peace

[edit on 18/8/2009 by operation mindcrime]

Originally posted by St Vaast
Gee, if nudity became part of everyday life

it would destroy multi-billion dollar industries !

If everyone saw bare genitalia, nipples (about as erotic as fingernails, considering we all have them, even cats, dogs and monkeys) and backsides, on minute to minute basis ... just think what it would do to the careers of all those women famous for nothing more than being photographed getting in and out of vehicles with their skirts hitched-up

And boom crash would go the market value of certain female tennis players

and Sharon Stone would be washing dishes out the back of a greasy spoon restaurant

Oh no. We can't have widespread nudity. The economy would crash

One of the best posts ever Roflm(nude)ao

Wow, I like never bring up Public Nudity with myself. Me and myself have many interesting conversations and fantasies, but somehow I missed that one.. Anyways, I think public nudity should be allowed, because we should all be free, TRULY free.

I personally wouldn't want to roam in a city naked. I feel clothes offer a kind of unworded social code; you can tell people visually your comfort level and your intimacy by how much you are willing to get naked in front of them. My wording is going wacky, this subject could trail off.. The point is, it's my choice to use clothes as a privacy and perhaps social interaction tool, it should be a person's choice not to have clothes.

Originally posted by fraterormus

So, everything calmed down for a while until Nudist number 2 moves to town. He routinely would walk around town and shop in the buff. The guy was harmless and everyone knew it, although he certainly wasn't pleasant to observe, none of us felt we needed to cover our childrens' eyes (my 12 year old daughter was probably by far the most vocal in town towards him, and would often tell him "EWWW! d00d, I did *NOT* need to see that!"). One day, he is walking down the bike-path in the buff, minding his own business when a nearby Elementary lets out. Someone picking up their kid from school noticed him passing by naked as a jay-bird, and called the Police. The Police looked into it and concluded that it was a matter of innocently bad timing, but no harm was intended by the guy, and he wasn't exposing himself to the children or doing anything in a sexual manner. Nevertheless, the City Council has decided that something needs to be done to further restrict the Nudity Laws to "protect" the children.

[edit on 18-8-2009 by fraterormus]

You should really name that State and both particular city, also we all know that a thread like that is nothing without pictures.
Please do show some since nudity is nothing to be ashamed about right?
Why all this hypocrisy? Why no pictures?
Nudist activists must not be ashamed of their nudity in regards of posting details about it on the internet, ok?

Now why do I request full disclosure on that subject?
It is simple we all need something to point at and laugh. At least across Europe. I'm on a campaign to convince the European population that we need no more look at America for answers since it is quickly becoming a shade of what it used to be. We probably won't need any of the fallout that is quickly coming on a troubled society that didn't eventually make it.
We need fresh new ideas and a positive paradigm to look in to and by no means, I mean by no means we need to be brain washed that "hey look the oppressive customs of the East now look a lot better than what our society has become"!
Well since it is really not OUR society, part of it is the American society to blame, I am cutting the ropes across the pond. We have our own problems to figure out, we don't need the coming fallout as well for decisions we never made or were never asked to take a part in.

Thank you for your time reading this.
It's been fun, so long and thanks for all the fish! (waves)

[edit on 19-8-2009 by spacebot]

Licence.

Government revenue.

Laws requiring nudity.

Clothed persons arrested.

Lawsuits for psychological damage incurred by seeing someone clothed.

Minor cold snap declared major distaster: hundreds killed in sauna crush.



I can see it now.

reply to post by and14263



I agree with nearly all your post, except for the internet being the cause of sexual deviancy, because it clearly isn't.

The internet is a mirror which offers anonanymity for users, and it shows us what humanity really is: curious (and sexually curious, since most traffic is for sexual content).

The Internet didn't MAKE sexual deviants simply by turning people into one overnight - it simply allowed a platform for (anonymous) freedom of conduct without all the trimmings (GOING to get tangible mater like books, magazines, call cards, videos, you name it).

I'm very surprised a psychologist even holds that opinion, let alone come out with it over the internet.

[edit on 19/8/2009 by TailoredVagabond]

I'm an American that just married a Spanish woman and we've been living in Spain for the last year. Here in Spain nudity is not hidden from the youth. They are brought up with it and it is very normal to see naked people at the beach topless to all nude.Nudity is seen on the regular television anywhere from an interview of a topless woman to a mother breast feeding on a morning show.In June it was really hot and I went outside of my restaurant and I noticed a group of 6 or 7 people riding bicycles all nude and thought to myself you know its hot in downtown Madrid when you see a group of people riding bicycles nude. I was brought up in San Diego where my family would take us to nude places like blacks beach or blacks canyon for camping and since i was raised by open minded/hippies I've always felt comfortable with nudity. It's natural and it's how we entered this world. I'm jealous of other living species because they get to live in the nude and it's not even a question.

Since we all connect sexuality to nudity (or maybe better the other way around), I think the following is of interest.

Most people don't realize that sexuality is a cultural thing. What? And what about nature? I think the whole nature/nurture debate is not to the point because how we think and so on is also nature. So I think nature/nurture is one thing with many aspects.

An example about sexuality being constructed by what you are taught. You would think that being straight, gay or bi is defined by what sex turns you on/you fall in love with. Think again. The Romans had a totally different construction: it was about who was pleasured and who was doing the pleasuring. It was decided that men should always be pleasured and that it did not matter who was the other person(s). Female sexuality was sort of neglected so the whole who is doing what with regarding two females was a non-issue. But regarding two men, the man being pleasured was ok but the other man was considered to be a "woman".

Furthermore girls could get married at 12 and boys at 14. Of course the Romans did not have a very long life expectancy. In the nobility men often were much much older than their teen brides. Nobody considered this to be pedofilia, the girl was seen for all purposes and intents as a woman. A woman who would be soon mother.

Before the 19th century the whole idea of adolescence did not exist. Yes in the Middle Ages there was a division in life stages (adopted from a Greek model), that recognized all sorts of life stages. But after say 7 a child was seen as an adult with adult tasks.





[edit on 19-8-2009 by QueenofWeird]

I would have to agree.. if the people wanted to protect nudity, it should be protected. Put it to a vote if you must, let the people decide. I find it hilarious the people defending the "hypothetical rights" of non-existent people lol...

The "Protect the children" mentality is a bunch of BS... seeing someone naked doesn't "hurt" anyone at all .. sure as hell isn't pleasant half the time, but harmful? Hardly, unless it was done against someones will and in an obviously intrusive manor.

reply to post by Rockpuck


That should wrap this discussion up...

You rock Puck

Star for the post

Peace

[edit on 19/8/2009 by operation mindcrime]

I can appreciate the discussion concerning this natural state of being, but this topic belongs on Below Top Secret. Mods?

reply to post by Afterthought


No it doesn't, it's regarding a political matter (the OP it's self was political in nature, and offered the conspiracy aspect to validate it being here) Kindly refrain from Moderating threads.

reply to post by Rockpuck


No, it's not a political matter. It's a personal choice. Just like abortion. I don't want the gov't telling me when to wear clothes. That's why we all have the freedom to visit clothing optional places. I don't want to go to the grocery store, mall, or other public places & see everyone in their birthday suits. Would you want to see Pelosi, Bill Clinton, or other political figures naked? I didn't think so. I turn enough heads with clothes on, so I don't want more attention. Especially from those who can't control themselves. Rape is a political issue, not nudity.

reply to post by Afterthought


Personal choices that have restriction are, in fact, political issues. Given the nature of the protest, the councils decisions and the effects it's had across the state politically wise..... it's political. Erm, I am sorry that you attract so much attention and what not.. but that doesn't mean you have the right to waltz in moderating a thread with a flawed logic.

Use the Alert Button. Express your concerns with a real Moderator.