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Public nudity

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Public nudity is nudity in public spaces, environments, events. Another common reference is nude in public (NIP). It can also refer to clothing-optional activities on public lands. It is less commonly referred to as public naturism or public nudism, free range nakedness or free range nudity.
This is in contrast to nudity in areas that are not generally accessible to the general public without prior permission including nudity at home, privately-held offices or studios, fitness facilities (such as swimming pools, sauna, gymnasium) and nudity in privately-held areas such as nudist or naturist clubs or resorts. Cultural and legal acceptance of public nudity varies regionally.

Nudity in public areas is generally not an accepted practice in most modern societies. A naked person is viewed by others rather differently from a person wearing clothing, and public reactions usually include a great amount of surprise and curiosity. It can however be seen in recent times that public nudity is on the increase with outdoor sporting activities such as Naked Hiking, the World Naked Bike Ride and modern art movements as seen in the work of Spencer Tunick and others.

Contents
  • 3 Variable sexualized environments
  • 4 Semi-sexualized or sexualized context
  • 5 Further reading
  • 6 See also
  • 7 External links

    • Disambiguation

    The term public nudity or naked in public (NIP) has two general vernacular associations. Internet searches yield a majority of references with sexualized contexts, often focusing on young women. However, much of the nudity that occurs on public lands is in non-sexual contexts. In those contexts social norms dictate that people behave in a certain way to conform to social mores to avoid conflict between different people and organizations. A common example of this is clothing-optional beach etiquette, which takes different forms in different locales, usually spelling out bans on all forms of sexual harassment, overtly sexual behavior (such as masturbation or sexual intercourse), predatory behavior, and aggressive voyeuristic photography.

    Establishing expectations

    Participants in the Bay to Breakers event in San Francisco. The clothing-free contingent is known as [Bare to Breakers].
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    Participants in the Bay to Breakers event in San Francisco. The clothing-free contingent is known as [Bare to Breakers].

    Activities are generally thus classified by whether or not the activities are done in non-sexualized or sexualized contexts. In high visibility events, this [Disambiguationdisambiguation] often helps determine whether participants can be cited for indecent exposure or whether the activities may be legally deemed obscene, lewd or lascivious. This also helps potential participants who are concerned about sexual activities avoid events that they deem inappropriate. By definition organized naturist or nudists generally operate in contexts of non-sexualized nudity when in public or social (non-intimate) situations. Generally an activity or event has a reputation or is widely known to be of one type or the other, or known to include both. In cases of the latter areas of concern can be segregated with restricted access or by proper signage to warn people of the nature of the activities. In cases where organizers want participants to be clear about what to expect they will either (1) explicitly advertise and label the event as being done in a family-friendly, non-sexual, naturist or nudist context to avoid unwanted behavior and to garnish community support and/or (2) enforce good manners and appropriate behavior as problems occur.

    Association with movements or organizations

    Not all people who engage in public nudity see themselves as nudists or naturists or belong to traditional naturist or nudist organizations. Several activists, such as Vincent Bethell, claim that associations with naturism or nudism are unnecessary. Others will point out that many people participate in events such as clothing-optional bike rides or visit clothing-optional beaches do so casually and without association or formal affiliation to groups or movements. Activist Daniel Johnson believes that labels and affiliations overly complicate a relatively simple phenomenon, alienate others from a fear of over-commitment or undesirable stereotypes, and thus get in the way of integrating nudity into everyday life.

    Non-sexualized

    A naked beach rally at Belongil Beach, Byron Bay, Australia on 6 April, 1997. From Charles MacFarland's film Naked Celebrations.
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    A naked beach rally at Belongil Beach, Byron Bay, Australia on 6 April, 1997. From Charles MacFarland's film Naked Celebrations.

    Most widely accepted as being family-friendly nudity

    Artistic Expression

    

    Recreation and Sport
    

    

    Certain activities in public areas are more readily accepted to be done while naked, such as bathing and swimming. Hiking, bicycling, and other sports may also not be viewed as unusual to be done while nude, especially in rural areas in northern Europe. Everyday activities such as riding a train or bus, shopping, or attending school or work are almost never considered by the public to be appropriate without clothing.    
    


    

    Activism and Protests
    

    

    Scene from Incarnating for an Afternoon: The 9th Annual Nude & Breast Freedom Parade, A film by Marty Kent of The X-plicit Players. Filmed in Sept. 2000 in Berkeley, California

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Scene from Incarnating for an Afternoon: The 9th Annual Nude & Breast Freedom Parade, A film by Marty Kent of The X-plicit Players. Filmed in Sept. 2000 in Berkeley, California
    

    

    


    

    Scene from an anti-war protest in Washington, D.C. September 24, 2005, a topless political protest

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Scene from an anti-war protest in Washington, D.C. September 24, 2005, a topless political protest
    

    

    

Public nudity has sometimes been used to attract more attention to a public protest, a tactic used by the Doukhobors in the early 20th century, and later (particularly from the 1960s onwards) used more widely. Modern slogans include "Disrobe for disarmament", "Nudes, not nukes!", "Naked For Peace", and "I'd rather go naked than wear fur!".
    

At a Lollapalooza appearance in 1993 in Philadelphia, rather than perform their music, members of the band Rage Against the Machine stood onstage naked with duct-tape on their mouths and the letters "PMRC" painted on their chests for 15 minutes in protest against censorship by the Parents Music Resource Center.
    


    

    Formalized organizations and movements
    

    see clothes free organizations
    

    

    Clothes free people
    

    see Clothes free people
    

    

    Legend
    

    

    Naked women riding horses in the Czech Republic. From Charles MacFarland's film Naked in Public 1.

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Naked women riding horses in the Czech Republic. From Charles MacFarland's film Naked in Public 1.
    

    

    


    

    Legal Resources
    


    Further reading
    


    Timeline
    


    

    During an FTBY protest in Bend, Oregon on 2 May, 2002, activists Terri Sue Webb and Daniel Johnson were handcuffed and led away by police.

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During an FTBY protest in Bend, Oregon on 2 May, 2002, activists Terri Sue Webb and Daniel Johnson were handcuffed and led away by police.
    

    

    



    Variable sexualized environments
    
Includes phenomena that ranges from being non-sexualized to sexualized in nature.


    Semi-sexualized or sexualized context
    
Flashing and mooning can be offensive to some, but in many contexts, these are not considered offensive, or to those who are offended, generally not nearly as offensive as overt sexual behavior. A flasher practices a form of indecent exposure, such as suddenly removing one's coat under which one is completely naked or at least displays uncovered genitalia and/or (for a female) breasts; streaking, i.e. running completely naked through a non-nudist public place, usually for fun or as a practical joke; mooning, i.e. exposing only the buttocks.
    

Activities such as dogging, exhibitionism, indecent exposure, voyeurism,are not generally considered family friendly, and are also widely considered to be outside of naturist and nudist practices. Engaging in these activities can put people at risk for prosecution.
    


    Further reading
    


    See also
    

    


    


    External links
    

    


    


    


    


    



     



    

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