Streaking
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- In microbiology, streaking is also a method of inoculating agar plates, see streaking (microbiology).
- redirect
Scope and etymology
The word is recorded in its modern sense only since 1973. Before to streak was used in English since 1768 for "to go quickly, to rush, run at full speed," respelling (by association with streak) of streek "to go quickly" (c.1380), originally "to stretch oneself" (c.1250), a northern M.E. variant of stretch.Streaking usually differs from naturism or nudism in that streakers usually intends to be noticed and surprise people and will choose a place with a large audience for their act, regardless of the risk of arrest (sometimes even intending to be remanded in police custody). Many naturists or nudists, on the other hand, are just as happy not to be noticed, or at least prefer to be left in peace.
Streaking on Various College Campuses
The first streaking incidents were reported in the U.S. media in late 1973. Time magazine in December called it "a growing Los Angeles-area fad" that was "catching on among college students and other groups." A letter writer responded, "Let it be known that streakers have plagued the campus police at Notre Dame for the past decade," pointing out that a group of Notre Dame students sponsored a "Streakers' Olympics" in 1972.The last night before final exams at Harvard University sees undergraduates participating in Primal Scream. Students disrobe and make two laps around Harvard Yard. This is done both semesters, even during New England winters. Some of the streakers will 'dress up' in capes and masks, or top hat and tails, but their genitalia are still exposed. The walkways through which the streakers run are lined with spectators and the Marching Band plays beforehand to excite the crowd.
-->In 1983, streaking started at the University of Chicago as a campus tradition and is held every year during their winter festival that the university calls Kuviasungnerk. There are more spectators than actual participants. The idea behind the streaking is to help the students kick the winter blues.
Starting in 1986, the streaking fad resulted in an annual event at the University of Michigan called the "Naked Mile" in which the last day of class was celebrated with a group streak across campus along an approximate one-mile path. At the height of its popularity in the late 1990s, between 500 and 800 students would participate. However, due to town and University enforcement of public indecency laws starting in 1998, as well as increasing spectator crowds, videotaping, photography, and Internet distribution of the results, participation plummeted. In 2001, a mere 24 students participated, with similar turnout in recent years[link].
Princeton University has had a long tradition of streaking occurring on the campus. The first streaking incident in 1970 was meant as a one-time prank but the students heard of this and wanted to repeat it. In time, streaking became a tradition of the sophomore class and rules were drafted for the event. The tradition started to decline in the 1990s for several reasons. Security was an issue because students were not the only ones participating in the event. The administration chose not to tolerate the event anymore because students were being taken to McCosh Infirmary or the Princeton Medical Center with various injuries, due to the streaking. Board of Trustees voted to ban the practice in 1999 because it was becoming too dangerous and too corrupt.
Dartmouth College has a long history of streaking, beginning in 1931 when Lulu McWoosh, a student from a nearby college, caused the celebratory Green Key Weekend to be canceled by riding a bicycle nude around the golf course before church services.[link][link] Two streaking-related challenges exist on campus: The Ledyard Challenge, in which students swim naked across the Connecticut River, and run nude back across the bridge;[link] and the Blue Light Challenge, in which streaking students attempt to press the alarm on every one of the campus's blue light emergency phones.[link] Currently, a "Thursday Night Streaking Club" exists that regularly streaks various events and public places.[link]
The record for the most streakers at one time is held by the University of Colorado at Boulder, with 1,200 streakers simultaneously. Athens, Georgia claims to have organised 1,000 streakers, with the University of Maryland ranking third at 553 naked students streaking three miles in March 1974. The previous record was held by the University of South Carolina of 508 streakers.
In the University of the Philippines, members of the Alpha Phi Omega, one of the leading fraternities, run around the whole campus naked in an annual event known as the Oblation Run. (refer to U.P. Oblation)
The United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, has a tradition called "Naked Man."
Streaking in Pop Culture
This sign of the times was chronicled by Ray Stevens, who profited off the fad with his song "The Streak". His novelty hit about the guy who's "always making the news wearing just his tennis shoes" peaked at #1 on the sales charts in April 1974. Dialogue with a male witness, in a news interview format, was interspersed with lyrics about the exploits of a streaker. The song's catchphrase "Don't look, Ethel!" became a kitschy joke and an instantly recognized reference to streaking. The punch line is that the man's wife joins in, much to his chagrin: "Ethel, you shameless hussy!"The fad soon became a symbol of the decade. In response to streaking, some jurisdictions would charge streakers with indecent exposure, but one Maine town voted to pass a law specifically targeted at streaking.
Late in the 1990s, streaking returned as a retro fad. Its popularity was given a big boost by the band blink-182, big fans of the pastime who often appear shirtless in publicity shots and at concerts. Their proclivity for exposed genitalia was publicized in their 1999 music video for "What's My Age Again?", in which they tear across the pavement with their pubic region and buttocks digitally blurred out (they actually wore flesh-colored swimsuits during the filming). The band was perhaps inspired by alt rockers The Red Hot Chili Peppers, who sometimes played concerts wearing only strategically placed tube socks.
This prominent resurgence for the activity has led some to argue that streaking should be considered an art form in and of itself, with the activity undoubtedly inspiring many artists and free thinkers. Proponents of this theory have included the previously referenced Blink-182, and performance artist John Hassel, more popularly known as Bunboy.
Perhaps the most widely-seen streaker in history was in 1974 when 34-year-old Robert Opel 'streaked' across the stage naked on national US television at the 46th Academy Awards. Opel flashed a peace sign as he crossed the stage, seen on television only above the waist. Recovering quickly after the event, host David Niven quipped, "The only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping... and showing his shortcomings." Later, some evidence arose suggesting that Opel's appearance was facilitated by the show's producer Jack Haley, Jr., as a stunt. Niven's 1974 Academy Awards brush with a streaker was voted the top Oscars moment by film fans in 2001.
In 2003, streaking came to the forefront in New Zealand when former All Black Mark Ellis, now a television presenter, offered a monetary reward for anyone who streaked in front of Prime Minister Helen Clark. This was part of Ellis' National Nude Day. A TV program he presented, Hyundai Sports Cafe, regularly promoted nudity and for people to send in nude exploits. Most memorable exploits included a Lord of the Rings parody by nude actors, and 30 naked piruette ballet (both male and female) dancers performing directly in front of the Otago University main building.
In 2004, a Nike commercial for their "Shox" shoes centered around someone streaking at a soccer match wearing nothing but said shoes, and commentators comment throughout.
An episode of the sitcom That '70s Show once had the main character, Eric Forman, streaking while the President of the United States was speaking to his town.
During the movie Old School, Will Ferrell gets drunk and tries to get everybody at a party to streak. Ferrell ends up being the only person to streak.
Streaking in Sports
Rugby Union
Twenty-five-year-old Australian Michael O'Brien was the first known streaker at a major event when on 20 April 1974, he ran out naked onto the ground of a France Rugby Union match at Twickenham. Erica Roe, a bookshop assistant, also streaked during a rugby union Test at Twickenham in 1982. Recently in New Zealand there have been incidents of streaking at rugby union matches. The first test between the All Blacks and Ireland a woman named Lisa Lewis streaked across Waikato Stadium and proceeded after the match to sell the bikini she wore on the auction site TradeMe.Cricket
In the sport of cricket, where it is not uncommon for a streaker to run out to the field purely for shock and entertainment value, or occasionally for political purposes. The most recent streaking was in the first test of the Australia versus I.C.C. World XI, when a rather drunken man darted out toward the field naked, shocking the Australian and World XI players, causing play to stop. He was speartackled to the ground by field personnel after trying to evade their trap and was apprehended. This is the usual method to capture unruly streakers at sporting events.Australian rules football
Streaking became popular at Australian rules football matches in the 1980s, particularly Victorian Football League Grand Finals, with a trend started by Adelaide stripper Helen D'Amico in the 1982 Grand Final between Carlton and Richmond, wearing only a Carlton scarf [link].High School Football
In 2003, in Salem, Oregon, a young man from Charles A. Sprague High School streaked across their own football field wearing nothing but a scary mask (said to be the same mask popularized by the movie, Scream). He was quickly apprehended by a security guard and a fellow classmate. The student who took him down was widely disrespected by a generous portion of the student body.[[Citing sources citation needed]]Association Football
In 2005 German football club FC Hansa Rostock successfully sued three streakers who disrupted their 2003 match against Hertha Berlin, to recoup the €20,000 they were fined by the German Football Association for failing to maintain adequate security at their ground.Olympic Games
In the 2006 Winter Olympics streaker Mark Roberts interrupted the men's bronze medal curling match between the US team and the UK team, wearing nothing but a strategically placed rubber chicken. He was intending to advertise a well known gambling website, which was written across his back and breast, but in the United States cameras cut away before viewers could see him. A Polish female streaker showed up at the closing ceremony, but was not on the telecast either.Streaking as a Sport
There have been attempts to create a sport or a game out of streaking. As a team sport, a streaker will enter a hidden or out-of-the-way spot, undress when and where nobody is looking, and then will surprisingly and unexpectedly dart as fast as he or she can across streets, malls, sports stadiums and lawns completely naked, or, for female streakers, at least leaving the breasts and/or pubic area exposed. Streaking.org, a streaking forum, has created several game variants of streaking, including a "Hide and Seek game." [link]Hamilton College of New York has a "Varsity" Streaking Team, which claims an undefeated record, and received positive coverage in the New York Times in 2004. Hamilton College remained undefeated in their collegiate record until the Williams College springstreakers soundly defeated Hamilton in spring 2005. Fifteen members of the Williams team made a full circuit of the Hamilton library the night before their final exams began, streaking about 200 people and giving the Hamilton team their first loss. It is unclear at this time if streaking will continue as a collegiate sport.
See also
List of streakers
- Mark Roberts
- Erica Rowe, the Twickenham Streaker
- Protima Bedi
External links
- [EtymologyOnLine]
- [Hamilton College Varsity Streaking Team]
- [Streaking.org]
- [Streaking.net]
- [Unofficial Info Page on the Naked Mile]
- [The Naked Running Association of Ireland]
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