"God Bless the Naked Rambler"

Support is growing for Stephen Gough, the U.K.'s "Naked Rambler", who languishes in prison because he refuses to wear clothes in public. LadyGod1va, recently featured on the cover of Going Natural Magazine, has started a Facebook group in his support, which now has more members than the one started by The Naturist Society over a year ago.

More than 400 people have signed on to another Facebook page backing a naked run through London in February as a protest against the state incarcerating Gough for merely being nude.

British Naturism should get behind Gough, not because they necessarily consider him a naturist, and not because they approve of his methods, but simply because the issue of personal freedom is at the heart of naturism. Gough is a political prisoner of the state, make no mistake, and his persecution is a threat to everyone who values life and liberty. Being nude is not illegal in the United Kingdom, and Gough is in jail for "breaching the peace", even when the only "offended" people are the police themselves.

Gough might not be the poster child that naturism is looking for, but this government crackdown on nudity could extend to beaches or other naturist areas if this man is allowed to remain jailed for life.

Free Stephen Gough now.

The Weekend Newds 5/29/09

• According to Canadian journalist Sharlene Asam, the Internet has "sped up teens' sexual willingness and behavior."
• 7 out of 10 Spanish men say they have no problems getting naked.
• Facebook has reinstated graphic photos of a woman's mastectomy scars after initially calling the images "sexual and abusive."

  'I put these pictures out on Facebook to put a message out to women - check your breasts regularly and do not ever be ashamed of a mastectomy,' said Miss (Sharon) Adams, 45, yesterday. 'For Facebook to claim they were sexual and abusive was absurd. Facebook has online groups about sexual positions and some groups which are bordering on racist - but they ban this.'

• Schools across the country are imposing bans or restrictions on hugs due to fear of lawsuits over sexual harassment or improper touching.
• The rampant retouching of photographs in magazines which turns ordinary humans into something unknown in the natural world is causing a backlash.

  It now seems fresh, even exclamation-worthy, when a magazine presents an unvarnished image. Last month, for example, an issue of Life & Style took the unusual step of declaring that a cover photograph of Kim Kardashian was “100 percent unretouched,” as if it had done a great service to the cause of pseudo-celebrity journalism. And People, in its “100 Most Beautiful” issue this month, included images of 11 celebrities “wearing nothing but moisturizer.”

• A UK cable station is producing a "documentary" which "follows a Newcastle-based business building up to 'Naked Friday', a day when all of its workers will come to work nude."
• Noting that "there's never a bad reason for celebrating the human body", Las Vegas City Life explores all the opportunities for non-sexual clothes-free activities in the Nevada/Arizona area.
• Unbelievably, prison officials, prosecutors, judges and attorneys in Texas are gearing up for a big investigation over a photograph of a woman exposing her breast which was sent to convicted killer Robert Fratta.

  “It’s a class C misdemeanor to distribute obscene material to someone in a correctional facility,” District Attorney spokeswoman Donna Hawkins said. “Any violation of the law will be investigated, although no charges are likely to be filed before the conclusion of the trial.”

• A Malaysian editorial calls for a heavy penalty for "unhealthy activities" after a Danish production company taped a reality series on one of the islands off Johor where some participants were nude. Apparently an apology and the firing of the director were insufficient.
• Some Australian men streaked through Sydney wearing special "nude suits" to promote a cell phone company.
• Public interest law professor John Banzhaf has weighed in on the teen sexting issue.

  Anti-child-pornography laws were designed to protect children, including teens, from coercion and other forms of exploitations by adults, and adults involved in or encouraging sexting by teens may reasonable be punished, just as they would be if they participated or encouraged teens to play strip poker, says Banzhaf. But when a teen voluntarily sends racy pictures of herself to an equally-willing teen of about the same age, the basis for prosecution - coercion, exploitation, or other wrongful conduct by an adult - is no longer present, so punishing participating teens for exhibiting themselves to others in emails may be no more justified that punishing them for exhibiting themselves to each other when skinny dipping or playing strip poker in private among only other consenting teens.

• More news here on the "naturist walk" in Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada. Details are still sketchy, apparently FCN had nothing to do with it.
• Topless coffee shop owner Donald Crabtree says that the female employee accused of being outside the establishment with no top on actually had her breasts covered with her hands and arms. Charges are unlikely to be filed, but the Vassalboro town meeting on June 8 should be interesting, since a nudity ordinance will be considered.
• The Vassalboro coffee shop is cited as a reason for another town in Maine to enact preventative ordinances against adult businesses. Waterville planning board member Erik Thomas said "To me, it's better to be proactive about these things."
• The UK Advertising Standards Authority has approved the image of a bare-breasted woman in a brochure, saying, "we concluded the images were not so provocative as to present a risk to teenagers or be unsuitable for the target audience."
• Officials in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, are planning to auction off the site of the former Sunshine Park nudist resort because revenues are down. Residents would rather see the land cleaned up and left au naturel.
• You've heard of "Banned in Boston", but how about "Censored in Chicago"?

The Daily Newds 5/12/09

• In the UK, the town of Huddersfield is going all out to encourage breastfeeding.
• Paula Cooey, a professor of religion at Macalester College, wonders if embattled beauty queen Carrie Prejean is God's prophet or a porn star.

  We as a nation promote biologically reductionistic, soft-porn views of human bodies and human sexuality, views that do real violence to real people. Don’t get me wrong; my objection is not to naked bodies and eroticism, but to shrouding sexual titillation and drooling voyeurism with the patina of beauty and virtue, a phenomenon hardly restricted to the religious right alone. We don’t have to be right-wing evangelicals to be confused about our own flesh; bought, marketed, and consumed through various print and electronic media. Indeed, the Carrie Prejeans and Jerry Falwells Jr. of the world are just more transparent.

• Two Ohio teens were sentenced yesterday over nude photos on their cell phones.

  Prior to sentencing, defense attorney Charlie Rittgers told Powell the boy was never in trouble before and was “remorseful” for his actions. “He is scared to death at being here,” Rittgers told the judge. “He did not realize that what seemed to be an innocent act on his part could have ramifications.”

• Some people expect Facebook to cave in to protesters who want all groups devoted to Holocaust denial to be banned. The powers-that-be at Facebook put themselves in this predicament when they banned photos of mothers breastfeeding their children. Free speech is messy. You can't only demand the free speech you want without accepting the free speech of others. Banning the breast, now banning certain political speech, and what will be the next topic to be deemed offensive? Nudism? As abhorrent as the Holocaust deniers are, they cannot be denied their First Amendment rights.
• The rash of recent nude photos of celebrities is likely part of a larger trend.

  "The commonsense response is that anyone who thinks popular culture is not helping to shape the social script for teens just isn't paying attention," said Bill Albert, a spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. "It's not the only thing, of course, but what's happening in celebrity culture and what's happening amongst their peers has a great influence on teens."

• The media need to stop sexing up all body parts - now "love handles" are seen to have a "damaging effect" on a person's love life.
• AANR's publicity campaign for a world record skinny-dip has reached at least one news outlet.
• Go for it! Shirley Jones's husband thinks it would be "sensational" if the 75 year-old beauty would pose nude for Playboy.
• If you are unemployed, Central Casting in New York is looking for nude models.
• Lily Allen, forced to change lyrics to one of her songs by the BBC, told her audience that she "might just go naked. In fact, I think everyone coming to watch should go naked. I want to see the whole crowd naked." I think she really means it.

The Daily Newds 1/28/09

• Kudos to Amy Winehouse for enjoying topfree equality, and looking healthy.
• NBC has nixed a PETA Super Bowl ad for containing a "level of sexuality" which exceeded their standards, but naturally you can see it on the Internet here.
• Caliente might have lost the Lingerie Bowl, but dancers in the 43 strip clubs around the Tampa area are looking forward to big bucks from the Super Bowl. Officials say that there will be no stepped-up enforcement of the six foot rule.
• Here's a rare article supporting Facebook's banning of breastfeeding photos.

  Think about what would become of our favorite social site if Facebook started making exceptions in their policies. We don’t need a domino effect of cases defending themselves against the nudity rule.

• The Yorba Linda chapter of the Red Hat Society have jumped on the nude calendar bandwagon.

  The Red Hot Tomatoes did it, 12 photo shoots, all very discreet, and (photographer) Gordon pretended to be blind. At the end of the day, everyone had forgotten all of their nerves and their shyness, and we had laughed away the ills of the world.

• The Florida Players, a student-run theatre company, is seeking an event permit to stage a production of "Hair" with the original nude scene.

  Although the scene has been considered controversial, (director Jennifer) Shorstein described it as a beautiful and powerful moment.“It is shocking not just for the sake of being shocking, but to show that the body can be beautiful in a not sexual way,” she said.

• In conservative Singapore, a couple went on a 15 minute nude stroll in a section of the city with many nightclubs. "They looked really comfortable walking down the street, which led to many curious stares," wrote blogger Leonard Tan. "Singapore is getting more and more exciting."
• An attorney declares that the Boulder Naked Pumpkin Run is perfectly legal and that participants should not be prosecuted.

  The police had no probable cause for arrest. Boulder, unlike Colorado Springs, has no ordinance against public nudity, except within 500 feet of Coot Lake. The district attorney's office should not have charged the runners with a sex offense, and should not have used the fear of a sex offense conviction to extract pleas to an irrelevant charge. The prosecutor wisely exonerated some runners that carefully questioned whether the police reports contained probable cause for arrest. Unfortunately, the prudish police may have won the war because Boulder citizens are worried about participating in next year's run.
  
  The Pumpkin Run is a great community tradition. Running naked with elaborately carved masks is a form of artistic expression. It is a tradition far safer than Spain's Running of the Bulls, and it is more fun than a typical parade. We should make sure that the tradition continues, and we should never allow the police and prosecutors to squelch a legal form of expression enjoyed by thousands of participants and spectators.

• Catherine D'Lish holds more than 30 titles in the striptease industry, including Miss Nude USA, Showgirl of the Year, and Miss Nude International.

  "There are many people that will stand on their soapbox and sanctimoniously proclaim that the neo-burlesque performers are superior to modern strippers headlining in strip clubs and more true to the burlesque performers of the past. I have been privy to the secrets of both worlds," D'Lish says, avoiding comparisons between the two.

• Whatever happened to sex in Scandinavia?

  During the late ’70s and ’80s, as both those feminists and many of the male activist/artists represented in the Oslo exhibition moved into positions of political and cultural power in what by then had become the mainstream culture, their disinterest in or even hostility to sexual liberalism came to be the new norm. And so we end up with a renewed reassertion of state investment in its citizens’ sexual behavior, and with the concomitant efforts to ban cable channels that broadcast pornography; laws that empower the internment, without a criminal trial, of people with HIV who have unprotected sex; and that criminalize consensual sexual activity between two adults if one of them receives remuneration.

• Gersh Kuntzman was seen nude by forty people last week.
• Finally, some common sense in the sexting phenomenon where kids exchange nude photos of themselves with cell phones. The Utah House voted to reduce the penalties for those younger than 18 to a misdemeanor. It shouldn't be a crime at all, but at least this is a step in the right direction.
• Members of the indie band Black Lips had to cancel their tour and flee India after guitarist Cole Alexander stripped naked and jumped into the crowd.
• Several British rugby players have posed nude for Powerade ads "to illustrate that what players put inside their bodies and how they prepare - their InnerGear - is just as important as their sports kit."
• The economic downturn has not affected the cosmetic surgery industry, with more people than ever in the UK seeking body modifications.
• Yet another nude calendar project will raise money for Epilepsy Action.

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked

The Naturist Society on Facebook

There is a new Naturist Society group on Facebook. Full details on signing up can be found here. When membership reaches 100, the prize of a nudist guidebook will be awarded at random.

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked

The Weekend Newds 1/17/09

• A judge in the UK ruled that a "convicted pedophile" can continue going on nude outings with British Naturism. The article mentions that the man was in possession of photos by "American author Robert Sturgess" which is likely to mean photographer Jock Sturges. The charges for the "indecent" images were dropped because the photos could be found in any reputable bookstore.
• Tampabay.com readers respond to the proposed stricter dress codes on Pinellas County beaches.

  "Let's stop being prudes and designate an area for "clothing optional" swimming. I'm sure the AANR (American Association for Nude Recreation) and TAN (Tampa Area Naturists) would support this and any extra fee that may be incurred. Other states and countries, even Canada, have a nude or topless beach areas." - Walter Latham
  
  "Lest you think otherwise, I am definitely not a prude, but please quit treating us like people who only want to wear clothes from the 1920s. Fashion is one thing, but leave our beaches for everyone to enjoy." - MaryLou Tuttle
  
  "Are you kidding me? With the state looking to close some of our most beautiful parks because of the Legislature's fiscal irresponsibility, we waste our collective time and ever-shrinking resources to debate bathing suits." - Keith Richardson
  
  "Indeed, it is the easy answer to state the obvious: Turn away. Turning away is a viable option. Perhaps these "dismayed visitors" could elect to turn away from underclad beachgoers. The very idea that this issue is under discussion is insulting." - Barbara Audirsch McKee

• Joanna Weiss makes the following astounding statement in The Boston Globe regarding the Facebook breastfeeding photo controversy:

  "But elevating nursing to some exalted status doesn't seem so healthy, either, and that seems to be the danger in that flood of profile pics. Nursing gets equated with motherhood itself, and that doesn't do new mothers any favors."

  Read the entire article for context, and be sure to check out the reader comments.
• The MARNA nudist swim tonight is a "critic's pick" in the Baltimore Citypaper.
• A children's cartoon depicting the bare buttocks of a princess is causing outrage in Romania.
• A PR consultant is suing her plastic surgeon and Fox TV because she alleges that nude photos of her body were broadcast without her permission.
• Caliente resort continues to sex-up nudism by hosting this year's Lingerie Bowl.

  The event, which will be held Jan. 31 and broadcast on pay-per-view during Super Bowl halftime, features barely dressed women playing full-contact football.

• Did singer Katy Perry take a nude photo of herself?
• Eight celebrities have posed nude for Marie Claire magazine to raise awareness of violence against women.
• If you are caught up in the big Midwest freeze of 2009, you might be interested in this article on how the body adapts to cold weather.
• A citizen responds to an editorial calling for laws restricting adult entertainment establishments in Maine, brought on by the granting of a business permit for a topless coffee shop in Vassalboro.

  America is the most prudish nation in the free world. The European, South American, South Pacific nations that do not restrict whether a female chooses to go topless or not, do not have anywhere near the sex based crimes, especially rape, that the US has. If a law is going to be passed that a female cannot be topless, then it will have to be applied to include men as well, or it will be a law based on sexual discrimination which is unconstitutional. Bottom line: If you don't like the idea of topless wait staff in a coffee shop, don't go, period.

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked

The Daily Newds 1/14/09

• A BYU editorial claims that Facebook has surrendered and will now let mothers post photos of themselves breastfeeding their children. I've seen no other report of this, so take it with a grain of salt.
• Six Pennsylvania high school students ages 14 through 17 are facing child pornography charges for sending and receiving nude photos of themselves with cell phones. Please STOP destroying the lives of children using laws that are supposed to protect them.
• An Orange County Register reporter tries out for the Pageant of the Masters 2009 summer show "The Muse" which features "men, women and children of all shapes and sizes, clothed and nude."
• The New York Times has an excellent article on people seeking self-esteem through surgery.

  To the rigors of teenage grooming — waxing, plucking, body training and skin care regimens that were once the province of adults — add cosmetic surgery, which is fast becoming a mainstream option among teenagers. But with this popularity, some experts are concerned that the underlying motivation for many of the young people seeking surgery — namely, self-esteem — is being disregarded in the drive to look, as Kristen puts it, “normal.”

• An all-nude club opening in Dallas is purported to be the largest in Texas.
• Momlogic has an article decrying the use of nude models in the new Abercrombie and Fitch catalog, and then has a photo gallery of the "racy ads" for all to see.
• The Columbia Citypaper has an article on the Travelites 2009 Nude Chili Cook-Off.

  The group at the pool table hooted and catcalled when a large naked man scratched on the eight ball. On the other side of the Plexiglas, a woman grabbed a stray beach ball and dove into the pool. Cheri Alexander caught me eyeing an empty chili crock-pot and grinned.“You know the only difference between a nudist and clothed person is that after a meal, we don’t have a belt to loosen,” she said.

• A formal consultation has begun to determine the future of a naturist beach in England.
• If you are having trouble finding accommodations in the DC area for the inauguration, The Pine Trees Associated Nudist Resort in nearby Maryland has a room for you, but at some point you will have to get naked to comply with club rules.
• Oprah is in love with Kate Winslet's breasts. She said, "I love the fact that you have real breasts. Because in all the breast scenes, your breasts do what real breasts do.” Article with video here.
• An actor blogs about his only nude scene in a play.

  The odd thing was, once I'd done it, it felt OK. Sort of. Crucially, it felt advantageous to the play, which after all is the only fig leaf any actor has to hide his spiritual nakedness. When the artistic director (himself fearful of the moment being too upsetting for the unsuspecting punters) suggested I needn't strip at all but could keep my pants on, I was having none of it – so strongly did I now feel about its necessity to the play. In fact, I threatened to walk out if the nudity was cut. Funny cusses, actors.

• Did Nazism draw some if its inspiration from the German nudist movement?
• Pinellas County might toughen its swimwear rules due to reports from "outraged" Fort De Soto Park visitors who have complained about people in "states of near total nudity."

  "It's certainly going to have a negative impact," said Ken Kushman, 62, secretary of Tampa Area Naturists, "because it's going to turn people away who want to wear less bathing suit than their grandmother does."

• Here's a photo gallery of people participating in No Pants Day 2k9 in Los Angeles.

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked

The Daily Newds 1/10/09

• In Belmont, California, it's illegal to smoke a cigarette in your own home. Dave Warden, the former councilman who supported the ordinance, explains his position:
  

  "You can't walk around naked in your house with the blinds open, or you'll get arrested. You can't shoot a gun in your house, can't do drugs in your house, can't play loud music in your house and bother your neighbors. It's illegal."

• Massachusetts at long last has passed a breastfeeding bill, with God being the only dissenter.
  

  Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill into law yesterday protecting nursing mothers from harassment, discrimination and prosecution for breast feeding in public. The only exception is in a church or place of worship.

• An Australian man has been placed on a sex offenders list for several instances of indecent exposure "for the protection of the public", even though there is no evidence of any sexual activity associated with his behavior.
  

  Sheriff Michael Fletcher said: “I don’t have much room for manoeuvre. The offence itself was a very strange one but not particularly serious in itself.”

• UK artist Edi Richter was given two years probation, ordered to attend a sexual offenders treatment program, required to register as a sex offender for five years, and was banned from working with children for possessing 39 "indecent" images of children out of a collection of 60,000 pictures he downloaded from the Internet. I can't find the original news story on this man, but my recollection is that the photos were originally described to be from naturist web sites.
• "Welcome to Topless Town" is the title of an editorial in the Bangor Daily News. Does anyone really believe that incessant publicity about the topless coffee shop in Maine will lessen the impact? The owner of the shop should start selling shares.
• The North County Times has a profile of Kelli Roman, the mother who started the Facebook protest.
  

  Roman said she feels that seeing pictures of breast-feeding is not detrimental to kids, as opposed to viewing nudity that is sexual in nature."Children need to see women breast-feeding," she said. "They need to see that breasts aren't for sex or to sell you things ---- especially the boys ---- but they're for nurturing and feeding your children."

• Kanye West wants to pose nude.
  

  "I definitely feel, like, in the next however many years, if I work out for two months, that I'll pose naked. I break every rule and mentality of hip-hop, of black culture, of American culture."

• The state of North Dakota is looking for new ways to make criminals out of women who take their clothes off for a living.
• More support here for the mothers protesting Facebook.
  

  The bigger issue of course is Net censorship. Trying to define obscenity is like trying to drive a nail through a bar of wet soap while wearing roller skates. Nobody wants Facebook to turn into a porn palace (except maybe the porn industry) but why it's picking on lactating moms is a complete mystery. If watching a suckling babe in arms gets you all warm and wiggly, you have bigger problems.

• Tam Leach describes her nude sauna experience in Sweden.
  

  Nakedness is not enforced but is expected; five minutes in and sitting around starkers seems almost comfortable. Fifteen minutes of heat and it's time. Warmed to the core but still not convinced, I step outside, gingerly, keeping hold of the banister. The impetus to submerge comes when I glance to the left, and realise that the steps from the men's side of the bathing house are within view. Quite detailed view, in fact. I'm naked, the old Swedish bloke over there is naked, and suddenly the water looks far more inviting.

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked

The Daily Newds 1/9/09

• A writer in the San Francisco Chronicle explains how Facebook's banning of breastfeeding photos has backfired.

  What should we make of Facebook's harsh stance, which may as well have been well-intentioned? Even good intentions backfire: Facebook has fallen a victim to the Streisand effect - an emerging phenomenon on the Internet, where an attempt to suppress the dissemination of information on the Internet only makes it more widespread. The reasons that made Facebook decide to enforce rules that do not exist in real life are less clear. In many countries, actual venues could be fined for asking breastfeeding mums to cover up; why should the virtual space be any different?
  
  Facebook's purist efforts are likely to have opposite consequences: If the photos of nursing mothers, scattered throughout the whole site, were previously hard to find, now they have all been arranged in one place, with many links to other Web sites. Thus, if Facebook was concerned about those who complained about so many sightings of breastfeeding in the virtual space, then such concerns have certainly not been addressed.

• An editorial on TheDestinLog.com explains that a community can have a topless bar and still be family friendly.
• If you plan on taking public transit in Portland on Saturday between 3 and 5 PM, be prepared to take off your pants.
• An artist is preparing a nude portrait of cooking show cutie Rachael Ray using paprika miked with oils.
• The annual Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas has become a "full-blown mainstream media event".

  To use words such as “most respected” and “most recognized” when describing a trade-show business convention is acceptable when it comes to the Consumer Electronics Show winding up its 42nd anniversary here in Las Vegas this weekend. But the adult entertainment industry says the same about itself because it has grown into a staggeringly massive, annual $12 billion-plus business, and on Saturday, just like the Oscars and the Emmys, gold statuettes will be handed out in more than 100 sex categories to the industry’s top stars and producers! Yes, X-rated entertainment has gone completely mainstream, and flesh fans themselves will be able to sit in on the provocative power parade of pulchritude at the Grammys of the Adult World co-hosted by Jenna Haze and Belladonna.

• The Lexington Art League's annual Nude exhibit has a few surprises this year. In a related story, six art professors share their views on teaching students about the human figure.
• An Australian in Indonesia compares the recent rise of the "morality police" in both countries.

  And in a world like this, let any law — in Australia or Indonesia — that threatens such tolerance to appease small–mindedness or potential voters be fought, on the beaches and everywhere else.

• Ohio Governor Strickland has signed a law increasing penalties for anyone found guilty of "surreptitiously video taping, filming, photographing or recording a minor in a state of nudity." Child pornography is despicable, but this law is certain to be misinterpreted. Don't - repeat - DON'T take nude photos of your kids to be developed at the local drug store, no matter where you live.
• The mother of a 16 year-old boy found a nude 15 year-old girl in his bedroom and called the police, who issued her a trespass citation and took her home. If the boy invited the girl in, how is this trespassing? And why call the police in the first place?

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked

The Daily Newds 1/8/09

• Although unsuccessful in securing an official nude beach for Queensland, Anita Grigg of the Free Beaches Association has been named one of the top ten newsmakers for Noosa, Australia.
• Using Barack Obama as a canvas is the wish of New Zealand body painter Joanne Gair.
• Sir Ian McKellen will not be doing the Full Monty in the public television version of King Lear.
• An unofficial nude beach in New Zealand is coming under scrutiny over reports of overt gay sexual behavior.
• Two more signs of support for breastfeeding mothers who are protesting Facebook.
  
  Susan Nielsen:

  Facebook's policy is defensible from a business standpoint. The site wants to limit nudity and doesn't want to get into value judgments about tastefulness. (And let's face it: Of the many challenges facing new moms, the ability to post personal photos doesn't crack the top 50.)
  
  Yet after contacting several Oregon women who've joined the group or are passionate about breastfeeding, I see the value of this online protest. As they explained, online activism can be powerful -- as long it spurs real-world action rather than replaces it.

  Lori Colan, M.D.:

  As long as formula feeding remains the cultural norm, mothers and babies will continue to have higher risks of these maladies. Others have likened breastfeeding to going to the bathroom — something to be done in private, but I would counter that the normal act of an infant taking milk is not disgusting or immoral, or something to be hidden. Babies need to eat, and mothers need to feed them, wherever they are together.

  Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked

The Daily Newds 1/7/09

• The photographer who took the photos of the skier caught upside down with his genitals exposed on a ski lift has been suspended from his job.
• Police in Gahanna, Ohio, have decided not to press felony charges against high school students who exchanged nude photos with their cell phones.
• Another columnist comes out in support of the breastfeeding mothers protesting Facebook's anti-nudity policy.

  The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees that breastfeeding is the healthiest alternative for newborns. If a photograph encourages it, we should support the photo. And any nursing mom can tell you that her sore boobs are off limits for those with a "prurient interest in sex." That's more than can be said for "facebook's hottest bikini babes."

• If you are in the Boston area you can check out The Naked Comedy Showcase tonight at ImprovBoston in Cambridge.
• The Orillia Museum of Art in Canada is hosting Fully Exposed: Celebrating the Nude.

  The good work engages the viewer, challenges him or her to be an active participant, to enter into an intimate conversation, to assess and interpret the emotion and thought aroused by the figure. Ultimately, the image touches something deeper, taking the viewer a bit further into the process of understanding our human condition.

• The LA Times article Oscar in the Nude is causing some subscribers to cancel the newspaper.
• Is a painted body really nude?

  I always wonder about the silliness of censorship, how our society is at times so proudly sensitive and yet so base and vulgar at the same time. It occurs to me just now that perhaps both exist not in spite of each other but because of each other.

• The town planning board in Vassalboro, Maine, has approved an application for a topless coffee shop.

  Despite complaints and objections, town officials said there was nothing they could do to stop Donald Crabtree from opening the shop. No Vassalboro town ordinance prohibits such a business, and if residents formed a committee, drew up such an ordinance and the town approved it, Crabtree's business still would be grandfathered in, unaffected.

• Dr. Richard Wagner is a sex therapist and an admitted pornographer.

  Admittedly, porn is a thorny issue in our sex-negative culture. Lots of people are hostile to the notion that there could actually be something uplifting and life affirming about the depiction, in any medium, of sexual behaviors. Lots of people believe that even nudity, let alone full-blown sex, is bad and that it corrupts the consumer, especially if the consumer is young and impressionable. I don’t happen to share that view.

• Some new perspectives have emerged regarding the attempt to ban women from sunbathing topfree on Australia beaches.

  Wollongong’s Danielle Hefferman said she personally did not have an issue with women exposing their breasts on beaches.
  
  “I think it would be good if they had more designated topless or nudist beaches,” she said.
  
  Mrs Hefferman said her children might stare at a woman who was sunbathing topless for a while, and might make a comment, but the novelty would wear off quickly.
  
  She said she could not recall seeing any topless bathers at beaches in Wollongong.
  
  Sydney’s David Howse said he did not think it was a big deal.
  
  “If people are offended by it, they can walk off,” he said.

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked

The Daily Newds 1/6/09

• Why is the Australian topless beach controversy only about women?

  “Once being topless is accepted as lawful the next question will be why can’t women go totally nude on a public beach and I don’t think Australians want to go down that pathway.”

• Breastfeeding moms protesting Facebook's anti-nudity policy are getting support from Laura Berman.

  Until we begin accepting the female body as more than a sexual object and the breast as more than just a sexual toy, mothers and babies will miss out on this special bonding process. Yes, breasts are sexy, and yes, they look amazing in low-cut dresses. However, they also have a much more beautiful purpose ... so let mothers fulfill it!

• An Australian article on life drawing classes, showing a nude model in a photograph, states that the classes are for "everybody" from ages seven and up.
• Which way to East Vassalboro? You can't get there from here! Actually, the Maine town has now been put on the map by virtue of it's consideration to grant a business permit to a topless coffee shop.
• "Experts" are warning parents not to put holiday snapshots of their children (clothed or unclothed) on the Internet to keep them from ending up in a child porn collection. Does anybody really understand what child pornography really is?
• The Whispering Pines Nudist Resort has been sold but will remain clothes-free.
• Massachusetts is one of only three states in the country without a law protecting breastfeeding mothers, but at long last a bill is on the table.
• Check out the Naturist Living Show podcast sponsored by Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park.

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked

Facebook Protest Grows

ABC News is reporting that 97,600 Facebook members have joined to protest the web site's censorship of breastfeeding photos.

One of them, Stephanie Muir of Ottawa, was new to Facebook when she stumbled across the group last year. Muir, a mother of five, does volunteer work related to public health and breast-feeding and said the issue is important to her.

"I think it's time we all get over this notion that women's breasts are dangerous and harmful for children to see," she said. So she organized a Facebook protest last weekend against the site's policies, which she believes are arbitrarily enforced and discriminate against women.

Muir said more than 11,000 people participated in the group's "virtual nurse-in" by swapping out their regular profile pictures on Facebook and uploading ones depicting breast-feeding.

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked

The Daily Newds 12/27/08

Catching up after a very busy holiday season...

• A Seattle columnist is "all for nudity", but...

  ...there's the morality issue. Is it in any way possible to justify nude bicycling on the basis of morality? The most adept philosopher would be hard pressed to make this argument. After all, is it morally acceptable for a physical specimen replete with rippling muscles and firm curves to flaunt his or her charms to the remainder of us who may be challenged in the same areas? I don't think so, nor do I think that those who thoughtlessly parade their physical perfection would think so if they gave it a little thought. Have a little consideration is all I ask. Leave the imperfect among us some pride at the end of the day.

• A New Zealand man has been sentenced to four months in jail for taking off his clothes on National Nude Day.
• Here's a video link to the annual UC-Berkeley student library streak.
• Here's a brief history of nude dancing and the First Amendment.
• One Australian man is trying to make a difference in getting Little Congwong declared an official free beach.

  "Naturists are a good, honest crowd," he said. "Nobody hides anything. I've never come across the bad behaviour or rudeness that you sometimes get on clothed beaches. We love nature and the freedom of just being yourself."

• NPR has a short audio link to a story about one of the Nude Pumpkin Runners who will have to do community service, six months probation and pay $27 in court costs for streaking in public. A blogger on the Denver Post website says that the runners are getting what they deserve.
• A writer is distressed over nudity in locker rooms.

  ...all the skinny people are back from their work-out and strutting their naked thin bodies around the changing room. That seems to be the latest thing. Take off all your clothes and, irrespective of who's behind you, bend down to put on the knickers and shove your bottom in somebody else's face, often mine.

• Here's a photo gallery of celebrities who have taken it all off for PETA.
• A nude portrait of a breast cancer survivor will go on display in The Louvre.
• The staff of Amazon.com reportedly resisted a call for them to drop trou for mass mooning photo.
• Amy Winehouse has been added to the list of celebrities who enjoy topfreedom.
• Naked Rambler Stephen Gough is going back to jail for another 12 months.
• Women are protesting Facebook's decision to ban images of breastfeeding.

  "What about a baby breast-feeding is obscene? Especially in comparison to MANY other pictures posted all over Facebook that really are obscene?'' the event organizers asked on their Web site, called "Hey Facebook, breast-feeding is not obscene!''

• More stories on the Facebook censorship can be found here, and here.
• Marisa Tomei talks about her role in The Wrestler where she plays a stripper.
• The staff at a UK store stripped off for a Christmas card to raise money for Alzheimer's research.
• Two Louisiana elementary school children were suspended from school for viewing a nude photo on a school computer. The Superintendent compared the incident to fights, guns, knives and drugs.
• The Chicago bar which gained notoriety with a nude painting of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is now planning a nude portrait of embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.
• Naturists are saying that there are fewer places to go bare in Orange County.

  "There are fewer places than there used to be," said longtime naturist leader and Huntington Beach resident Allen Baylis, an attorney who is leading the San Onofre State Beach fight. "Because of the prejudice and marginalization we've long suffered, we've kept losing ground."

• A children's charity has turned down the funds raised by doctors who posed for a nude calendar.
• Fifteen artists' models stripped down in front of the Paris cultural affairs bureau to protest a ban on tipping for their services.
• SCNA (Southern California Naturist Association) is rallying supporters for the right to be nude.

  Members have begun a sly campaign to raise awareness among local business owners of their numbers and purchasing power. Armed with fistfuls of $2 bills, naturists use the questions generated by the unusual currency as an opportunity to explain their mission and demonstrate that for a troubled economy, there is profit in numbers.
  
  “We’re trying to say if there were more people down at the beach they’d be buying more hamburgers,” Wilkinson says.
  
  So far, says Ricc Bieber, an activist who has worked to maintain nudist beaches since 1976, “practically everyone has been really positive. They understand the economic consequences.”

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked