Nakedjen's Dilemma

Nakedjen, who throws off her clothes in public on a regular basis, was flashed by an exhibitionist while she was walking her dogs. It's a perfect example of irony.

But Jen has a dilemma. Since she is an exhibitionist herself, should she report the man to the police, or simply forget about it?

Since she blogged about the incident today, I guess there's no forgetting. So what should she do?

Exhibitionism is a complex subject since it encompasses so many variations on the same theme. Some people consider nudists to be exhibitionists. Also falling under the definition is stripping, mooning, streaking, flashing of the female breasts, and virtually any act involving the exposure of the genitals, breasts or buttocks.

It seems fair to say that exhibitionism exists only because we are a clothed society. One cannot expose that which is already exposed.

In Jen's case, she was flashed by a man exposing his erect penis. Such exhibitionism is done for a sexual thrill, and is more likely a fetish than anything else.

From everything I've read about nakedjen, she likes to get naked primarily as a means to promote body acceptance, and freedom. Her behavior is much closer to nudism.

Unimpressed by the man's naked genitals, Jen tried to talk to him, which only confused him so he ran away.

I don't know what the law in Utah is for indecent exposure, but I feel pretty confident in saying that the flasher committed a crime, and Jen, for not reporting the crime, could possibly be an accessory. A crime is a crime even if you don't agree with the law.

Chances are that the man will repeat the crime, and Jen has done nothing to stop him. Police don't think kindly about people who fail to report crimes.

I fully understand the dilemma. Jen likes to get naked in public, and most laws do not differentiate between nudity as an expression of freedom, and nudity for a sexual thrill.

Had Jen come across a free hiker, or a woman sunbathing topfree, or someone skinny-dipping in a pond, I'd say live and let live.

But this guy could be disturbed, or even dangerous. Who's to say that he's not a rapist in the making?

So, nakedjen should have reported the incident. Men flashing their erect penises is not nudism, or naturism, and would not be tolerated in situations of social nudity. In fact, such a display at a nudist resort will likely be met with a response far more severe than Jen's reaction.

Ultimately the laws need to define differences between types of nudity. College students should not be treated as criminals for streaking, or mooning, and placed in the same category as sex offenders.

Jen writes:

which is more about my issue here. that this public act of nudity is considered offensive. i'm not sure that it should be. it's just a naked body. which each and every one of us have. we all have a naked body underneath our clothes. and it is just that culturally we have chosen (or perhaps more appropriately have been brainwashed) to find that naked body offensive.

i, personally, don't find it offensive. just as i didn't find the man who was naked in the dog park this morning offensive in the least.

so i won't be calling the police. because i was not offended. but i still am struggling with the fact that my body offends, that he was hoping to offend with his nudity, and that we as a culture find nudity offensive.

Sorry, Jen. While I sympathize with your dilemma, and your personal feelings, this incident was not just a "naked body", it was a man confronting you with the intent of getting a sexual thrill. He might also have been hoping that you would have been thrilled, too. Rape is not sex, it is violence, and flashing an erect penis in a park is not nudity, it's a crime.

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