The Weekend Newds 4/4/09

• A federal judge has struck down a Maryland statue which would have banned strip clubs.

  On first gloss, the Maryland law would simply seem to ban such activities as exotic dancing, peep shows and lap dances anywhere with a liquor license. But by putting strictures on a whole list of naughty-sounding activities, including anything even simulating a sex act, the legislature went too far, wrote Judge Marvin Garbis of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division. Bans against performers touching each other's buttocks, for instance, could prevent ballet dancers from lifting each other into the air, he noted, quoting the plaintiffs lawyers. Restrictions on even brief nudity would have prevented the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Wit" from being performed. Shakespeare, political satire and musical theater (think "The Full Monty") could all suffer as well.

• Mothers are planning a nurse-in at a Canadian pool to protest harassment by lifeguards.

  Gemma Kelsall, 32, is one of the organizers of a "nurse-in" planned for 10 a. m. at Killarney Aquatic & Recreation Centre. Kelsall visits the Killarney pool once or twice a week and sometimes nurses her 21-month-old daughter Kaliya in the water. She said she's been asked not to breastfeed "about 200 times" by lifeguards in the past 14 months. "In the past five weeks, they've been getting more aggressive and abusive about asking me to leave," said Kelsall, who operates a day home.

• Australia has joined the United States on the list of countries which seek to criminalize teenage sexuality.
• This article provides more details on the German nudist hotel.

  "We want to create a relaxing environment in which like-minded people can enjoy a natural environment in complete nudity," Mr Haferkorn said. "Lots of people try to portray nudity as something smutty, but we aim to show that it is something completely natural." Mr Haferkorn said his hotel's website had been inundated with booking requests.

• Three teenagers were trapped on a cliff while trying to get down to the clothing-optional Black's Beach in California, and had to be rescued by lifeguards.
• A student editorial from North Carolina State University supports the rights of women to pose nude for Playboy magazine.

  I am a beautiful young woman (inside and out), but I also know I do not fit the traditional standard of beauty portrayed in magazines like Playboy. If I want to go let someone take photos of me in a bikini, I have every right to do so. It does not make me any less of a woman. It does not mean I am going to lead a life of prostitution or become a victim of abuse. It does not mean I am objectifying or disrespecting myself. What it means is I am comfortable in my skin and happy with my body.