Going Natural Fall 2009 Issue Available as Digital Edition

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Jimmy Kimmel Nude in front of Ricky Gervais

Nudist Photo of the Day 9/30/09

"Unless you intend to raise them as nudists"

"Curious in Maryland" writes to "Dear Annie":

I am the father of two sons, 7 and 11. At what point do you stop dressing or being naked in front of your children? I come from a minister's family, and my wife comes from a somewhat dysfunctional family. Let's just say they are at the other end of the spectrum and leave it at that. My wife still gets dressed and undressed in front of the boys, and thinks nothing of coming out of the shower naked while the boys are in our bedroom watching TV. I sometimes get dressed in front of them at home or at the changing room at the pool. What do you think?

Annie's answer:

Parents of the opposite sex should not be undressing in front of their children after the age of 4. Unless you intend to raise them as nudists, both of your boys are too old for this. The 11-year-old will be going through puberty soon and will become plenty confused if he is inadvertently aroused by his mother. Insist that every member of the family have some privacy.

There's a lot wrong with this little exchange, but let's focus on the phrase "unless you intend to raise them as nudists". I tend to think that Annie meant to use the words in the sense that nudism was completely out of the question, such as when you would advise someone who was loading a gun with the safety off with "unless you want to blow your head off".

But the true result of Annie's advice is that she basically told the man that family nudity was perfectly OK only in the context of nudism.

This is very strange. If the boys are too old for nudity at home, what is it about nudism that would suddenly make it appropriate? If the 11 year-old is susceptible to arousal by the sight of his nude mother, what would make him less inclined to get excited by the sight of a crowd of nudists? Annie's answer is far too ambiguous.

The correct answer to "Curious" is this: There is nothing wrong with the human body. Many studies show that children who are exposed to normal, natural nudity at home grow up with healthier attitudes about sex, and their own bodies. Chances are your boys are not even paying attention to your casual nudity, and that of your wife, and are much more interested in watching television. Since you are all comfortable with nudity, you might consider family nude recreation, which will further normalize your bodies to each other, remove the societal stigma or taboo, and wash away any shame you are feeling. More information on family nudism can be found at the websites of the American Association for Nude Recreation and The Naturist Society.

Generous America, Scary America

Nobody is defending what Roman Polanski did with a 13 year-old girl in Los Angeles over 30 years ago. Nobody.

But this "sinister arrest" of the 76 year-old film director says more about the American obsession with sex than with the rule of law.

The arrest outraged the government of France, which has declined to extradite Polanski since he fled the United States in 1978, after a Los Angeles judge signaled he would scotch a plea agreement in the sex case. In France, Polanski is revered both as a filmmaker and as a martyr to American injustice and puritanism.

Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand issued a statement saying he "profoundly regrets that a new ordeal is being inflicted on someone who has already known so many during his life."

Mitterrand also charged that Polanski was "thrown to the lions," the Associated Press reported. "In the same way that there is a generous America that we like, there is also a scary America that has just shown its face," he said.

The victim of Polanski's sexual advances, Samantha Geimer, is now 45 years old with a family, and has been trying to put this ordeal behind her for years.

"I have survived, indeed prevailed, against whatever harm Mr. Polanski may have caused me as a child," she said at the time. "I got over it a long time ago." Geimer said Polanski had paid, and she wanted to move on and stop reliving the details of the assault every time he made headlines.

"True as they may be, the continued publication of those details causes harm to me, my beloved husband, my three children and my mother," she said.

In 1997 Geimer is quoted as saying, "He did something really gross to me, but it was the media that ruined my life." Now the US judicial system wants to ruin her life all over again.

The details of this case are well known to most, from Polanski's escape from Nazi Germany as a child, his mother's death in a concentration camp, the brutal murder of his wife Sharon Tate at the hands of the Manson family, to the publicity hungry judge who wanted to send Polanski a "stern message", forcing him to skip bail and leave the United States behind. This is a tragedy that keeps on compounding itself behind the blind and relentless search for justice at any cost to all involved.

The only real justice will be if Polanski appears in an American court, and the charges are dismissed as per the request of Samantha Geimer. Enough is enough.

Nudist Photo of the Day 9/28/09

No Place for Children

Guy W. Farmer is apparently a long-time critic of Burning Man, and a new column published today attacks the festival as being a magnet for sex offenders.

So where was Child and Family Services? Don't ask. When I visited Burning Man last year I saw a naked middle-aged man who could have been a child molester cavorting dangerously near “Kidsville.” My official escorts laughed it off, explaining that everyone goes naked at Burning Man, “the way God intended.” OK, but I don't think God intends to make young children readily available to sex offenders on public lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which makes more than $1 million a year off a Black Rock Desert bacchanal that grosses $12 million to $15 million each year for its Bay Area organizers.

I'm not recommending that people take their kids to Burning Man, but this sort of hyperventilating over sex offenders is not only overblown, it's patently dishonest. Farmer cites an example of the arrest of a 20 year-old man arrested on a warrant for some fondling incidents in Texas unrelated to Burning Man, and then he exclaims that "he wasn't the only sex offender at the event" without presenting any evidence to support this claim.

Attendance at the 2009 Burning Man festival peaked at an estimated 43,435 people on one day. That would make the event roughly the size of Rockville Maryland, a very upscale and respectable city in affluent Montgomery County, which has a registered sex offender list with 55 people, making the ratio of residents to offenders 1104 to 1. By contrast, Burning man has a 43,435 to 1 ratio, if you go by Farmer's claims.

If you accept Farmer's argument, then you must conclude that the city of Rockville is no place for children.

Farmer's beef with Burning Man seems to be primarily that the festival is held on public lands, and his dishonest use of statistics is exactly how the California Department of Parks and Recreation has attacked the nude sunbathers at San Onofre Beach.

What is really at the heart of these attacks is the nudity - some people cannot accept the unclothed human body as the natural state. They believe that the addition of clothing, even a scanty bathing suit, will magically transform people into law-abiding citizens, while ignoring the fact that virtually all crimes are committed by people wearing clothes.

More and more nude events are being held on public lands -the World Naked Bike Ride, Spencer Tunick's photo installations, Bare-to-Breakers, Burning Man and the Fremont Solstice Parade, and more. Not only are these events well-attended and widely accepted, they have become modern traditions.

In a recent post on her Open Source Sex blog, Violet Blue wrote, "Those who can’t be bothered to understand can just suck it up. Or, they can live in the present with the rest of us and quite worrying what people think. This is the new school of life."

Now Violet is talking about sex, but the same attitude can and should be adopted by naturists in gaining more widespread acceptance. As The Academic Naturist recently wrote in his Guerrilla Naturism essay, "I believe that the primary reason that people don't like us is because they don't understand us, followed by the opinion that we are a rare group. The solution is to educate. We need to show that there are a lot of us, that nudity itself isn't bad, and that we are good people just like them."

I don't think the folks at Burning Man give a hoot what people like Guy W. Farmer think, and have no interest in educating anybody. Same for the folks at Bare to Breakers and other events. Much of this public nudity has little to do with defined naturism - it's a form of rebellion, a pushing back against the society and culture which has turned the human body into a product, something to be adorned, altered and admired for its appearance, and not its essence.

So Guy W. Farmer can rant and rail all he wants against Burning Man and other events with public nudity, and cry that they are somehow dangerous for children, but he ignores the overwhelming numbers of young people who are participating in these events. No place for children, Guy? These are your children, and they're not happy with the schizophrenic culture your generation has created, a society steeped in pornography and sexual imagery, yet still sexually repressed and immature.

So remember, Guy - at Burning Man, they are burning you.

Nudist Photos of the Day 9/27/09

Nudist Photo of the Day 9/25/09

Punish the Monkey, Let the Organ Grinder Go

Well, they found a way in Washington state to close down those bikini hut coffee shops - they have charged five young women with prostitution.

Detectives also witnessed some of the women charge customers to touch their bare breasts and naked buttocks. Touching of that kind, for pay, falls under the city's definition of prostitution.

As is typical in "investigations" like this, it was the undercover cops who were the recipients of the alleged sex shows.

On a second visit, a detective was told he couldn't have a mocha because the stand was out of chocolate. He also was told he couldn't order a small drink because they only served 20-ounce beverages.The barista told him that for $20, she and the other barista would give him a show. He paid and they bared their breasts and pulled down their undergarments, police reports said.

He paid. HE PAID. And apparently lots of other men PAID. Yet the "city's definition of prostitution" apparently does not include any responsibility on the part of the men who employ, encourage, exploit and PAY women to take off their clothes.

This wonderful little photo essay "Waiting Topless" on the Vassalboro topless coffee shop, which later burned to the ground, shows the humanity behind the objectification, that these young women who bare their breasts for money are just trying to make ends meet in a horrible economy.

So congratulations to all involved in the Washington state bikini hut scandal, you have successfully taken down the weakest members of society, likely ruining their lives, and the lives of their loved ones. What real men you must all be.

Epiphany

A columnist at the Burning Man festival looked forward to the "Critical Tits" bicycle ride like an "eight-year old on the night before Christmas", but as he stood there with his camera when the topfree riders rode by, he had an epiphany.

Here’s the thing. When I was nine, my father caught me smoking one of his cigarettes. He made me smoke the whole pack. Suddenly cigarettes weren’t so alluring. When you are standing alongside a dusty road and 3,000 pairs of breasts are cruising by you, they lose their mystery, their seduction. You start to realize that the woman in front of you is more than a collection of body parts. Maybe at the end of the day, that is what the ride is about.

It's not easy overcoming decades of female breast objectification in the minds of modern males, but this particular example proves that it is possible to wipe away the distortion, even if it has to be done one brain at a time.

Dr. Rapoport Responds to "Good Nipple, Bad Nipple, Part Two"

This post has been moved to the comment section here: "Good Nipple, Bad Nipple, Part Two"

14 Year-Olds Are the Most Sexually Dangerous Group in America

America is turning its children into sex offenders. The chart above, from the US Department of Justice, illustrates how we are criminalizing what was once a normal part of adolescence - experimenting with sex. Via Andrew Sullivan's blog comes this essay.

In our new bizarre world of sexual offender legislation each child is a victim and a perpetrator. As the victim, they get no help, of course. The victim status is the excuse needed so that the sledgehammer may be used on the other child. So each becomes a perpetrator. They will be arrested; they will be forced into court. They are likely to be convicted and sentenced. They may be placed into the various prisons for children that have been established—places where they will learn what unwilling, sexual attacks are really like. They will be tortured by therapists and eventually released—maybe. Even that is no longer guaranteed under our sex panic. Today, someone who has served their sentence can then be held in preventative detention for the rest of their natural life because the mob demands it. And the politicians give the mob what it wants.

As any reader of this blog knows, I've been railing against the criminalization of "sexting" and other youthful sexual indiscretions for some time now. Teens have been having sex since long before recorded history, but it is only now in the age of technology and information that there is hard evidence that such activity exists. Where once a heavy petting session in the back seat of an automobile yielded merely some boastful claims and the hushed passing of secrets, now there are cell-phone photos, text messages, and Internet postings, all flowing in the trough for overzealous prosecutors, Christianist lawmakers and panicked parents to feed off.

It takes so little for this happen to a child. A girl in school has oral sex with a boy in school. She becomes a sex offender for the rest of her life. Streaking a school event, as a practical joke, becomes a sex crime in the new America. Two kids “moon” a passerby and are incarcerated in jail as sex offenders, where they may well learn a lesson or two about rape. A teenager, who takes a sexy of photo of him, or herself, is paraded around the community as a “child pornographer” for the rest of his or her life. Two kids in the back seat of a car have fumbling sex. The law says one is an offender because the other is a “victim.” One week later, a birthday passes, and it is no longer a crime. One week’s difference and a life is ruined. In other cases an act that is legal on Monday is illegal on Tuesday because the older of the two turned one year older. That becomes enough to qualify him, or her, as an offender.

The magnitude of this perversion of natural and man-made laws cannot be underestimated. Recently The Economist ran an editorial on the harsh punishment of sex offenders.

Because so many offences require registration, the number of registered sex offenders in America has exploded. As of December last year, there were 674,000 of them, according to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. If they were all crammed into a single state, it would be more populous than Wyoming, Vermont or North Dakota. As a share of its population, America registers more than four times as many people as Britain, which is unusually harsh on sex offenders. America’s registers keep swelling, not least because in 17 states, registration is for life.

So the rounding up and persecution of sex offenders is the new red scare, the new witch hunt, the new crucible in which to burn our fears. I recently received a postcard telling me that a sex offender moved into the neighborhood, giving his name and address. I'm sure everyone in the area got one, too, and everyone is now living in a certain amount of fear. I do not know what this man did, but I do know that I have never in my life received a notice when a bank robber, murderer, embezzler or violent criminal ever moved into my neighborhood.

I cannot state enough that true child pornographers, rapists, kidnappers and other violent criminals who would take the innocence, health or property of any other human being deserves to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Human vermin like Phillip Garrido, if found to be guilty of the heinous crimes with which he is accused, deserve no mercy from the courts.

But to take a teenager who is only fumbling around and experimenting with sexuality, and turn that kid into a sex criminal, is doing precisely the opposite of what the law intends. Thankfully people are beginning to wake up to this bastardization of justice, but it's too late to help so many of the kids who ended up behind bars, kicked out of school, found themselves unable to secure meaningful work, or ended up living in the streets.

These kids are criminals, not necessarily because they violated the life, liberty or property of another person. They are criminals because the politicians defined them as criminals. These damned “family values” conservatives, and compassionate feminist Leftists, who banded together to “save the children,” turned America’s kids into sex offenders by fiat. And they feel good about it. They are satisfied by it and only wish more had been rounded up earlier. The Left wants everyone in therapy and under the perpetual care of the state, and the Right wants everyone in prison, or in fear of the law, and under the thumb of the police. And that is what is happening. [Classically Liberal]

Why not here in America, too?

An 11 mile trail has been set aside for naturist use in Germany.

Good Nipple, Bad Nipple, Part Two

Via TERA comes this video of a woman posing topfree atop a public pedestal in London as part of Antony Gormley's art project "One & Other".

While Dr. Rapoport featured this story on the TERA website, he did so with reservations, and made the following comment on the video:

Ms. McDonald's performance, a mild version of what she probably does professionally, reinforced the automatic association of women's breasts with sexual display, which we have to get rid of.

Women should have the right to be without tops as much as men are, possibly more. But actions such as this undermine that goal, whatever their merit or demerit as performance.

While I agree with the essence of what Dr. Rapoport has to say, I feel that there are contradictions which need to be discussed. Yes, Naomi McDonald shakes her breasts and slaps her own behind in suggestive ways, taking her "performance" into something beyond traditional art, and into the realm of sleaze; however, if this were a man up there flexing his biceps and making his pecs dance, there would be no controversy. After all, men have been doing this sort of posing for many years, from ancient Greek statues through today's muscle magazines and pageants. Yet the moment a woman flaunts her body, people get upset and condemn her as an "exhibitionist", and accuse her of undermining women's equality.

Yes, because of society's double standard, a woman expressing her sexuality in public is not good for the topfree movement because our male-dominated legal system tends to pass more laws controlling female nudity whenever a nipple makes an appearance.

I certainly don't have an answer for this issue, and how it will eventually play out is beyond anyone's guess.

What I do know is that women's bodies have been used in fine art for as long as humans have been able to scratch images onto the walls of caves, and some of the greatest examples of the female form, such as Manet's "Olympia", Renoir's and Cezanne's bathers, Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", and so many other works freely celebrate the eroticism and sexuality of females, and the male infatuation with prostitution.

These works are mounted on museum walls without censorship for people of all ages to see and admire.

So when Ms. McDonald freely displays her body and sexuality, it's a time-honored tradition in fine art, merely taken from inside the art museum to the light of day. In addition, eroticism has been a component of ballet and other classic dance, completely acceptable on a stage illuminated with footlights, but somehow unacceptable in burlesque or strip clubs, or in the street. Society struggles with this issue, constantly defining and redefining what is or what is not pornographic.

It is probably a mistake to equate Naomi McDonald's public performance with topfreedom at all - it's more of a statement on art vs. pornography, and society's exploitation of the female body. Art should always push the envelope and get people stimulated emotionally and intellectually. In that respect, Ms. McDonald succeeded.

Nudist Photo of the Day 9/22/09

Nudist Photo of the Day 9/21/09

Remember Those Fabulous Fifties?

Maybe they weren't so fabulous after all. This story is from 50 years ago:

A 63-year-old Bay Street novelty shop owner was arrested at his store after a “raiding party” seized a large quantity of photographs, literature and gadgets described as pornographic.

Frank T. Tracey, operator of the novelty shop at 437 W. Bay St., was released from the Duval County jail under $2,500 bond on charges of possession and sale of pornographic material. The raid was triggered when Duval County Solicitor Lacy Mahon Jr. filed direct information against Tracey the day before.

Minutes before County Vice Squad agents entered the store, an undercover agent had purchased two “lewd books” from Tracey, officers said. The raid was conducted by Lt. Jim Hamlin and Deputy Al Rowland of the sheriff’s Criminal Investigation Division with the aid of an unidentified agent.

Hamlin and Rowland uncovered several “lewd motion picture films, pornographic playing cards, a large number of pictures, books, pamphlets and gadgets.”

Tracey exploded vocally several times during the search of the premises and bellowed, “If I had to make a living like you guys I’d shoot myself.”

During the search Rowland removed several bottles of liquor from a cabinet and asked Tracey if he was selling it.

“Of course not. It belongs to a motorcycle cop who comes in every once in a while for a nip,” said Tracey.

He volunteered that many of the books on nudism on display under a sandwich counter had been shown to Mahon previously.

The Stripper and the Priest

This story is bound to end up as a made-for-TV movie.

A Catholic priest walks into a strip joint, spends $1800 in the VIP room, begins dating the married stripper, pays for her divorce, moves in with her, and tells her that swinging with other women will help to dispel her evil spirits.

A romance made in heaven.

But what was the final straw, the one sordid request which made her see that this relationship was destined for the dumpster?

He then pressured her to go to a nudist colony in Palm Beach. She grew so uncomfortable that she realized she needed to leave him.

Oh, come on. She was a stripper screwing a priest!

Apparently the "nudist colony" request wasn't the ultimate deal breaker, because after breaking up with the priest, and receiving a $100,000 settlement from the church, she went back with him and had his child.

The whole story is pretty sordid, and nobody has a lot of credibility.

The reporter's name is Jim DeFede, and his e-mail is jdefede@wfor.cbs.com. All nudists and naturists are encouraged to politely point out to Mr. DeFede that referring to nudist resorts as "colonies" is a pejorative, and that AANR and TNS affiliated clubs are family-friendly. There has to be constant push-back against these media misrepresentations of nudism and naturism.

Good Nipple, Bad Nipple

Just when you thought that the public was growing more tolerant of women's topfreedom, along comes this story from Washington state where the Grab 'N' Go Espresso bikini hut is under increasing scrutiny from a nearby business, and the Snohomish County sheriff's department. The Everett City Council is expected to propose changes to the "lewd conduct ordinance" to include coffee shops, which basically means more criminalization of women's bodies.

The proposed changes are part of a routine review of city codes that would bring the city's long-standing lewd conduct ordinance up to date, city spokeswoman Kate Reardon said. The changes would not prevent baristas from wearing bikinis, she said. In fact, under the proposed update it would still be legal for a woman to wear pasties or even a sheer undergarment in public as long as her nipples and areolas are covered. Just the possibility of toughening rules for bikini stands filled the seats at Wednesday's Everett's City Council meeting. In the last six months, the city has received about 50 calls from people furious about bikini huts, Reardon said.

What on earth would cause people to be "furious" about women wearing bikinis?

In the city of Lynnwood, one coffee shop located near an elementary school backed down when the police "negotiated" with them to have the baristas wear more clothing during hours when children were likely to be present. On what law was this "negotiation" predicated?

The biased story on this situation does not interview one person supportive of the coffee shops, even though the businesses appear to be thriving. Rhonda and Louis Bremond, owners of a nearby business which sells high school class rings and letterman's jackets, are interviewed extensively. Their "expertise" on the situation stems from an obsession with the Grab 'N' Go, which has involved constant monitoring, photographing, and emailing complaints to the sheriff like this one:

This morning over at the bikini hut, there was a red pick up truck that stayed around for around 1.5 hours. He would pull up and then when another car came, he would pull around to the other side. He left for about 10 minutes, then came back again and stayed doing the same thing … It was just really weird … Something was going on …

The class ring business must be very slow if these people have hours of spare time on their hands to watch girls in bikinis sell coffee. And so what if something is "going on"? Just maybe the reason police are doing nothing about the shop is because nothing illegal is taking place, or maybe the guy in the red pick up truck was a cop himself.

The Bremonds said this is about business, not morality. "There is more going on than bikinis in these huts that needs to be addressed publicly," said Louis Bremond, Rhonda's husband and business partner.

The Bremonds have contradicted themselves. Of course this is about "morality". This trend of enacting stricter regulations on dress and behavior based merely upon suspicions or anecdotal evidence is both dangerous and unconstitutional.

Municipalities face a number of challenges when it comes to regulating businesses such as bikini huts, said Rick Robertson, an assistant chief deputy prosecuting attorney for Snohomish County. Cities and counties may regulate and define "adult entertainment" differently, Robertson said. A bikini barista stand may or may not fall under a particular definition. To complicate matters, some may contend that the business has an expressive component that is protected under the First Amendment. Cities and counties also face potential lawsuits. "Many municipalities have endured legal challenges over regulations that govern the adult entertainment industry," he said. "Even when they have prevailed, many have found it to be quite costly."

Then leave these bikini huts alone. Enacting new or tougher ordinances which further criminalize the female body is not the answer.

And if you think that this does not affect naturism, think again. Any law which prohibits a women from exposing her nipples in public affects any efforts to secure lands for nude recreation. Washington state does have a state law which exempts breastfeeding women from being fined or arrested for indecent exposure, but this "good nipple/bad nipple" schizophrenic lawmaking is indicative of a very conflicted society. In effect, a woman can expose a nipple to feed a child, but not to serve coffee to a customer. And don't forget that a man has the right to expose nipples just about anywhere for any reason.

Chances are local lawmakers in Washington state will not be able to do much to extinguish the bikini hut phenomenon, aside from passing some band-aid ordinances which make the exposure of female nipples illegal inside public business establishments. It's easy to see the problem with the constitutionality of such ridiculous laws - what about hospitals, spas, nudist resorts and other venues where nudity or partial nudity is part of everyday routine?

Women should have the right to topfree equality without the government deciding where, when or how a nipple should or should not be exposed. Eventually someone will test the constitutionality of all these nagging nonsensical nipple laws.

Nudist Photos of the Day 9/19/09

Nudist Photo of the Day 9/17/09

Must Reading

If you haven't already read "Guerrilla Naturism" by The Academic Naturist, do so right now. TAN explains what needs to be done in changing the culture, to increase public awareness of the naturist movement, and make nude recreation more palatable for the masses.

As TAN notes, an article in NUDE AND NATURAL way back in 1992 effectively outlined what challenges needed to be met, and accurately predicted how nudism and naturism transformed over the past two decades. Problem is, while body freedom activities increased, national nudist and naturist organizations remained static.

Just go read "Guerrilla Naturism", then read it again, and then pass it along to some friends. It's a blueprint for success, well researched and outlined, and should be picked up by AANR and TNS as recommended reading for all members.

ESPN Covers Nude Volleyball Tournament

According to a post on the Yahoo! Group "Home Naturist 5", ESPN sent "a team, a writer and photographer" to the annual White Thorn Lodge Volley Ball Tournament, and will publish a story in its magazine scheduled for the third week of October. More details should follow.

Freedom of Expression Under Attack in Maine

Town officials in Madison, Maine, are considering an "obscenity" ordinance to prevent anyone from opening a topless coffee shop like the one in Vassalboro.

"There is no one interested in opening a business here. This is just precautionary," (Town Manager Norman) Dean said.

Ah, the infinite prognosticative powers of public officials.

Columnist Belittles Topfreedom Movement

One only has to read this column to realize that the women's topfreedom movement exists in order to counter the immature attitudes and actions of men.

From my vantage point, there were only a dozen or so women who were nearly nude on top — I say "nearly" because they all wore pasties to prevent any actual toplessness. So basically, National Go- Topless Day was more like National Gawking-Men Day.

The men, by the way, were not topless themselves, for which I was grateful, as some of them had bodies the shape of meatloaf. By "meatloaf," I mean both the food and the singer.

The organization behind the rally is the Raelian Movement, which, according to the literature they handed out, "recognizes that life on Earth was created by advanced extraterrestrial scientists." So no, the whole "Go-Topless" thing is not the craziest idea they've ever come up with.

Naturally, this "writer" goes on to further ridicule the Raelian movement, which illustrates the problem with having a marginal UFO cult aligning itself with a serious equality issue.

The columnist goes on to say:

Somehow, seeing women dressed seemed sexier to me than seeing topless women marching down the street with a guy exhorting them with a bullhorn, but I guess it is all a matter of personal taste.

"Personal taste" has nothing to do with it, but this line does show that the criminalization of women's breasts in our society has nothing to do with equality, or civil rights, but more with the immature mental state of the American male.

Image via Wikipedia

Nudist Photo of the Day 9/15/09

San Onofre News Video...

...can be found here.

Nudist Photo of the Day 9/14/09

"Talk to a Therapist"

A woman writes to Ellie complaining about her 25 year-old daughter's penchant for wearing low-cut and see-through tops.

We now have a good relationship and she visits us often. However, she has taken to going braless in flimsy materials where her full breasts and nipples are visible. I wouldn't want any woman coming to my home with my husband there, wearing practically nothing.

Instead of Ellie explaining to "Stressed" that nipples and breasts are nothing to get upset about, she offers this advice:

It's time you stopped being afraid to alienate her ... This may even be her adult way of "testing you," wanting you to care enough to be honest (without putting her down). Try to do it gently and with humour, as in, "You're gorgeous but we're seeing too much of you for parental comfort, so here's a shirt to wear while you're here." Also, be upfront in explaining that the younger girls aren't allowed to dress like that, as they're not as capable as she is of handling any overt reaction.

However, "sexual jealousy" has nothing to do with her clothing. It's related to your insecurities – perhaps about middle age, perhaps about your marriage. If it persists, talk to a therapist about it.

So, Ellie tells her to alienate her daughter by telling her to cover up, teach the younger children that the older daughter dresses like a slut, and to talk to a therapist. All over the sight of female breasts! How about telling the woman to simply stop staring at her daughter's breasts if they're upsetting her so much.

What other culture on earth would allow nipples to potentially break up a family? Complete insanity.

More Than 100 Protest at San Onofre

The Orange County Register reports that over 100 nude protesters gathered today at California's San Onofre Beach, and no citations were issued.

The rally comes nearly a week after officials started enforcing a ban on nudity. For more than a year, the state Department of Parks and Recreation said they would start citing nude sunbathers after Labor Day weekend at the traditionally clothing-optional beach.

The state's move came after more than a year of legal wrangling and an appellate court ruling in its favor. The nudists have appealed to the state's Supreme Court, asking the court for a hearing.

More than a hundred people gathered on the beach Sunday with signs denouncing the state's crackdown on public nudity at Trail 6.

When asked whether the protest may make an impact, the group's leader answered.
"It shows the Parks Department that we're not willing to go away," said Allen Baylis, who is a Huntington Beach attorney.

Nudist Photo of the Day 9/13/09

Nudist Photo of the Day 9/12/09

ClothesFree.com

Nudist Men Photo of the Day 9/12/09

Adam and Eve 9/12/09

Phoenix Family Sues Wal-Mart Over Nude Photo Incident

Beware. Wal-Mart photo technicians are censors, and their photo departments are merely extensions of local police, because any photos taken there for development are screened under their secret "unsuitable print policy".

That's what happened to a Phoenix couple who took their vacation photos to the big box retailer, and since some of the images showed their three daughters in the bathtub, naked, the kiddie porn flag was raised.

In short, the police were called, and the three children were separated, placed in foster care, and had their genitals examined for signs of sexual abuse.

Although parents Lisa and A. J. Demaree were completely cleared, they have filed suit against Wal-Mart, the Arizona Attorney General and the city of Peoria, seeking punitive damages for "defamation and outrage".

According to the complaint against the state, Wal-Mart reported the photos to the Peoria Police Department, then Arizona Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Hunter "published defamatory remarks to more than 35 family members and friends of plaintiffs, falsely stating that plaintiffs Lisa and A.J. Demaree 'sexually abused' their children."

A Peoria police detective named Krause "made false and defamatory statements to agents and employees of the defendants, medical providers, and others, including, but not limited to, accusations that plaintiffs had sexually abused their children, sexually exploited their children, took pornographic photos of their children, and/or that said parents were engaged in illegal actions by taking bath and play time photos of their children," according to the complaint against the state.

Another stinging example of how fucked-up we are as a society when it comes to matters of the human body. Good luck to these folks, I hope they get a bundle of cash for this completely idiotic mess.

An opinion column on the Demarees is here.

16 Year Old Arrested for "Enticing" Sexting

In Johnstown, Colorado, it's apparently illegal for teens to flirt with each other.

A 16 year-old boy was arrested for asking a 14 year-old girl to send him a nude photo of herself. The girl's mother freaked out and called the police when she was told about the request.

“14-year-olds should not be viewed as sexual objects,” said (mom Kim) Torske. “This is serious. This is not a joke. This isn’t something fun you do. This is obscene and it is criminal. He should be punished and their should be consequences.”

The boy's phone was confiscated, and he was charged with enticement, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, harassment, and tampering with evidence because he cleared out his phone.

Thankfully, clearer heads prevailed and the D.A. has thrown out the case.

Amazingly, the girl, Jade Graber, is named in the article and has made a statement to the press.

Jade said she feels like crying every time she sees the boy at school. She recently took a vow of purity at her church.

“My parents raised me well,” said Jade. “I just feel with how bold he was with me, I’m not the first one he’s done this to.”

No, and it won't be the last, because humans are sexual beings and the urge to merge is very powerful. Teens reach puberty now at about 9 years of age, give or take, and our society is expecting these hormonally raging young people to bottle up their desires and remain chaste. It's like putting a nuclear bomb in a paper bag and expecting all to remain well.

I am reminded of this famous George Carlin routine about the Catholic confessional:

Mortal sin had to be a grievous offense, sufficient reflection and full consent of the will. Ya had'ta WANNA! In fact, WANNA was a sin all by itself. "Thou Shalt Not WANNA". ...It was a sin for you to wanna feel up Ellen. It was a sin for you to plan to feel up Ellen. It was a sin for you to figure out a place to feel up Ellen. It was a sin to take Ellen to the place to feel her up. It was a sin to try to feel her up and it was a sin to feel her up. There were six sins in one feel, man!

Jade has been taught by her parents that sex is a sin, but now she's being taught that it's also a crime. George Carlin would have to modify his routine today to include dusting Ellen's breasts for fingerprints, the confiscation of his cell phone, public humiliation in the newspapers and on the Internet, not to mention the potential registration as a sex criminal and the ruination of a once-promising life.

This is insanity, folks, to be arresting teens for sexual activity. Might as well sew up all the girls and castrate all the boys, that'll teach 'em for having impure thoughts.

Parents, please, talk to your kids about sex. Teach them how to be responsible, tell them that it's OK to say no, and if they will not agree to remain virginal, teach them about safe sex and contraception.

Calling in the police and the courts to solve matters of human sexuality is not the way to teach your kids about life.

UPI Picks Up San Onofre Protest Story

The story is now going international. Will the California Department of Parks and Recreation allow nudity during the protest? Is nude protest protected by the First Amendment as freedom of expression? Will the protest sway public opinion? Will the press coverage be positive?

This event could be a watershed for naturist rights.

AANR Further Retreats on San Onofre

When faced with adversity, some dogs strike back, while others run away with their tails between their legs. While NAC fights for naturist rights at San Onofre in the courts, and its members prepare for a day of civil disobedience on Sunday, AANR has chosen to run away like a cowardly cur.

It is important that individuals be aware that a misdemeanor citation can often have long-term consequences and to make their decisions regarding recreating at San Onofre accordingly.

California Parks is stressing that this change in managing nudity in its parks is being limited to San Onofre. Individuals who are aware of any actions that differ from this should report this information to the AANR office at 800/Try-Nude immediately so we can address this with California Parks.

AANR continues to have ongoing discussions with high-level representatives of California Parks to look for long-term answers to protect our rights to reasonable access to public lands for nude recreation in the California Parks system.

More appeasement, more laying down, more blind trust in authorities who have no interest whatsoever in naturist rights. It's reprehensible. Naturists are gathering this Sunday to protest the anti-nudity ordinance at San Onofre, and AANR not only refuses support, it advises its members to stay away.

It's time for AANR to provide some hard evidence of these "ongoing discussions" with Parks representatives, otherwise these claims of progress and negotiations are nothing but hot air. The California Department of Parks and Recreation officials must be having a good laugh at how easily they were able to mislead AANR to the point where they just laid over and played dead.

Albany Nudists Used in Local TV Ads

Members of the Henry Hudson Nudist Camp in Albany volunteered to be used in commercials for WNYT promoting the station's weather forecasting abilities. You can see the videos here.

Unfortunately, the station chose not to run the ads. What could have been a step forward for nudism simply becomes another societal quash.

Rally Sunday at San Onofre

A nude rally is being planned for Sunday, September 13, between the hours of 11:30 a.m and 1 p.m., to protest the California Department of Parks and Recreation's nudity ban at San Onofre Beach.

"Really it kind of comes down to that the state has better things to spend their money on than running after naked people on the beach," said Allen Baylis, a Huntington Beach attorney who is a leader of the Naturist Action Committee.

State parks spokesman Roy Stearns questioned Sunday's protest.

"You know forcing a confrontation doesn't solve this problem and just makes the lack of civility in this issue worse," Stearns said. "They're entitled to have a rally but what's the purpose of the rally I would ask."

This ludicrous statement from Stearns shows how clueless, indifferent and callous the DPR is on this issue. It shows the state is not listening, and doesn't want to listen to nudist and naturist groups. And what exactly "solves" this issue? The NAC tried to negotiate, the state rebuffed them. The NAC then took them to court and won, then the state won on appeal, and now the case is in the hands of the state Supreme Court.

By stating that tickets will now be issued for nudity at San Onofre, the state is showing contempt for its own court system by enforcing a policy which is under appeal.

This is the moment where all nudists and naturists who can walk, run, ride or fly to San Onofre should be there to show support for the public lands issue. Without officially sanctioned areas of beaches and parks set aside for nude recreation, people who enjoy the clothes-free lifestyle will continue to be marginalized and restricted to gated clubs and resorts.

Friends of San Onofre Beach

Nudist Photo of the Day 9/10/09

Nudist Men Photo of the Day 9/10/09

Adam and Eve 9/10/09

More on Cassidy Nicosia's Topfree Protest

Phillip Bantz of The Keene Sentinel has more details on Cassidy Nicosia and why police prosecutors dropped the indecent exposure and lewdness charges for her topfree protest on August 23.

Last week, police prosecutors D. Chris McLaughlin and Eliezer Rivera decided to drop the charge of indecent exposure and lewdness against Nicosia. The charge was dropped because walking down the street topless does not qualify as a crime under state law, Keene police Lt. Jay U. Duguay said.The law states that a person commits indecent exposure and lewdness if he or she fornicates, exposes genitals or performs any other “act of gross lewdness … likely to cause affront or alarm” in public.“She wasn’t fornicating or exposing genitals — breasts aren’t genitals,” Duguay said. “No one who complained about it said that it was gross lewdness.”While towns and cities may enact ordinances that prohibit women from going topless in public, Keene has no such ordinance, Duguay said.

One of the more interesting aspects of this case is that one of the reasons the charges were dropped has to do with the prosecutors' fears that should the issue have been presented to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, it was a good possibility that the language in the statute could be ruled as being "too broad", and therefore the judges could throw it out completely.

A topfree demonstration in support of Nicosia was scheduled on Wednesday, and it's not clear if that event will proceed. At any rate, even though no court decision come down on this case, it appears that Cassidy's protest has revealed that women's topfreedom is legal in Keene, New Hampshire.

Citizen Janes Observes the 90th Anniversary of Nudism in Canada

Still Under Construction

What's going on with the Buckeye Naturists and their web site? Since June it has been "under construction" with no phone number, no mailing address, no information, just an advisory that things are still unfinished.

Among the few items on the "to do" list are "events data system" and "logo figure shading". How about some actual "content"?

TBN has not had a fully functional web site for years. Nudism is a laid back lifestyle, but this is ridiculous. Any semi-competent person using a web page design program can put together a decent web site in an hour or less.

TBN would be better off ditching the web site altogether instead of presenting this half-baked junk to the public. Such displays of incompetence and apathy are harmful to nudists and naturists everywhere.

Sorry to rant, but this just irritates the hell out of me.

UPDATE: It appears that the other formal Columbus nudist club, Have Sun Will Travel, is also having web site difficulties.

Nudist Photo of the Day 9/08/09

Nudist Men Photo of the Day 9/08/09

Adam and Eve 9/08/09

Three More TNS Naturist Interviews

Charges Dropped Against Topfree Woman in New Hampshire

Word is that the indecent exposure charge against Cassidy Nicosia in New Hampshire has been dropped. Hopefully some more details soon.

Previously:
Guns and Boobs 8/25/09

Laura Leyrer Throws Nudism Overboard

"Detroit Nudist Adventures Examiner" Laura Leyrer has continued her descent into adult lifestyles recreation with her latest column touting a French Nude Cruise, which has an affiliation with Caliente Resorts, recently outed by AANR as having ties with swingers groups.

This is not the sort of promotion needed by nudist and naturist groups. There is nothing wrong with adult cruises, or swingers groups, but AANR, TNS and the NAC must distance themselves from those who seek to sell sex vacations under the guise of nudism and naturism.

I really don't know what motivaed Ms. Leyrer to turn from family-friendly nudist activities to hedonistic vacations. She showed such promise in her early writings, too.

I encourage all readers to post comments on Ms. Leyrer's articles urging her to stop promoting adult lifestyle resorts and travel agencies under the guise of nudism.

Violet Blue Interviews Photographer Zach Hyman

After a model posing for New York photographer Zach Hyman was arrested for taking off her clothes in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, many questions have been raised about why the nude figure is such an integral part of art history, yet is criminal when exposed in the flesh. Columnist Violet Blue interviewed the photographer:

At first glance it's easy to think that Hyman and company were staging a publicity stunt, but upon closer look, this is what many photographers do, taking the nude into the public arena and usually with little reaction (Merkley??? is a great local example.)

Yet still I asked, so why the Met? Hyman replied, "I chose the Met because it was where I found my inspiration. I thought it might be interesting to see the reaction of people viewing a live nude next to a nude statue. The response was for the most part exactly how I expected it. Especially from the Met employees. Just very offended and not understanding. Which to me is quite humorous considering that they work in AN ART MUSEUM."

Violet goes on to talk about the larger issue of "normalizing nudity in the face of a heavily censorious puritanical culture", and Hyman finds it amazing that society considers the mere exposing of the body "lewd", especially considering that "WE HAVE ALL SEEN SEXUAL ORGANS."

It seems a given that we will be hearing more from Zach Hyman as he explores new ways to push the envelope on how society perceives the human body.

Related articles by Zemanta

• New York arrests nude model (americablog.com)
• Model arrested for posing nude at NY museum (guardian.co.uk)
• Nude Model Arrested at NYC Museum (abcnews.go.com)
• Will Zach Hyman or any of his other models be arrested for indecent exposure before 1 December 2009? (hubdub.com)

When Does Public Nakedness Become a Crime?

After a man stood nude on a Trafalgar Square pedestal, the BBC asks when disrobing in public becomes a crime.

Andrew Welch of British Naturism says the issue all comes down to a person's intention.

"For obvious reasons we've had to look at this issue with our lawyers," he says.

"Causing upset is definitely not what naturism is about, our challenge is a cultural one. The law is fine, we just need to change people's attitude to the naked body."

Laura Leyrer Recommends Hedonism

In a disappointing move, Detroit Nudist Adventures Examiner Laura Leyrer has recommended the adult lifestyle resorts Hedonism II and III as viable travel options. These are not nudist venues, they are clothing-optional couples clubs which attract swingers. I have nothing against these adult resorts, just don't call then "nudist."

AANR has just recently lost two Florida resorts, Caliente and Paradise Lakes, because those venues crossed the line into overt sexual activities, exploiting the human body instead of celebrating it.

AANR President John Kinman writes:

This past summer, AANR sponsored The AANR World Record Skinny-Dip. Club owners and beach organizers reported that many people participated who had never before been nude in mixed company. The press reports were the greatest we have ever seen for an event. Clubs signed up new members. The event portrayed wholesome family nude recreation. No one confused it with a strip show or a swinger convention. The event told me that, with focused marketing, our resorts and AANR can grow in membership without a sexual tone.

AANR has drawn a line in the sand. Good for them, and good for nudism. We cannot allow the adult lifestyle folks to hijack family-friendly nudist resorts and turn them into outdoor strip clubs.

Writers like Laura Leyrer need to be more responsible when throwing around the word "nudist" when referring to swinger resorts. The public is confused enough already without being subjected to even more misinformation from supposed "experts."

It's About Time!

The Naturist Society has finally joined the 20th century, even though we are now nine years into the 21st, by putting up some promotional videos on YouTube. The interviews with Scott, Krystin and Karen can be found here.

Nudist Photo of the Day 9/02/09

Nudist Men Photo of the Day 9/02/09

Adam and Eve 9/02/09

Stamp of Approval

Today should be hailed as a milestone in the history of modern nudism, for "Dear Abby" has given her stamp of approval to the lifestyle. When the reluctant wife of a nudist wrote in to ask if she should join her husband in his clothes-free lifestyle, she received the following answer:

I'm not opposed to it. From everything I have read, and from readers' testimonials, the naturalist lifestyle is healthy and upbeat, so give it a try. Just be sure to wear sunscreen.

I'll forgive Abby for using the word "naturalist" instead of "naturist", because it's rare that any media personality says that taking off all of your clothes is "healthy and upbeat." Contrast her statement with that of Alicia Silverstone, who admitted to gardening and swimming in the nude, but denied that she was a nudist. It's terrific that Silverstone enjoys the freedom of not wearing clothes, but her nudist denial is inherently dishonest, merely a ploy to prevent her from being tagged with the label.

We need more media personalities like "Dear Abby" to come out and say that the nudist or naturist lifestyle is perfectly OK.

Another positive in the media is the writings of Detroit Day Trips Examiner Laura Leyrer, who has now created a new category for Nudist Adventures, which should do a great deal to promote nudism in the Midwest. I don't know Laura, but her avatar shows her with a bright, beaming smile, and her skin with the healthy glow of sunshine. With all the male nudist bloggers and writers out there, it's refreshing to have a woman's point of view on the issues.

Readers of this blog are encouraged to write to Dear Abby and Laura Leyrer to thank them for their endorsements.

Nudist Photo of the Day 9/01/09

Nudist Men Photo of the Day 9/01/09

Adam and Eve 9/01/09