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Indecent exposure is the deliberate public exposure by a person of a portion of their body in a manner contrary to local standards of appropriate behavior. Laws and social attitudes regarding indecent exposure vary significantly in different countries. It ranges from outright prohibition of the exposure of any body parts other than the hands or face to prohibition of exposure of certain body parts, such as the genital area, buttocks or breasts.
Streaking is the act of running naked through a public area for publicity, as a prank, a dare, or a form of protest. Streaking is often associated with sporting events, but can occur in more secluded areas. Streakers are often pursued by sporting officials or the police.
The culture of Ann Arbor, Michigan includes various attractions and events, many of which are connected with the University of Michigan.
The World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) is an international clothing-optional bike ride in which participants plan, meet and ride together en masse on human-powered transport, to "deliver a vision of a cleaner, safer, body-positive world." The first ride happened in Zaragoza (Spain) in 2001.
Hash Bash is an annual event held in Ann Arbor, Michigan, originally held every April 1, but now on the first Saturday of April at noon on the University of Michigan Diag. A collection of speeches, live music, and occasional civil disobedience are centered on the goal of reforming federal, state, and local marijuana laws. The first Hash Bash was held on Saturday, April 1, 1972, in response to the March 9th 1972 decision by Michigan Supreme Court declaring unconstitutional the law used to convict cultural activist John Sinclair for possession of two marijuana joints. This action left the State of Michigan without a law prohibiting the use of marijuana until after the weekend of April 1, 1972. Chef Ra was a fixture of the Hash Bash for 19 consecutive years before his death in late 2006.
Luis Andrew Martinez was an activist who was known at the University of California, Berkeley as the Naked Guy.
The Solstice Cyclists is an artistic, non-political, clothing-optional bike ride celebrating the summer solstice. It is the unofficial start of the Summer Solstice Parade & Pageant, an event produced by the Fremont Arts Council in the Fremont district of Seattle.
Clothing laws vary considerably around the world. In most countries, there are no laws which prescribe what clothing is required to be worn. However, the community standards of clothing are set indirectly by way of prosecution of those who wear something that is not socially approved. Those people who wear insufficient clothing can be prosecuted in many countries under various offences termed indecent exposure, public indecency, nudity or other descriptions. Generally, these offences do not themselves define what is and what is not acceptable clothing to constitute the offence, and leave it to a judge to determine in each case.
American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile is a 2006 American sex comedy film released by Universal Pictures. It is the second installment in the American Pie Presents film series, a spin-off of the American Pie franchise. John White stars as Erik Stifler, a high school senior given a hall pass from his girlfriend who visits his cousin to run a mile naked. Christopher McDonald co-stars as Erik's father and Eugene Levy plays family friend Noah Levenstein.
The Oblation Run is an annual event held by the University of the Philippines (UP) and Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) chapters of Alpha Phi Omega (APO) on the PUP and different UP campuses. The runners are male, and traditionally run completely naked in public places, with their genitals fully visible, on a designated route. The event was first organized in 1977 at the University of the Philippines Diliman to promote Hubad na Bayani, a film. It draws its name from the Oblation, a statue of a nude man located in every University of the Philippines campus, which symbolizes "a selfless offering of one's self to the country." The event is usually done on December 16, and serves as a protest to contemporary national issues.
Nude recreation consists of recreational activities which some people engage in while nude. Historically, the ancient Olympic Games were nude events. There remain some societies in Africa, Oceania, and South America that continue to engage in everyday public activities—including sports—without clothes, while in most of the world nude activities take place in either private spaces or separate clothing optional areas in public spaces. Occasional events, such as nude bike rides, may occur in public areas where nudity is not otherwise allowed.
In the United States, indecent exposure refers to conduct undertaken in a non-private or publicly viewable location, which is deemed indecent in nature, such as nudity, masturbation or sexual intercourse. Such activity is often illegal. The legal definition in a given location may not specify all activities that would be covered.
Nudity is sometimes used as a tactic during a protest to attract media and public attention to a cause, and sometimes promotion of public nudity is itself the objective of a nude protest. The practice was first documented in the 1650s with Quakers "naked as a sign" practice. Later the tactic was used by svobodniki in Canada in 1903, and photographs of their nude protests have been published. The tactic has been used by other groups later in the century, especially after the 1960s. Like public nudity in general, the cultural and legal acceptance of nudity as a tactic in protest also varies around the world. Some opponents of any public nudity claim that it is indecent, especially when it can be viewed by children; while others argue that it is a legitimate form of expression covered by the right to free speech.
This timeline of social nudity shows the varying degrees of acceptance given to the naked human body by diverse cultures throughout history. The events listed here demonstrate how various societies have shifted between strict and lax clothing standards, how nudity has played a part in social movements and protest, and how the nude human body is accepted in the public sphere.
Mooning is the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g., by lowering the backside of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over, and also potentially exposing the genitals. Mooning is used in the English-speaking world to express protest, scorn, disrespect, or for provocation, but mooning can be done for shock value, for fun, as a joke or as a form of exhibitionism. The Māori have a form of mooning known as whakapohane that is a form of insult.
The Naked Pumpkin Run is an annual event in certain United States municipalities where otherwise naked participants run a course through a town, their heads adorned with carved pumpkins. Runs have been held in Boulder, Colorado, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and Arcata, California.
The celebration of May Day is a tradition at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Each year, on the nights of April 30 and May 1, students from the college run naked around the flag pole on the campus green.
Naturism in the United States is the practice of social nudity as a lifestyle that seeks an alternative to the majority view of American society that considers nakedness and sexuality to be taboo based upon the legacy of Puritan and Victorian attitudes. Enthusiasm for naturism began in the late 1920s with the establishment of members-only communities where naturists could gather to socialize and enjoy recreation without clothing in an environment that was no more sexual than that experienced while clothed. In later decades some groups began advocating for more general acceptance, and the opening up of public land to clothing-optional recreation.
Naturism refers to a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public, and to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both are also known as "nudism". Naturist organisations have existed in New Zealand since the 1930s. Although not a daily feature of public life, social nudity is practised in a variety of other contexts in New Zealand culture.
In the United States, individual states have primary jurisdiction in matters of public morality. The topfreedom movement has claimed success in a few instances in persuading some state and federal courts to overturn some state laws on the basis of sex discrimination or equal protection, arguing that a woman should be free to expose her chest in any context in which a man can expose his. Other successful cases have been on the basis of freedom of expression in protest, or simply that exposure of breasts is not indecent.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Lucas-Myers, Gregory. "History Lessons: Baring It All". Alumni Association of the University of Michigan.
- 1 2 3 4 Sprow, Maria (15 April 2003). "Officials take hands-off approach to Naked Mile". The Michigan Daily.
- 1 2 3 4 Shaffer, Gwen (6 May 1992). "Runners Streak through area streets in annual Nude Mile". Michigan Daily Summer Weekly. Vol. 102, no. 1. p. 3 – via Michigan Daily Digital Archives.
- 1 2 3 4 "Naked Mile". Ann Arbor District Library. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
- 1 2 3 Kassab, Elizabeth; Sprow, Maria (17 April 2001). "Naked Mile: Few Naked, No Mile". The Michigan Daily.
- ↑ Sprow, Maria (9 April 2001). "Construction, police hinder Naked Mile". The Michigan Daily.