I have no issue with it in principle IF it respects one of the most neglected of personal freedoms: freedom of association.

Maybe others don't want to see, much less learn to appreciate, my gnarly old bare ass. I should respect that.

Maybe some people don't want their gnarly old bare ass judged. That doesn't make them prudes or repressed or part of a clothes-ist conspiracy. Such people should not have to choose between being uncomfortably exposed or being thought of as holding back society. Some of us are more withheld then others, and that is okay.

Besides, it's not like all our problems would be solved and no new ones created if we all put Duluth Trading out of business because they can't sell any more Buck Naked Underwear (tm). I think modesty has upsides. For one thing it leaves a little bit of mystery, something for the imagination to engage with, rather than turning the human body into a clinical slab of meat. I submit that if nakeness were rendered basically asexual by widespread societal nudity, it would completely change the psychodynamics of sex, and probably not for the better, either. Foreplay, and, yes, un-dressing, is part of the fun.

Finally, as a pratical matter, clothing is not just to cover our sex organs, it has practical protective purposes. People aren't going to be frostbitten or scratched up by brambles just to prove a point.

I personally think it should be legal. The problem with many people is they associate nudity with sex. Which is why this question is even a question. That to me can only be alleviated by allowing public nudity and showing people that just cause someone is naked does not imply that sex is involved or that there should be any shame in it.

That being said I prefer nudity over clothing as I am sure many do. Hopefully one day we can change the mindset and show people there is no shame in it and not to feel threatend by nudists.

Optional is ok for some but not necessarily for others. This reminds of an old joke. A couple of shortsighted people were walking down the street when an older man jogged past them naked. One turned to the other and and said 'did you just see that man run past' and the other said 'yes' and then the first person asked 'what was he wearing?' and the other replied 'I'm not sure, but it sure needed ironing'.

Not really. From practical reasons to personal ones I think they should open a lot more areas for nudity but I don't like the idea of general public nudity.

The less clothes I wear the better I feel

To tell the truth I spent some of the happiest days of my life in Paradise Lakes Resort and the Caliente Resort north of Tampa. After a short while nobody even notices you have no clothes on. There's a wonderful feeling of liberation throwing off your clothes. One feels like a kid again.

Nudity should be a personal choice at appropriate locations, and we could go on all day about what's appropriate. Nudity, even on city streets, in some European countries is either legal or a minor offense. I didn't believe it until I saw it in Budapest.

And, yes, I have seen it in Portland "keep it weird" Oregon.

We used to drive into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and have nude picnics, but that probably violated some Federal Law.

When it comes to admiring a woman's breasts, most men are suckers!!! Lol.

Sure don't see why not, what ever floats your boat.

Sure. Who cares.

I think public nudity should be allowed at designated areas.

Why not?

No harm really - could be interesting. Not for me though!

Yeah, I don't need to announce to people in the checkout line that I think the cashier is hot with a raging, out in the open boner.

Well half of the people will always think nudity and sex is inseparable and always go hand in hand. Those same people might also think sex is an animalistic part of being a human that takes over in the presence of nudity. But if you look at the animal kingdom you will see that they are not having sex without purpose or without an invitation from the female. Animals are actually much better at controlling their sexual desires than humans. Male animals aren’t going around having sex with any female they want. The female has to invite / entice the males with a sound or visual display or by putting off a scent or by posturing. If a male animal gets his signals wrong and tries to mount a female that didn’t invite him then the female runs off or sits down and finds ways to makes it impossible to be mated.
Sex is not an uncontrollable animalistic part of humanity that is triggered by nudity. There are tons of people that have sex with no nudity and their clothes still on. So when it comes to sex, clothes being on or off doesn’t seem to matter much at all. And nudity is not a call to sex even in our animal kingdom because animals are naked all of the time but only have sex for a fraction of their time in existence with permission granted from the female. I can also say that I have seen women with certain clothes on that looked way more provocative and sexually appealing than they would if they were simply nude. Being nude is to be in a natural state. But the clothing industry along with religion has made nudity into something unnatural that shows weakness of character, of being poor and ignorant and something only a low brow person with no statues could endure.

I'd rather it wasn't legal everywhere, but happy to have areas where it is legal, pools and beaches.

Yes, It is at my house.

Yeah, I really don't think much would change. We have a naked parade in Seattle which is fun but we don't even have many days warm enough. I was a Bay area hippie kid in the late sixties/ early seventies and we were okay with casual nudity but most people stayed clothed nearly all of the time.

I think there are some societies that want to have it both ways: no nudity and no burqa either. Nudity should be seen as natural, but it would spoil the magazine and porn market. If people could see nudity for free and get used to enjoying it actively and passively, the industry that sells it would go bankrupt or at least lose some of its glamour and stigma.
It would be educational too. I remember my daughters, who grew up in hypocrite Australia, getting out of the car at a German "Baggersee" (resulting from sand excavation near rivers) where everybody was naked, Everybody, not just the young and gorgeous. For about 5 mintues they were stunned and ... My elder daughter, about 15 joined in within 5 minutes ... I think my younger kept her swimmers on. Both enjoyed the swim and forgot about the nudity of others.

Covering oneself for modesty is a by-product of religious shaming, full stop. There is no reason to be ashamed of bodies, sexuality, or bodily processes. We are human... just an overgrown, relatively hairless hominid. We need be as ashamed of nudity as the other apes.

Clothing, when functional, makes sense. We don't have a double layer coat of fur. And sometimes it's kinda nice to have a little support and to keep things from bouncing into harm's way.

However, implementation of nudist ways, in an unprepared culture can be a bit dicey.

I can only think that the average farm-hand from years of yore was much more accepting of penises (penes), vaginas (vaginae), and sexuality in general, as the animal husbandry on an average farm would, today, make most westerners blush, if not keel over these days.

We were all born naked, we do need clothes for safety and comfort, but besides that we should just be ourselves and destigmatize just being ourselves.. no clothes needed

Going topless in public has been legal in Ontario, where I live, for a couple of decades now. You don't see a lot of it but it happens, usually at beaches that are out of the way. I'm not a big fan of clothes around the house, especially when it is warm, then I will be wearing the minimum but full public nudity seems problematic for me.
Sun protection for starters, dealing with the bull shit that comes from the ignoramuses of the world and especially the holy rollers with all of their pent up guilt and hatred. When I start seeing most women walking around Toronto with no tops on in the summer then I'll happily change my mind.

Absolutely

I think it makes sense at the beach. But frankly MOST people look better with their clothes on

Only in specified areas I'd hate to come across a '3 piece suite' whilst having a quiet picnic somewhere in the countryside.