I basically have no problem with the things you state, and can accept them as true. My problem with the public nudity being legal is the part where I'm told how I should feel about it. It's the same problem I have with the topless womans movement. I think you should be allowed to be topless or nude really wherever you want to be. But the fact of the matter is, I like seeing topless women. I like seeing naked women. I will definitely be aroused from time to time by seeing it. I want to make it clear I in no way think that that gives me to abuse the woman in question in any manner. But if I am aroused by seeing it I don't want to be shamed for it.

Wow I am having conflicting thoughts about this one. There are tribes of nude people and I have no problem with that but we do live in the natural world anymore and I don't think I would want to slide into a booth after someone else slid out of it for example. I mean it's all fine and good until germs get shared or bodily fluids are secreted and how could that be prevented without clothing? I think a nudist colony would be cool, that way people could have a choice but let's face it, getting hair in our food is bad enough without the risk of that hair coming from other places than the top of our heads. I would have to vote no, please no.

They're just meat-suits, y'all. Get over yourselves and the standards you were taught.

ones body is a beautiful thing if you feel beautiful even more so. To legislate this is typical of our prudish heritage. in ontario bare breasts are legal but no one bares them so probably one could do the same and legalise the lot. Small minded men could be a problem at first but after a generation who knows. not gonna happen either way.

Looks like carrying change is going to be a bit painful. What a stupid suggestion. It, in itself, is self-serving. This would now present a moral dilemma and a personal hygiene issue.

It's distracting especially if you're driving. On the other hand it would get people off their phones. I think people forget that acceptance of public nudity is democratic so in addition to shapely females and buff males you also have to be willing to put up with grandma and grandpa and all kinds of two tons of fun.

Yes, but only for people I personally deem attractive. Now we sit back and wait for the comments from those who have no sense of humor...

Sure you should have right to be nude if you want. however I don't think it's right to subject that too everybody and anybody, Nude zones?

I argued with my law professor once that women should be allowed to take their shirts off outdoors, because men are allowed to. He argued fiercely that women not being allowed to take their shirts off outside was protecting us from people who would sexualize us.

My argument was that people who would sexualize us should be taught that they are wrong, or just shunned.

I think everyone should have the right to nudity if they are not doing it for sexualizing anyone. I read somewhere that the countries that allow public nudity have dramatically reduced rape statistics.

I think that public nudity shouldn't be that big of a deal. Of course, when using public spaces, you might want to put something down for the sake of keeping things clean and germ-free for everyone's use, but otherwise it would be fine. People who are comfortable with their bodies and feel no need to wear clothes should be allowed to do away with them. It's not inherently sexual. It's just freeing.

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

I went on my first nudist holiday in the South of France las year. it was great to see people proudly bearing operation scars or mastectomies without shame. I saw some stunning looking women and men as well and enjoyed it immensely.

interestingly enough, it was not until the evening when people put a few clothes on did I find some of the girls very sexy - strange that.

Both scenes from the Côte d'Azur ... Though public nudity is not allowed the cops didn't stop this guy despite the fact that he was obviously not carrying his ID card. But the lady was forced by the whole riot squat to remove her Burkini. Weird planet.

Yes, but only for hot ppl. Lol

My first boyfriend and I used to hang out with friends, commune like, on the beaches of Lake Michigan, outside his cottage, on the dunes. It was the nicest thing ever to lay naked against the sand under the midday sun with the waves lapping the beach. Total bliss. So I get it.

I grew up in Florida.Before there were amusements and attractions in my town it was much like a deserted island with beach cottages. The reason people came was to fish and to sunbathe. The agenda was for maximum sun exposure. I grew up seeing old men in speedo's and granny's in string bikinis. Children of both sexes in underwear and topless. If you wanted more exposure you went to the far end of the beach where it was understood that more skin was going to be exposed. If folks were going to be offended, (out of town visitors.) they were kept away. Fat people, skinny people. Work uniforms were shorts and sleeveless tops for women, and cut-off shorts and work boots for men. Women had nursing circles on the front porches of public buildings. Folks were respected and not sexualized. I loved that world, and wish I could go back to it.

Only if the nudists are truly guaranteed to be safe from others. Which they are not, in the US, unless they are in a group. I love being naked whenever I comfortably can be. I was raised in Europe, where it is safe for a woman to be bare chested, if she so chooses to be and more. The first time I ever wore a bathing suit was when I was ten years old and my mother said I had to at least were the bottom because there were Americans around, who she said had perverted sexual obsessions.

Not everywhere. But every region/country should give options for nudists/naturalists as well as a human right. So people could decide if they want to go to pure nudist or mixed outdoor places. Who don‘t want to see nakedness could stay away from these places. Live and let live.

Good post and good question.

I, too, am a nudist (naturalist), but seldom am I naked. I live with roommates who would not be comfortable with me walking around without clothes on. My last roommate didn't care as much and had seen me naked (at a nude establishment twice) previously to us deciding to be roommates. So he's seen my stuff and I've seen his. Who cares? He did care sometimes and sometimes he didn't. I've never lived with a fellow naturalist.
So I keep my clothes on. Keeps people comfortable.

Public nudity, I believe, is a very healthy thing. The statistics you shared have been backed up multiple times by numerous studies. But are Americans ready to accept public nudity? Without question, the answer is a definitive no. Not even close to being ready. And I blame religion and insecurities inflicted by society (fueled partially advertising) for this.

The Bible teaches people to be shameful of their bodies. The "flesh" is a temptation that leads to evil. And to many, whether religious or not, a naked body is a sexual object. Not a healthy viewpoint, but it is a popular one.

I think many are afraid of the fine lines that might be crossed if public nudity became legal. If I may speak for men specifically for a moment. Let's suppose public nudity is written into law. If a man adjusts himself, is it a crime? If a man gets an accidental hard on in public, is he breaking the law? Is it harmful for children to see naked adults? Only if they are taught it is wrong. And they are taught that it is wrong. In a society that requires everyone to be clothed in public, it is the naked man who is a potential threat. That belief wouldn't go away in a generation if laws did change.

And what about one's own insecurities? People can't seem to get passed the fact that some people are slimmer than others, endowments vary from person to person, and everyone isn't beautiful under those layers of clothing. As naturalists, we know that isn't the point. Changing laws would actually, as you stated, would lessen insecurities. But not for this generation, I suspect. Positive self-esteem results wouldn't be seen until the first generation children born into a society where nothing is optional became adults. Americans are far from being that patient for results for anything. That, and for religious reasons, is why public nudity will never become permissible by law. But should it be law? Yes, I believe so. But, with current widely held beliefs, the belief that public nudity could create dangerous situations could result in self- fulfilling prophecy. Too many in our society believe nudity is a sexual thing. Since this brief is so widely accepted, it means it is also accepted by those who would cause harm. Unethical Exhibitionists and predators would halt any chance for public nudity to continue as permissible by law, even if it initially passed in the first place.

Numerous initial horror stories would force the law to be repealed. There just isn't enough time for public opinion and deep-seated beliefs to change. A law allowing public nudity would most likely produce the biggest outcry in American history. The unhealthy beliefs of the past thousands of years is deeply rooted in the minds of too many for there to even be a chance such a proposed bill would make it off the desk of a politician thinking of suggesting it to fellow Congress or Senate members. Such a rebel would undoubtedly be voted out of office when the time came or soon be removed from office.

So we, as a society, are stuck with our unhealthy body images and the Biblical teaching that man (people) should be ashamed of their nakedness. These perceptions aren't going away any time soon. And the very real fear of abuse is too prevalent for many to differentiate between potential danger and freedom of being without clothes.

Maybe it would work in some of the more atheistic countries in the world. Maybe. But, in the United States? It will never happen. Which is unfortunate. The results would show an increase in improved body image and be a freer way to live for many. But the positive results would be many years coming. And Americans and the citizens of other repressive countries with religious belief are way too impatient to wait around for over a generation to see a change in public opinion. If a change doesn't show immediate positive results, it will never happen.

Good post

Jeff ?

I’m a fan. I like the idea of less laundry, lol!

If god wanted us naked, we'd have been born that way....!

Just being nude should not be a crime... I would love to go to a nude beach sometime....

Absolutely

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.

For people my age public nudity should be a felony.