I do not believe Public nudity should be legal, I do not know if this could cause more sexually attributed crimes, or perhaps Less

Absolutely. I often think of how convenient it would be to walk out of my house naked get in my car and run my errands on a nice summer day. Clothing requirements are ridiculous. Actually here in Ohio, women can go topless in public. A woman filed suit based on gender equality, as men were allowed to be topless so should women. I guess we are halfway there.

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

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 ?

Legal, yes. Practiced, yes but with discretion.

It would be the end of Burningman lol

Yes. As long as it hurts no one, people should legally be allowed to do whatever they want. If you prefer to wear clothes, fine. If you think you look better or feel better with or without, go for it. The nudity taboo and laws, like many things in this country, are expressions of the deeply-rooted patriarchical authoritarian church. It's so deeply rooted that many of us can't distinguish what we really feel from what has been beaten into us by the oppressors.

I think the human body is beautiful and we shouldn’t hide it. Hiding something creates a “taboo” about that thing, in this case the human body, such that it can cause shame. I’m for ppl going nude...I just won’t do it because I’m full of that body shame. Lol

The question was should it be legal not should it be compulsory lol ???

Of course.

Should be 100% legal just like MJ or alcohol... It's your choice.

Absolutely. We've let religions make us ashamed of ourselves, see our bodies as 'obscene' for much too long. Freedom from the requirement of clothing would be a good step in reversing this ridiculous trend.

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.

No, is my final answer. This society can not even handle guns!!! And is not that I didn't enjoyed summer in Cannes or a year in Crete. Boundaries, boundaries, within those boundaries you can have your place but "public" as anywhere you feel like it... No, my final answer.

God!! NO can you imagine some of the sites you would see out there, and having had a meal I do like to keep it down!