Social Nudity In Seattle
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Naturism in the United States is the practice of social nudity as a
lifestyle Lifestyle is the interests, opinions, behaviours, and behavioural orientations of an individual, group, or culture. The term "style of life" () was introduced by Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler in his 1929 book, ''The Case of Miss R.'', w ...
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 Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...
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. The mainstream American view of
nude recreation Nude recreation consists of Recreation#Recreational activities, recreational activities which some people engage in while Nudity, nude. Historically, the ancient Olympic Games were nude events. There remain some societies in Africa, Oceania, and ...
(more often referred to as nudism than naturism) is that it is "tolerable deviant leisure activity" classified with moderate drinking and gambling. Psychologists Jessica Hamblen and Kim Mueser list "going naked" among over 250 other pleasurable activities in a book about aiding mental wellbeing in the context of
disaster A disaster is an event that causes serious harm to people, buildings, economies, or the environment, and the affected community cannot handle it alone. '' Natural disasters'' like avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires are caused by na ...
aftermath.


History

Organized nudism in American society could be traced to 1929 when three German immigrants, part of the German social movement
freikörperkultur (''FKK'') is a social and health culture that originated in the German Empire, with its beginnings historically rooted in the social movement of the late 19th century. , meaning , promotes both the health benefits of nudity—such as exposur ...
, discussed the possibility of establishing nudism in the United States. One of them, Kurt Barthel, later founded the American League for Physical Culture (LPC). In 1932, Barthel founded Sky Farm, the first nudist camp in the United States, located in New Jersey. LPC changed its name to American Sunbathing Association (ASA) in 1931 and to the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) in 1995, and is now headquartered in
Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a principal city of the Greater Orlando, O ...
. Two members of LPC, Katherine and Herman Soshinki, founded the American Gymnosophical Association, and later started the Rock Lodge Club also in New Jersey.


Public opinion

A New York Times article in the summer of 1974 noted the number of nude beaches and other signs that American attitudes and behaviors regarding nudity were approaching the openness associated with Europeans. In addition to public nudity, some people stated that they are more likely to be nude in and around their homes. Psychologists interviewed thought this was part of a general trend away from prudishness that would continue. By the 1990s, although public opinions regarding sexuality continued to be liberal, attitutes toward public nudity were generally negative.


National naturist organizations


American Association for Nude Recreation

The
American Association for Nude Recreation The American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) is a Naturism, naturist organization based in the United States. The AANR is the largest and longest-established naturist organization in North America. It was founded in 1931 under its previou ...
(AANR) is a non-profit membership organization promoting the benefits of naturism. In 2001 it had grown to the world's largest naturist organization, with over 50,000 individual members and more than 230 affiliated clubs, resorts, and campgrounds. Headquartered in Kissimmee, Florida, AANR has regional branches responsible for local clubs and political activities. Although descending from the original social activist organizations of the 1930s, AANR has become more integrated with the mainstream American tourism and travel industries while retaining the language promoting naturism as healthy, family-oriented, and a "return to nature". However, many naturist resorts have the amenities, including beauty salons, restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, that upper-class patrons have come to expect. And although clothing, a universal indicator of status is absent, other status symbols including jewelry and cars are on display. AANR maintains a presence at state lobbying events, not to advocate for new legislation but to make lawmakers aware of any action that they take which may have unintended consequences on the nude recreation industry, which generates billions nationwide.


The Naturist Society

The Naturist Society (TNS) is an American
naturist Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms a ...
membership organization A membership organization is any organization that allows people or entities to subscribe, and often requires them to pay a membership free or "subscription". Membership organizations typically have a particular purpose, which involves connecting p ...
(
LLC A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...
) founded in 1980 and based in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...
, United States by Lee Baxandall. Membership includes individuals, groups and recreational businesses. Its stated purpose is to provide "communication and coordination for the clothes-optional recreation movement as a natural solution to many problems of modern living. Believes that 'body acceptance is the idea, nude recreation is the way'. Conducts research programs, speakers' bureau, and specialized education." In the 1990s, TNS established two nonprofit adjunct organizations, governed by a board of directors elected by the TNS membership: The Naturist Action Committee (NAC), its political and legislative lobbying adjunct, and the Naturist Education Foundation (NEF). NAC advocates for the acceptance of skinny-dipping and nude sunbathing at designated clothing-optional public beaches. A 2006 Roper Poll commissioned by the NEF found that 74% of Americans accept this idea. TNS publishes a
quarterly A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
magazine ''Nude & Natural'' (also called ''N'' magazine) which contains articles on naturist activities and issues related to naturism. Photographs in the magazine seek to represent a full range of naturist participants. NAC publishes a newsletter and NEF publishes books on particular naturist topics.


Events

July 14 is National Nude Day, a day that celebrates naturism and nudism (it is not an officially observed holiday).


Local regulation of public nudity

Every state in the US has a statute or
case law Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is a law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of ...
prohibiting
indecent exposure 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 ...
or
public lewdness 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 ...
. In general, it is indecent for a person to expose their genitals (private parts) for sexual gratification or to cause others to be offended or alarmed. For some laws, it is the perpetrator's intent that defines indecency, in others it is the response of an ordinary citizen. Lewdness is explicitly sexual behavior beyond mere exposure, and may include sexual activity in public with or without nudity. The Louisiana law has a lengthy list of prohibited acts. Both indecency and lewdness become serious crimes if committed in the presence of a minor, age being defined in the law. Indecent exposure does not apply in public spaces where removing one's clothes is expected, such as in a locker room, if the behavior is within the locally understood norms. Designating a beach or other recreational area as "
clothing optional 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 ev ...
" is recognizing that being nude for swimming and sunbathing is not always indecent or lewd. This is also the basis for designating a public space as clothing optional for a particular event.


San Francisco

Although arrests might have been made on days when few were nude, tolerance for public nudity in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
parks began in the late 1960s due to large groups of
hippies A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...
dancing nude every Sunday in Speedway Meadow in
Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park is an urban park between the Richmond District, San Francisco, Richmond and Sunset District, San Francisco, Sunset districts on the West Side (San Francisco), West Side of San Francisco, California, United States. It is the Lis ...
, which continued into the 1970s. In September 2011, San Francisco city supervisor
Scott Wiener Scott Wiener (born May 11, 1970) is an American politician who has served in the California State Senate since 2016. A Democrat, he represents the 11th district, encompassing San Francisco and parts of San Mateo County. He is also the co-chair ...
introduced an ordinance to put certain restrictions on public nudity in response to complaints about a group who regularly gathered at an outdoor plaza in
the Castro The Castro District, commonly referred to as the Castro, is a neighborhood in Eureka Valley in San Francisco. The Castro was one of the first gay neighborhoods in the United States. Having transformed from a working-class neighborhood throug ...
. The announcement prompted additional individuals to be nude in protest, which also attracted tourists. A suit to block the ordinance was rejected by a federal judge. The ordinance passed on November 20, 2012, went into effect on February 1, 2013, prompting additional protestors who were arrested. The law banned public nudity but exempted children under five and participants in a parade or festival; and the prohibition included only "genitals,
perineum The perineum (: perineums or perinea) in placentalia, placental mammals is the space between the anus and the genitals. The human perineum is between the anus and scrotum in the male or between the anus and vulva in the female. The perineum is ...
, or anal region", thus not prohibiting women baring their breasts. Since 2012, nudist events are still held in the city with a permit.


Seattle

Social nudity has some acceptance in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
with a number of beaches where nudity is common, most notably Denny-Blaine Park where nude use began in the 1960s. After decades of mixed enforcement, the city's law criminalizing nudity was struck down in 1990 on
First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
grounds; the city repealed the law four years later. Washington State still has indecent exposure laws in effect; however, these are limited to conduct that the naked person knows is "likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm."


Other jurisdictions

A similar law exists in Oregon, but local jurisdictions and federal parks have their own restrictions, including bans on adult nudity. In Florida, Haulover Beach in Miami-Dade County is officially designated as clothing optional. In California, at least four of the establishments that existed in 1994 have since ceased operations. Southern California now hosts only three active landed clubs.


Topfreedom

Topfreedom is explicitly prohibited in only three states, Indiana, Tennessee and Utah. In others it is permitted, or the laws are ambiguous. In New York State, it is not illegal for women to expose their breasts anywhere, but laws regarding disorderly conduct may be applied.


See also

* Issues in social nudity * List of public outdoor clothes free places


References


External links


Naturist Society

American Association for Nude Recreation
{{naturism by country *