Public Nudity - Nudity and Protest

Nudity and Protest

Nudity has sometimes been used to attract media and public attention to a cause. Nudity in protest was used as a tactic by the Doukhobors in the early 20th century, and has been more widely used since the 1960s. Modern slogans include "Disrobe for disarmament", "Nudes, not nukes!", "Naked For Peace", and PETA's "I'd rather go naked than wear fur!".

Public nude protest events include:

• World Naked Bike Rides attract attention to problems caused by vehicles that depend on fossil fuels, and promote a healthy alternative; the naked body is used as a symbol for the vulnerability of humans to pollution, and of cyclists to the traffic in cities. These rides are usually referred to by a name derived from their Spanish origin 'Ciclonudista' in countries with a Romanic language.
• Vincent Bethell conducted The Freedom to be Yourself campaign.
• Day Without Bathing Suits. It began in Spain in 2007. From 2009 is extending all over the world.
• Steve Gough, UK walker who has walked from Lands End to John O'Groats naked.
• Mark Storey is a member of the Naturist Action Committee, directed by Bob Morton, a sister organisation to the US The Naturist Society. He co-founded the Body Freedom Collaborative in Seattle with Daniel Johnson, Washington state in the US, whose goal is to bring attention for the need for legal clothing-optional beaches through "guerilla pranksterism", among other approaches.
• Anarcho-naturism is a tendency within the anarchist movement that advocates naturism.
• The Sex Party of British Columbia (Canada) promotes normalization of all parts of the human body and destigmatizing human sexual organs. It would pass legislation requiring all public parks and beaches larger than one hectare to designate areas reserved for nudists.
• The former Dutch party Naastenliefde, Vrijheid en Diversiteit would have passed legislation to make public nudity legal everywhere, provided that a towel is used when sitting on a public bench.
• Starkers! and the emergence of clubbing culture and naturism developed in London.
• The short-lived Naturist Lifestyle Party in New South Wales, Australia aimed "to bring naturism fully into the public eye, with view to getting an equitable allocation of public resources to those who support the naturist lifestyle."
• Gerald Ganglbauer convened Free Beach Action NSW, a lobby group for naturism in New South Wales.

Nude protests have a long history: Doukhobor, Women's Institute Calendar.