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Revision as of 02:46, 11 April 2019
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Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair and living in hospitable climates. As humans became behaviorally modern, body adornments such as jewelry, tattoos, body paint and scarification became part of non-verbal communications, indicating a person's social and individual characteristics. Indigenous peoples in warm climates used clothing for decorative, symbolic or ceremonial purposes but were often nude, having neither the need to protect the body from the elements nor any conception of nakedness being shameful. In many societies, both ancient and contemporary, children might be naked until the beginning of puberty. Women may not cover their breasts, being associated with nursing babies more than with sexuality.
In the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean, from Mesopotamia to the Roman Empire, proper attire was required to maintain social standing. The lower classes might possess a single piece of cloth that was wrapped or tied to cover the lower body; the lowest classes including slaves might be naked. However, through much of Western history until the late modern period, people of any status were also unclothed by necessity or convenience when engaged in labor and athletics; or when bathing or swimming. Such functional nudity occurred in groups that were usually but not always segregated by sex. Although improper dress might be socially embarrassing, the association of nudity with sin regarding sexuality began with Judeo-Christian societies, spreading through Europe in the post-classical period. Traditional clothing in temperate regions worldwide also reflect concerns for maintaining social status and order, as well as by necessity due to the colder climate. However, societies such as Japan and Finland maintain traditions of communal nudity based upon the use of baths and saunas that provided alternatives to sexualization. (Full article...)
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Image 1
A streaker at the 2006 Harvard–Yale game in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Streaking is the act of running naked through a public area for publicity, for fun, as a prank, a dare, a form of protest, or to participate in a fad. Streaking is often associated with sporting events, but can occur in more secluded areas. Streakers are often pursued by sporting officials or the police. (Full article...) -
Image 2
Family in Abricó Beach, Brazil
A nude beach, sometimes called a clothing-optional or free beach, is a beach where users are at liberty to be nude. Nude beaches usually have mixed bathing. Such beaches are usually on public lands, and any member of the public is allowed to use the facilities without membership in any movement or subscription to any personal belief. The use of the beach facilities is normally anonymous. Unlike a naturist resort or facility, there is normally no membership or vetting requirement for the use of a nude beach. The use of nude beach facilities is usually casual, not requiring pre-booking. Nude beaches may be official (legally sanctioned), unofficial (tolerated by residents and law enforcement), or illegal.
The number of nude beaches in some countries is relatively low, and they are generally located some distance away from the city. Access is at times more difficult than at a regular beach and the facilities at these beaches tend to be very basic with a few notable exceptions. In other countries, like Denmark, most beaches are clothing-optional. Nude swimming is one of the most common forms of nudity in public. A nude beach should not be confused with a topless beach (or top-free beach), where upper body clothing is not required for women or men, although a swimming costume covering the genital area is required for both men and women. A nude beach should be considered as a clothes-free beach. (Full article...) -
Image 3Anarcho-naturism, also referred to as anarchist naturism and naturist anarchism, appeared in the late 19th century as the union of anarchist and naturist philosophies. In many of the alternative communities established in Britain in the early 1900s, "nudism, anarchism, vegetarianism and free love were accepted as part of a politically radical way of life". In the 1920s, the inhabitants of the anarchist community at Whiteway, near Stroud in Gloucestershire, "shocked the conservative residents of the area with their shameless nudity". Mainly, it had importance within individualist anarchist circles in Spain, France, Portugal and Cuba.
Anarcho-naturism advocates vegetarianism, free love, nudism, hiking and an ecological world view within anarchist groups and outside them. Anarcho-naturism also promotes an ecological worldview, small ecovillages, and most prominently nudism as a way to avoid the artificiality of the industrial mass society of modernity. Naturist individualist anarchists see the individual in their biological, physical and psychological aspects and try to eliminate social determinations. (Full article...) -
Image 4
A group of women protesting for the right to go topless anywhere a man could. Venice Beach, California, 2011 (demonstrator is wearing a pasty)
Topfreedom is a cultural and political movement seeking changes in laws to allow women to be topless in public places where men are permitted to be barechested, as a form of gender equality. Specifically, the movement seeks the repeal or overturning of laws which restrict a woman's right not to have her chest covered at all times in public.
In addition, topfreedom advocates seek allowing nursing mothers to openly breastfeed in public. (Full article...) -
Image 5
American burlesque dancer Lola Bel Aire performing a traditional striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "exotic" or "burlesque" dancer.
The origins of striptease as a performance art are disputed and various dates and occasions have been given from ancient Babylonia to 20th century America. The term "striptease" was first recorded in 1932. In Western countries, the venues where stripteases are performed on a regular basis are now usually called strip clubs, though they may be performed in venues such as pubs (especially in the United Kingdom), theaters and music halls. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor or bachelorette party. In addition to providing adult entertainment, stripping can be a form of sexual play between partners. This can be done as an impromptu event or – perhaps for a special occasion – with elaborate planning involving fantasy wear, music, special lighting, practiced dance moves, or unrehearsed dance moves. (Full article...) -
Image 6
Baptism of Jesus, Bordone, Giotto 1276-1336
Christian naturism is the practise of naturism or nudism by Christians.
Naturism is a lifestyle of non-sexual social nudity; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. It is not certain that Christian naturism exists in any formal organisations, however, there are informal (mostly online) networks of Christians who practise naturism. (Full article...) -
Image 7
Man and woman teaching boys how to swim, 1902
Nude swimming in US indoor pools was common for men and boys from the late 1880s until the early 1970s, but rare for women and girls. For much of that time period, indoor pool use was primarily for physical education or athletic competition, not recreation. Male nude swimming had been customary in natural bodies of water, which was not viewed as a social problem until the 18th century. When the tradition of skinny-dipping in secluded spots had become more visible with urbanization, indoor pools were first built in the 19th century in part to address this issue by moving male swimming indoors. For the first decades of the 20th century, male nude swimming was associated with a trope of the "old swimming hole" as representing childhood innocence and adult masculinity. In their own classes, nudity was rare for girls based upon an assumption of modesty, but might include young children. Prepubescent boys might be nude in mixed-gender settings, including the presence of female staff, public competitions, and open houses for families.
The primary reason given for nudity by officials was for public health, swimming pools being prone to contamination by water-borne diseases. During the early developmental stages of filtration and chlorination, behavioral measures were also needed to keep the water clean. Because indoor pools were generally male only, the health of swimmers could be monitored most easily by forbidding swimsuits, which often were a source of contamination, while female swimmers wore suits that were more hygienic. As the 20th century continued, more indoor pools were built by local governments, schools and the YMCA, primarily in northern states, to provide year-round swimming as a sport. As with other physical education activities, swimming was gender-segregated. Although aware of the same issues of hygiene, swimming pools in Canada and the United Kingdom more often made nudity for men and boys optional rather than mandatory. (Full article...) -
Image 8Erotic photography is a style of art photography of an erotic, sexually suggestive or sexually provocative nature.
Erotic photography is often distinguished from nude photography, which contains nude subjects not necessarily in an erotic situation, and pornographic photography, which is of a sexually explicit nature. Pornographic photography is generally defined as "obscene" and lacking in artistic/aesthetic value. However, the line between art and pornography has been both socially and legally debated, and many photographers have created work that intentionally ignores these distinctions. (Full article...) -
Image 9Clothing laws vary considerably around the world. In most countries, there are no laws which prescribe what clothing is required to be worn. However, the community standards of clothing are set indirectly by way of prosecution of those who wear something that is not socially approved. Those people who wear insufficient clothing can be prosecuted in many countries under various offences termed indecent exposure, public indecency, nudity or other descriptions. Generally, these offences do not themselves define what is and what is not acceptable clothing to constitute the offence, and leave it to a judge to determine in each case.
Most clothing laws concern which parts of the body must not be exposed to view; there are exceptions. Some countries have strict clothing laws, such as in some Islamic countries. Other countries are more tolerant of non-conventional attire and are relaxed about nudity. Many countries have different laws and customs for men and women, what may be allowed or perceived often varies by gender. (Full article...) -
Image 10An intimate part, personal part or private part is a place on the human body which is customarily kept covered by clothing in public venues and conventional settings, as a matter of fashion and cultural norms. In several cultures, revealing these parts is seen as a religious offense.
Definitions vary, but usually they are primarily the parts involved in sexual arousal, procreation, and elimination of excreta and related matter, including:- for all sexes: the buttocks, anus, perineum, mons pubis, crotch, pubic hair, intergluteal cleft, buttock cleavage, and groin
- for males: the penis and scrotum
- for females: the vulva (including pudendal cleft), breasts, and cleavage (breasts).
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Image 11Nudity in live performance, such as dance, theatre, and performance art, include the unclothed body either for realism or symbolic meaning. Nudity on stage has become generally accepted in Western cultures beginning in the 20th century.
Nudity is employed to convey symbolic expressions as well as a means to allow more freedom of movement and in some cases to accentuate the characteristics of the body. In contrast to the traditional norm of separating nudity from sexuality nudity has evolved to being used in the 21st century to convey sexual meaning and expression or to arouse. (Full article...) -
Image 12
Illustration of a woman raising her dress and mooning a nun (1905)
Mooning is the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g., by lowering the backside of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over, and also potentially exposing the genitals. Mooning is used in the English-speaking world to express protest, scorn, disrespect, or for provocation, but mooning can be done for shock value, for fun, as a joke or as a form of exhibitionism. The Māori have a form of mooning known as whakapohane that is a form of insult.
Some jurisdictions regard mooning to be indecent exposure, sometimes depending on the context. (Full article...) -
Image 13In Canada, topfreedom has primarily been an attempt to combat the interpretation of indecency laws that considered a woman's breasts to be indecent, and therefore their exhibition in public an offence. In British Columbia, it is a historical issue dating back to the 1930s and the public protests against the materialistic lifestyle held by the radical religious sect of the Freedomites, whose pacifist beliefs led to their exodus from Russia to Canada at the end of the 19th century. The Svobodniki became famous for their public nudity: primarily for their nude marches in public and the acts of arson committed also in the nude. (Full article...)
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Image 14
Boys skinny dipping in a sacred tank in Tiruvanamalai, India
In contemporary societies, the appropriateness of childhood nudity in various social situations is controversial, with many differences in behavior worldwide. Depending upon conceptions of childhood innocence and sexuality in general, societies may regard social nudity before puberty as normal, as acceptable within same-sex groups, or unacceptable.
Until the end of the 20th century, the nudity of all small children and boys until puberty was viewed as non-sexual in Western culture. Only since the 1980s has there been a shift in attitudes by those who associate nudity with the threat of child abuse and exploitation, which has been described by some as a moral panic. Others maintain the need for openness and freedom for healthy child development, which is practiced in Northern European and non-Western Indigenous societies that allow children to play outdoors nude. (Full article...) -
Image 15
A modern Finnish sauna
A sauna (/ˈsɔːnə, ˈsaʊnə/, Finnish: [ˈsɑu̯nɑ], Estonian: [ˈsɑu̯n]) is a room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a sauna is typically used to measure temperature; a hygrometer can be used to measure levels of humidity or steam. Infrared therapy is often referred to as a type of sauna, but according to the Finnish sauna organizations, infrared is not a sauna. (Full article...) -
Image 16
Annette Kellerman in nude scene from A Daughter of the Gods (1915)
There has been demand for imagery of nude celebrities for many decades. It is a lucrative business exploited by websites and magazines.
Types include authorized images, such as film screenshots, copies from previously published images, such as shots from magazines or stills or clips from movies, to unauthorised images such as celebrity sex tapes and paparazzi photos capturing unintentional or private scenes, and faked or doctored images. (Full article...) -
Image 17
Naked exhibitionist woman on a Budapest street in 2007
Exhibitionism is the act of exposing in a public or semi-public context one's intimate parts – for example, the breasts, genitals or buttocks. The practice may arise from a desire or compulsion to expose oneself in such a manner to groups of friends or acquaintances, or to strangers for their amusement or sexual satisfaction, or to shock the bystander. Exposing oneself only to an intimate partner is normally not regarded as exhibitionism. In law, the act of exhibitionism may be referred to as indecent exposure or exposing one's person, or by other expressions. (Full article...) -
Image 18
Topless woman at the 2008 Oregon Country Fair
Toplessness refers to the state in which a woman's breasts, including her areolas and nipples, are exposed, especially in a public place or in a visual medium. The male equivalent is known as barechestedness.
Social norms around toplessness vary by context and location. Many indigenous societies consider breast exposure to be normal and uncontroversial. At specific beaches and resort destinations, notably in Europe and Australia, girls and women may sunbathe topless either by statute or by custom. However, in most countries, norms of female modesty require girls and women to cover their breasts in public, and many jurisdictions prosecute public toplessness as indecent exposure. The topfreedom movement opposes such laws on the grounds of gender equality. (Full article...) -
Image 19
Sultana by Henry Clive is an example of softcore pornography.
Softcore pornography or softcore porn is commercial still photography, film, or art that has a pornographic or erotic component but is less sexually graphic and intrusive than hardcore pornography, defined by a lack of visual sexual penetration. It typically contains nude or semi-nude actors involved in love scenes and is intended to be sexually arousing and aesthetically beautiful. The distinction between softcore pornography and erotic photography or art, such as Vargas girl pin-ups, is largely a matter of debate. (Full article...) -
Image 20
Naturism in Lake Senftenberg, GDR, 1983
There are many places where social nudity is practised for recreation in Europe. The following list includes nude beaches (also known as clothing-optional beaches or free beaches) and some naturist resorts. (Full article...) -
Image 21"Mercury and Herse", scene from The Loves of the Gods by Gian Giacomo Caraglio, showing Mercury, Herse, and Aglaulos
Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature.
The term comes from the French voir which means "to see". A male voyeur is commonly labelled as "Peeping Tom" or a "Jags", a term which originates from the Lady Godiva legend. However, that term is usually applied to a male who observes somebody secretly and, generally, not in a public space. (Full article...) -
Image 22
Dying Gaul, anonymous Roman sculpture
The practice of entering combat without the use of clothing and armor has been documented on several occasions in history. The artistic convention of heroic nudity was established in the art of ancient Greece by the Archaic period. (Full article...) -
Image 23
Women in a bikini contest are valued for their bodies and sexual appeal over other attributes.
Sexual objectification is the act of treating a person solely as an object of sexual desire. Objectification more broadly means treating a person as a commodity or an object without regard to their personality or dignity. Objectification is most commonly examined at the level of a society, but can also refer to the behavior of individuals and is a type of dehumanization.
Although both men and women can be sexually objectified, the concept is mainly associated with the objectification of women, and is an important idea in many feminist theories and psychological theories derived from them. Many feminists argue that sexual objectification of girls and women contributes to gender inequality, and many psychologists associate objectification with a range of physical and mental health risks in women. Research suggests that the psychological effects of objectification of men are similar to those of women, leading to negative body image among men.
The concept of sexual objectification is controversial, and some feminists and psychologists have argued that at least some degree of objectification is a normal part of human sexuality. (Full article...) -
Image 24
The Finnish sauna (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsɑu̯nɑ], Swedish: bastu) is a substantial part of Finnish and Estonian culture.
It was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists at the 17 December 2020 meeting of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. As authorized by the state, the Finnish Heritage Agency commits, together with Finnish sauna communities and promoters of the sauna culture, to safeguard the vitality of the sauna tradition and to highlight its importance as part of customs and wellbeing. In the case of Estonia UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists smoke sauna tradition since 2014. (Full article...) -
Image 25This is a list of places where social nudity is practised in North America for recreation. This listing includes notable nude beaches and private resorts. This listing also includes places where female toplessness is permitted in jurisdictions where it is normally forbidden. (Full article...)
Do you have a question about Nudity that you can't find the answer to?
Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.
For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Nudity-related articles, see WikiProject Nudity.
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Image 1One of the photographs of the Abu Ghraib prison torture scandal: a naked prisoner being forced to crawl and bark like a dog on a leash. (from Nudity)
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Image 2Using birch branches in a Finnish sauna, 1967 (from Nudity)
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Image 3Families bathing nude at a hot spring in Taiwan (from Naturism)
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Image 4A publicity photo showing a North American naturist couple making tea (from Naturism)
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Image 6Signpost at Mpenjati Naturist Beach (from Naturism)
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Image 10In many European countries women may sunbathe without covering their breasts. (from Nudity)
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Image 12Finnish Sauna (1802) (from Naturism)
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Image 13Naturist swimmers in Australia (from Naturism)
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Image 15Couple walking naked in the streets of Barcelona, Spain (from Naturism)
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Image 16The far west end of Zipolite Beach, Oaxaca, Mexico (from Naturism)
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Image 20The Barricade (1918), oil on canvas, by George Bellows. A painting inspired by an incident in August 1914 in which German soldiers used Belgian townspeople as human shields. (from Nude (art))
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Image 23Naked participant at Burning Man 2016 posing as Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man (from Naturism)
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Image 25Photograph by Jean Louis Marie Eugène Durieu, part of a series made with Eugène Delacroix (from Nude photography)
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Image 27Nudist couple at Terra Cotta Inn, Palm Springs, California, US (from Naturism)
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Image 28Florida naturists (from Naturism)
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Image 29A necklace reconstructed from perforated sea snail shells from Upper Palaeolithic Europe, dated between 39,000 and 25,000 BCE. The practice of body adornment is associated with the emergence of behavioral modernity. (from Nudity)
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Image 30Zoë Mozert was one of the Earl Moran's first nude models in the 1930s. (from Nude photography)
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Image 31A woman naked on the beach at Valalta, Croatia (from Naturism)
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Image 32David (1504)
"What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed?"
— Michelangelo (from Nude (art)) -
Image 34Ariadne Asleep on the Island of Naxos (1808–1812) by John Vanderlyn. The painting was initially considered too sexual for display in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. "Although nudity in art was publicly protested by Americans, Vanderlyn observed that they would pay to see pictures of which they disapproved." (from Nude (art))
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Image 36Public naturist recreation area at Lake Unterbach; Strandbad Süd, Düsseldorf-Unterbach, Germany (from Naturism)
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Image 38Naturists in a river, 2014 (from Nudity)
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Image 41Crayon-style print by Gilles Demarteau with a nude man after original drawing by Edmé Bouchardon was acquired by Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw as a teaching material (from Nude (art))
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Image 44Nudist hiker in British Columbia (from Naturism)
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Image 45Susanna and the Elders, 1610, Artemisia Gentileschi. This work may be compared with male depictions of the same tale. (from Nude (art))
Nakedness and clothing | |
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Nudity and sexuality | |
Issues in social nudity | |
Naturism | |
Nude recreation | |
By location | |
Social nudity advocates | |
Depictions of nudity | |
See also | |
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