Timeline of non-sexual social nudity
Encyclopedia
Prehistory - 1800
- In SpartaSpartaSparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
, both women and men occasionally went nude in certain festivals and exercise.
- 720 BC: According to one legend, an athlete, Orsippos of MegaraMegaraMegara is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken by Athens. Megara was one of the four districts of Attica, embodied in the four mythic sons of King...
who discards his loinclothLoinclothA loincloth is a one-piece male garment, sometimes kept in place by a belt, which covers the genitals and, at least partially, the buttocks.-History and types:Loincloths are being and have been worn:*in societies where no other clothing is needed or wanted...
wins his race at the Olympic Games. A variation of the legend asserts that the loincloth accidentally falls off a runner at the Olympics who trips on it, strikes his head, and dies. So for reasons of either improved athletic performance or for safety, ancient Greek Olympic athletes compete naked.
- 393 AD: Students in ancient GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
exercised and received instruction unclothed, and athletes competed naked. This tradition ends in 393 AD, when the ChristianChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
EmperorEmperorAn emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Theodosius ITheodosius ITheodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
bans the Olympic Games because he considers them PaganPaganismPaganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
.
- 1st century AD: Historian Diodorus SiculusDiodorus SiculusDiodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
records that the Celts commonly fought naked in battle. Nudity is mentioned several times in the New TestamentNew TestamentThe New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, although none of the examples give it the sexual meaning it carries today. For example refusal to wear clothes could be a sign of insanity during this period. Nakedness was also used as a symbol of poverty or vulnerability http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=25&verse=36&version=31&context=verse. There are a few New Testament references to actual nudity, such as in which a young man runs away naked from the Garden of Gethsemane, and where Peter is described as naked while he is fishing. Some say that the term means semi-naked, arguing that it is unlikely that a Jewish person would go completely unclothed in public, although others argue that fishermen in the Sea of Galilee did actually work naked http://www.archive.org/stream/everydaylifeinth00neiluoft/everydaylifeinth00neiluoft_djvu.txt.
- 100 AD to 18th century - the AdamitesAdamitesThe Adamites, or Adamians, were adherents of an Early Christian sect that flourished in North Africa in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries, but knew later revivals.-Ancient Adamites:...
, were adherents of an Early Christian sect that flourished in North Africa in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries, but knew later revivals. They practiced "holy nudism", claiming that its members were re-established in Adam and EveAdam and EveAdam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
's state of original innocence..
- 201 - 1500 AD: The first known liturgyLiturgyLiturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
of baptismBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, recorded by Saint Hippolytus of Rome in the early 3rd century, insists on complete nudity for all participants, even down to the removal of jewellery and hair fastenings http://www.bombaxo.com/hippolytus.html. Baptism was later segregated by sex, as indicated by a scene depicted on a 5th century lead font http://www.womenpriests.org/traditio/thomas.asp, but still conducted on an unclothed participant. Christian groups, including the AdamitesAdamitesThe Adamites, or Adamians, were adherents of an Early Christian sect that flourished in North Africa in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries, but knew later revivals.-Ancient Adamites:...
, Adamianis, CarpocrationsCarpocratesCarpocrates of Alexandria was the founder of an early Gnostic sect from the first half of the 2nd century. As with many Gnostic sects, we know of the Carpocratians only through the writings of the Church Fathers, principally Irenaeus of Lyons and Clement of Alexandria. As the former strongly...
, AquariiAquariiAquarii is a name given to the Christians who substituted water for wine in the Eucharist. It is claimed that the practice widely in vogue at an early time, even among the orthodox...
, and Marcosians all practiced social nudity.
- Cica 1050 AD: Leofric, EarlEarlAn earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
of MerciaMerciaMercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
, imposed a heavy tax burden on the citizens of CoventryCoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, to support his grandiose public works. According to legend, his wife Godgyfu begged him to reduce the tax, and he told her that she had to ride naked through the city's market before he would do it. Godgyfu, remembered as Lady GodivaLady GodivaGodiva , often referred to as Lady Godiva , was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants...
, accepted the challenge.
- In Kamakura era (1185–1333) Japan, religious bathing was provided to the public free of charge, with no concept of gender segregation. After the collapse of free services, a for-pay system emerged which later evolved to become the modern day sentōSentois a type of Japanese communal bath house where customers pay for entrance. Traditionally these bath houses have been quite utilitarian, with one large room separating the sexes by a tall barrier, and on both sides, usually a minimum of lined up faucets and a single large bath for the already...
.
1800 - 1899
- 1840s: Nude bathing was common on the beaches of the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by this decade.
- 1868: Approximate year of the introduction of the swimming-costumeSwimsuitA swimsuit, bathing suit, or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn by men, women or children while they are engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing.A...
. Most swimming, if not all, was done naked up to this point, because wearing clothing of any sort was extremely cumbersome and thus dangerous to the swimmer.
- 1870s: The diary of Rev.The ReverendThe Reverend is a style most often used as a prefix to the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. The Reverend is correctly called a style but is often and in some dictionaries called a...
Robert Francis Kilvert, documents the transition in VictorianVictorian eraThe Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
from the acceptance of nude bathing to the mandatory use of swimming-costumes. In an 1874 entry, Kilvert notes being brought "a pair of very short red and white striped drawers to cover my nakedness" after he had finished bathing at SeatonSeaton-Canada:* Seaton, Ontario* Seaton House, one of the largest men's homeless shelters located in Toronto, Ontario-England:* Seaton, Cornwall* Seaton, Cumbria* Seaton, Devon* Seaton, County Durham* Seaton Carew, County Durham...
, and being so "unaccustomed to such things and customs" that he had "set at nought the conventionalities of the place".
- 1874: While surfingSurfingSurfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
developed across PolynesiaPolynesiaPolynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
as a nude activity, it remained so only until 19th century missionaries forced the natives into covering themselves. This dress code, however, was often ignored; a British engraving from 1874 shows a set of waves being ridden by nearly a dozen HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an surfers, male and female, all of them naked.
1900 - 1974
- 1900: The Cult of the Nude by German sociologist Heinrich PudorHeinrich PudorHeinrich Pudor was a German Volkish-nationalist pundit and a pioneer of nudist culture in Germany. He took the pseudonyms Heinrich Scham and Ernst Deutsch.-Life:...
, and German nude public bathing is seen as starting the nudist movement.
- 1903: Paul ZimmermanPaul ZimmermanPaul Lionel Zimmerman is the son of Charles S. Zimmerman and Rose Zimmerman. Zimmerman, also known to readers as "Dr. Z", is an American football sportswriter who wrote for the weekly magazine Sports Illustrated, as well as the magazine's website, SI.com. He is sometimes confused with Paul D...
establishes first naturist resort near HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany.
- 1903-03 to 1932: Several Freedomite (Svobodniki or Sons of Freedom) Doukhobors engaged in nude protests throughout Canadian history. In May 1903, they went on a nude protest-march and were persecuted. In 1932 the British Columbian government allotted Piers IslandPiers IslandPiers Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada, located on the boundary of Discovery Passage, a waterway which with nearby Haro Strait forms the section of the United States-Canada border separating the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, of which Piers is a part, and the San Juan Islands of...
, located in the Pacific OceanPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
near VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, where close to 900 people were convicted to 3 years imprisonment for their nude protests.
- Circa 1905: The English Gymnosophist Society was founded.
- 1922: The Down With Shame movement in the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
holds nude marches and "Evenings of the Denuded Body" intended to dispel earlier, "bourgeois" morality.
- 1926: Societe Internationale de Gymnosophie founded by Kenne D'Mongeot in France
- 1927: The New Gymnosophy first edition published. Author: Dr. Maurice Parmelee Publisher: F.H. Hitchcock NY
- 1927: Fiveacres Country Club founded in Bricket WoodBricket WoodBricket Wood is a village in the county of Hertfordshire, England, approximately 4½ miles from St Albans. It is part of the parish of St Stephen. Its railway station is served by a London Midland service that runs between St Albans Abbey and Watford Junction stations.Close to the village stands...
, HertfordshireHertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. The UK's oldest naturist club on its original site.
- 1929: The American League for Physical Culture was formed.
- 1930: American Gymnosophical AssociationAmerican Gymnosophical AssociationThe American Gymnosophical Association was organized circa 1930 by Herman and Katherine Soshinski. It was one of 3 spin-off groups from the League for Physical Culture that had been organized by Kurt Barthel in 1929. Dr...
formed as an outgrowth of the American League for Physical Culture which shortly thereafter leased Rock Lodge ClubRock Lodge Clubis a family-oriented nonprofit nudist club located on of privately-owned land in the New Jersey Highlands of Northern New Jersey, about from Manhattan, New York.Social nudism started at Rock Lodge in 1932...
, StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
which still operates as a member owned co-operative nudist club
- 1931: Héliopolis, Europe's first town dedicated to naturism, founded on the Île du LevantÎle du LevantÎle du Levant , sometimes referred to as Le Levant, is a Mediterranean French island off the coast of the Riviera, near Toulon. It is one of the three that constitute the Îles d'Hyères of France. The island is 8 km long, 2 km wide, and located in the Gulf of Lion...
, a French island off the coast of the RivieraFrench RivieraThe Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
, near ToulonToulonToulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, by Doctors Gaston and André Durville.
- 1932: American Gymnosophical AssociationAmerican Gymnosophical AssociationThe American Gymnosophical Association was organized circa 1930 by Herman and Katherine Soshinski. It was one of 3 spin-off groups from the League for Physical Culture that had been organized by Kurt Barthel in 1929. Dr...
has substantial foundation at Rock Lodge ClubRock Lodge Clubis a family-oriented nonprofit nudist club located on of privately-owned land in the New Jersey Highlands of Northern New Jersey, about from Manhattan, New York.Social nudism started at Rock Lodge in 1932...
in New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and was founded as early as 1932 by Dr. Maurice Parmelee.
- 1932-05-15: Sky Farm, the first permanent nudist community in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, was established in Liberty CornerLiberty Corner, New JerseyLiberty Corner is an unincorporated community in Bernards Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. Liberty Corner is about 3.75 miles south of Bernardsville. Liberty Corner has a post office with ZIP code 07938.-Geography:...
, near Basking Ridge, New JerseyBasking Ridge, New Jersey- Demographics :As Basking Ridge is not an independent municipality, the following demographic data is based on the United States Census Bureau figures for the ZIP Code Tabulation Area for the 07920 ZIP Code...
. The AGA establishes itself at Rock Lodge ClubRock Lodge Clubis a family-oriented nonprofit nudist club located on of privately-owned land in the New Jersey Highlands of Northern New Jersey, about from Manhattan, New York.Social nudism started at Rock Lodge in 1932...
in nearby StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
the same year. Both clubs are still active.
- 1933: In Germany, Nazi edict banned many nudist organizations; but nudists re-formed as "sports" groups and were re-legalized.
- 1934: Men begin going bare-chested on crowded Long IslandLong IslandLong Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, public beaches, despite the threat of arrest. At the time, full-body swimming attire was mandatory.
- 1936: Male bare-chestedness is made legal in the United States.
- 1945: Gerald GardnerGerald GardnerGerald Brousseau Gardner , who sometimes used the craft name Scire, was an influential English Wiccan, as well as an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist, writer, weaponry expert and occultist. He was instrumental in bringing the Neopagan religion of Wicca to public attention in Britain and...
, founder of WiccaWiccaWicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
, buys Fiveacres Country Club, and establishes the Bricket Wood covenBricket Wood covenThe Bricket Wood coven, or Hertfordshire coven was a coven of Gardnerian Witches founded in the 1940s by Gerald Gardner. It was notable for being the first coven in the Gardnerian line, though having its supposed origins in the pre-Gardnerian New Forest coven...
in its grounds. This marks the beginning of "Skyclad" ritual nudity within WiccaWiccaWicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
.
- Late 1950s: Michigan Supreme CourtMichigan Supreme CourtThe Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is known as Michigan's "court of last resort" and consists of seven justices who are elected to eight-year terms. Candidates are nominated by political parties and are elected on a nonpartisan ballot...
ruled that people had a right to practice nudism within private resorts. http://religioustolerance.org/nudism4.htm
- 1958: United States Supreme Court rules naturist magazines acceptable under Comstock laws, which define and regulate social morals.
- 1968: John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and Yoko OnoYoko Onois a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
release experimental album Two Virgins with a nude cover.
- 1969: 300 individuals participate in a massive naked "wade-in" at a DanishDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
beach. As a result, the vast majority of DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
's beaches become clothing-optional.
- 1974: A year of increased streakingStreakingStreaking is the act of running nude through a public place.-History:On 5 July 1799, a Friday evening at 7 o'clock, a naked man was arrested at the Mansion House, London, and sent to the Poultry Compter...
around college campuses in the USA.
- 1974: Robert OpelRobert OpelRobert Opel was a photographer and art gallery owner most famous as the man who streaked during the 46th Academy Awards in 1974...
appears naked in Los Angeles City Council Chamber.
1975 - 1989
- 1975-02: AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's first legal nude beachNude beachA nude beach is a beach where users are legally at liberty to be nude. Sometimes the terms clothing-optional beach or free beach are used. Nude bathing is one of the most common forms of nudity in public. As beaches are usually on public lands, any member of the public is entitled to use the...
is created when the section of Maslin Beach south of AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
is proclaimed legal for both clothed and naked bathing.
- 1976-1981: The NambassaNambassaNambassa was a series of hippie-conceived festivals held between 1976 and 1981 on large farms around Waihi and Waikino in New Zealand. They were music, arts and alternatives festivals that focused on peace, love, and an environmentally friendly lifestyle...
festivals in New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, where thousands enjoy the festivals in little or no clothing.
- 1976: The Down to Earth Co-operative Society holds the first ConFestConfestConFest is an alternative bush campout festival held in the south-eastern states of Australia at New Year and Easter. The name 'ConFest' derives from combining the words conference and festival. The festival was first held in 1976 near Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory...
at Cotter RiverCotter RiverThe Cotter River is a fresh water river in the Australian Capital Territory. It is a tributary of the Murrumbidgee River and part of Murray-Darling Basin. The Cotter River is one of two rivers—the Queanbeyan River is the other—that meet the water supply needs of the Canberra and...
, Australian Capital TerritoryAustralian Capital TerritoryThe Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
, with the aim of "transforming society".
- 1976-07-28: A nude beach picnic and photo shoot is organized during Memorial DayMemorial DayMemorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
weekend in front of the World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
at "a temporarily barren, enormous construction sandfill directly on the Hudson River near Wall Street". [source: N 19.3]
- 1976-08-07: The first National Nude Beach Day is designated. [source N 19.3]
- 1980 - 1981: The Naturist SocietyThe Naturist SocietyThe Naturist Society is a national naturist organization based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA. It publishes a quarterly periodical called Nude & Natural which documents and coordinates naturist activities and provides information about issues related to naturism. The Naturist Society was established...
is formed in the USA. [source N 19.3]
- Beachfront USA established a beach nudism organizing and advocacy forum in Los Angeles, CA, USA
- 1981: The Nude & NaturalNude & NaturalNude & Natural: The Magazine Of Naturist Living or simply Magazine is a quarterly 100+ page naturist magazine published by The Naturist Society in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and distributed throughout the United States and internationally...
magazine is established by TNSThe Naturist SocietyThe Naturist Society is a national naturist organization based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA. It publishes a quarterly periodical called Nude & Natural which documents and coordinates naturist activities and provides information about issues related to naturism. The Naturist Society was established...
founder Lee BaxandallLee BaxandallLee R. Baxandall was an American writer, translator, editor, and activist, first known for his New Left engagement with cultural topics and then as a leader of the naturist movement.-Career:...
. Originally named Clothed with the Sun.
- 1981-07-30: StelarcStelarcStelarc is a Cypriot-Australian performance artist whose works focuses heavily on extending the capabilities of the human body. As such, most of his pieces are centred around his concept that the human body is obsolete...
performance piece, "Seaside Suspension: Event for Wind & Waves", body suspended over water at JogashimaJōgashimais a Japanese island of the municipality of Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, off the southernmost and western tip of Miura Peninsula, facing Sagami Bay.It is home to the Jōgashima Lighthouse, the fourth oldest western style lighthouse to be built in Japan....
, MiuraMiura-Places:*Miura, Kanagawa*Miurakaigan Station*Miura District, Kanagawa*Miura Peninsula*Ganadería Miura, the home of the Miura fighting bull line-People:*Miura clan - Japanese descended clan of the Taira*Miura Anjin, honorific title of William Adams...
.
- 1984-07-21: Stelarc performance piece, "Street Suspension", body suspended over the Mo David gallery in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
- 1985: The University of MichiganUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
's "Naked Mile" is first organized—a run by streakers marking the last day of classes in winter. It was started by a handful of students and later grew to around a thousand participants annually. The event was cancelled in 2003 after concerted action by police and the University of Michigan administration. [source: Paul Rapoport Dec 2003]
- 1985-06-28: Stelarc performance piece "City Suspension", body suspended over the city of CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
.
- 1986: First year of the Burning ManBurning ManBurning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening...
festival, at Baker BeachBaker BeachBaker Beach is a public beach on the peninsula of San Francisco, California, U.S.. The beach lies on the shore of the Pacific Ocean to the northwest of the city...
in San Francisco. Larry HarveyLarry Harvey]Larry Harvey is the main co-founder of the Burning Man festival, along with his friend Jerry James. What started in 1986 as a summer solstice evening ritual burning of their artistic creation of an effigy of a man with a group of just a dozen people at San Francisco's Baker Beach, which then...
and Jerry James construct a wooden figure and burn it, in celebration of the Summer Solstice. Participants: 20
- 1989-07-15: 14 women go bare-chested outside the Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca FallsSeneca Falls (town), New YorkSeneca Falls is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 9,347 at the 2000 census.The Town of Seneca Falls contains a village also called Seneca Falls...
, New York, to protest the inequality of dress between genders. [source N 12.2]
1990 - 1999
- 1991: Gwen Jacobs goes topless in GuelphGuelphGuelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on a hot day. She was eventually acquitted of public indecency in 1996 by the Ontario Court of Appeal on the basis that the act of being topless is not in itself a sexual act or indecent. While this decision was only binding within Ontario, it is considered highly influential, and has been referenced and upheld several times, including in other jurisdictions.
- 1992: Photographer Spencer TunickSpencer TunickSpencer Tunick is an American photographer. Tunick is best known for organizing large-scale nude shoots. Since 1994 he has photographed over 75 human installations around the world.-Biography:...
starts documenting the live nude figure in public.
- 1992: September: First annual Nude & Breast Freedom ParadeNude & Breast Freedom ParadeNude & Breast Freedom Parade is an annual parade held in Berkeley, California. The first annual Parade was held in 1992. The parade typically gathers in People's Park, performs rituals and then dances through the streets of the city....
in Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
.
- 1992: Peter CleallPeter CleallPeter Cleall is an actors' agent and former actor who is probably best known for his performance as Eric Duffy in the London Weekend Television comedy series Please Sir! which ran from 1968 to 1972....
addresses the Brighton Solidarity Network while naked.
- 1992-1996: Painted naked cyclists at the Fremont Summer Solstice Parade in Seattle.
- 1992-07-18: Four go topfree for protest at the Canadian Parliament in OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. [source N 12.2]
- 1992-07-27: About 20 topfree women protest in Brattleboro, VermontBrattleboro, VermontBrattleboro, originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located in the southeast corner of the state, along the state line with New Hampshire. The population was 12,046 at the 2010 census...
. [source N 12.2]
- 1992-09: Andrew MartinezAndrew MartinezLuis Andrew Martinez commonly known as Andrew Martinez, was an activist who achieved fame at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was known as the Naked Guy.-Early fame:...
attends a class—Russian history—without clothes at University of California - Berkeley. [source N 12.2]
- 1992-10-11: X-plicit Players go nude or topfree from Smokey Joe's Cafe on Shattuck Ave. to Cafe Milano on Telegraph to support NY topfree victory. [source N 12.2]
- 1994 - 2002: Photographer "Harvey" photographs nudes in public urban environments. [source: Paul Rapoport]
- 1995: The Burning Man festival has since moved to Black Rock DesertBlack Rock DesertThe Black Rock Desert is an arid region in the northern Nevada section of the Great Basin with a lakebed that is a dry remnant of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan...
, Nevada, with 4000 participants. The camp becomes the most populous settlement (albeit temporary) in Nevada's Pershing County, and is known as "Black Rock City".
- 1996-12-06: Three women walk naked up Mount WarningMount WarningMount Warning is a mountain west-south-west of Murwillumbah, near the border with Queensland in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia...
in Mount Warning National ParkMount Warning National ParkMount Warning National Park is a park in northern New South Wales, Australia, 642 km north of Sydney near the border with the state of Queensland. It surrounds Mount Warning, part of a remnant caldera of a much larger extinct volcano . The park is administered by the NSW National Parks and...
, Australia, which is recorded in the opening sequence of the Synetech video Naked Celebrations.
- 1997: Writer and performance artist, David Robert Lewis disrobes in front of the South African National GallerySouth African National GalleryThe South African National Gallery is the national art gallery of South Africa located in Cape Town. The collection began in 1872 with the donation of Sir Thomas Butterworth's personal gallery....
in a naked art ritual and public nudity event entitled decontamination.
- 1997-04-06: The first demonstration in favour of Australian Belongil Beach becoming a nude beach.
- Summer 1997: Vincent Bethell starts writing letters to The Home Office and his Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
questioning the law regarding public nakedness.
- 1998: The Freedom to be YourselfThe Freedom to be YourselfThe Freedom to be Yourself campaign was founded in 1999 by Vincent Bethell. The group, according to Vincent Bethell is about "the right to be naked in public". The campaign is about non-sexual public nakedness...
is founded by Vincent Bethell in England.
- Early 1998: Two men and two women walked naked up Mt. Warning, as done similarly in 1996.
- 1998-06-06: Vincent Bethell stages his very first protest in Piccadilly CircusPiccadilly CircusPiccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly...
.
- 1998-08-24: Evangeline Godron swims bare-chested in the Wascana pool (not for the first time) in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. [source: TERA]
- 1999-04 – Annual event “April Fool's Naked Run” in PortlandPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. Approximately 30 participants. [source: Terri Sue Webb]
- 1999-07-07: Photographer Henning von BergHenning von BergHenning von Berg is a former German civil engineer who became a people photographer. His specialty is character portraits and fine art nudes.- Biography :...
organizes the world’s first and only-ever male nude photo shoot inside a parliament building as a social-political statement. The group photo series NAKED BERLIN – The Liberal Capital features six naked men inside the historical Reichstag building and at nine other famous landmarks in BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
- 1999-07-28: First protest by The Freedom to be YourselfThe Freedom to be YourselfThe Freedom to be Yourself campaign was founded in 1999 by Vincent Bethell. The group, according to Vincent Bethell is about "the right to be naked in public". The campaign is about non-sexual public nakedness...
at the Royal Courts of JusticeRoyal Courts of JusticeThe Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is the building in London which houses the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and the High Court of Justice of England and Wales...
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
- 1999-10: Ohio State UniversityOhio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
female RugbyRugby footballRugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
-players pose bare-chested for a photo at the Lincoln MemorialLincoln MemorialThe Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
and are punished harshly by the University. [source N 19.3]
- 1999-10-03: Naked anti-nuclear weapons protesters march down Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco. [source N 19.3]
- Late 1999: Terri Sue WebbTerri Sue WebbTerri Sue Webb is an activist living in Bend, Oregon, who was one of few activists in the United States active in The Freedom to be Yourself campaign. She has been imprisoned and released multiple times for public nudity. On several occasions, she has remained fully nude while incarcerated, often...
begins riding bare-chested for Critical MassCritical MassCritical Mass is a cycling event typically held on the last Friday of every month in over 300 cities around the world. The ride was originally founded in 1992 in San Francisco. The purpose of Critical Mass is not usually formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and...
. [source: Terri Sue Webb]
2000 - present
- 2001-07-01: The Freedom to be YourselfThe Freedom to be YourselfThe Freedom to be Yourself campaign was founded in 1999 by Vincent Bethell. The group, according to Vincent Bethell is about "the right to be naked in public". The campaign is about non-sexual public nakedness...
protest in London, England on July 1, 2001
- Late 2001: Daniel JohnsonDaniel Lorenz JohnsonDaniel Lorenz Johnson is an American permaculturist, artist, activist, community organizer and writer who has worked for the advancement of various progressive/social liberalist causes through interdisciplinary, collaborative projects involving grassroots politics, media art and popular culture...
and Mark StoreyMark StoreyMark Storey is a board member of the Naturist Action Committee and has testified at anti-nudity legislation hearings all over the United States....
from the Seattle area begin to outline goals for a local group in Seattle, which at first is known as the Body Freedom Co-op and in late 2001 incorporates as the nonprofit Body Freedom CollaborativeBody Freedom CollaborativeThe Body Freedom Collaborative is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the integration and acceptance of non-sexual social nudity in a variety of public and private settings...
.
- 2003-12-06: The Durango Herald of Colorado reports that fifteen "mostly naked bike riders marked the 26th birthday of a friend with a streak through downtown Durango".
- 2004-06-12: World Naked Bike RideWorld Naked Bike RideWorld Naked Bike Ride is an international clothing-optional bike ride in which participants plan, meet and ride together en masse on human-powered transport , to "deliver a vision of a cleaner, safer, body-positive world."The dress code motto is "Bare as you dare"...
(1st year)
- 2005-02: Photographer Henning von BergHenning von BergHenning von Berg is a former German civil engineer who became a people photographer. His specialty is character portraits and fine art nudes.- Biography :...
documents a group of naked women in Downtown Sydney, Australia. He takes photos in front of major touristic highlights, including the Commonwealth Bank, Hyde Park, Queen Victoria's statue, the National Treasure Bank, a leading TV broadcast studio, the iconic Opera House, and the Harbour Bridge.
- 2005-07-01: The first naked crossing of the European Alps.
- 2006-07-29: Daniel JohnsonDaniel Lorenz JohnsonDaniel Lorenz Johnson is an American permaculturist, artist, activist, community organizer and writer who has worked for the advancement of various progressive/social liberalist causes through interdisciplinary, collaborative projects involving grassroots politics, media art and popular culture...
runs the entire length of the 5K UnitedHealthcare Torchlight Run at SeafairSeafairSeafair is a summer festival in Seattle, Washington, USA that encompasses a wide variety of small neighborhood events leading up to several major city-wide celebrations...
—wearing only bodypaint, socks, and shoes—in an attempt to encourage others to participate in a creatively adorned manner and to jumpstart a related event called the Jaybird Run.
- 2008 FEMENFEMENFEMEN is a Ukrainian protest group based in Kiev, founded in 2008. The organisation became internationally known for organizing topless protests against sex tourists, international marriage agencies, sexism and other social, national and international ills...
is a political protest group in UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, started by Anna HutsolAnna HutsolAnna Hutsol is a Ukrainian activist and founder of FEMEN. She is an economist and has a background in theater and uses that skill to attract attention to her cause – for Ukrainian women to gain access to society and politics.-FEMEN:...
.
- 2009-07-11: AANR coordinates a skinny dipping event at 3:00PM throughout North America. The event is recorded by The Guinness Book of World Records as "largest number of people simultaneously skinny-dipping".
Repeating events
- Harvard Primal ScreamPrimal Scream (Harvard)Primal Scream is a tradition at Harvard University that forms part of the streaking at educational institutions. At midnight on the last night of reading period and before final exams begin, students streak through the Old Yard. The streakers begin in the north end of The Yard and generally make...
at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts (once each semester)
- Rainbow Family of Living Light'sRainbow FamilyThe Rainbow Family of Living Light is a loosely affiliated group of individuals committed to principles of non-violence and egalitarianism. They put on events known as Rainbow Gatherings....
annual Gathering of the TribesRainbow GatheringRainbow Gatherings are temporary intentional communities, typically held in outdoor settings, and espousing and practicing ideals of peace, love, harmony, freedom and community, as a consciously expressed alternative to mainstream popular culture, consumerism, capitalism and mass media.Rainbow...
for World Peace and Healing
- Solstice CyclistsSolstice CyclistsThe Solstice Cyclists is an artistic, non-political, clothing-optional bike ride celebrating the Summer Solstice...
, Seattle, June
- World Naked Bike RideWorld Naked Bike RideWorld Naked Bike Ride is an international clothing-optional bike ride in which participants plan, meet and ride together en masse on human-powered transport , to "deliver a vision of a cleaner, safer, body-positive world."The dress code motto is "Bare as you dare"...
See also
- BohemianismBohemianismBohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
- Christian naturism: Timeline of requisite dress in Western civilization
- CountercultureCountercultureCounterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
- Culture jammingCulture jammingCulture jamming, coined in 1984, denotes a tactic used by many anti-consumerist social movements to disrupt or subvert mainstream cultural institutions, including corporate advertising. Guerrilla semiotics and night discourse are sometimes used synonymously with the term culture jamming.Culture...
- Direct actionDirect actionDirect action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
- Flash mobFlash mobA flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, artistic expression...
- Smart mobSmart mobA smart mob is a group that, contrary to the usual connotations of a mob, behaves intelligently or efficiently because of its exponentially increasing network links. This network enables people to connect to information and others, allowing a form of social coordination. Parallels are made to,...
Sources
- Histoire du naturisme at Nateuropa.org -(In French). Google translation. Accessed December 2006