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Use dmy dates|date=April 2012pp-semi-indefpp-move-indef: "Nude" and "Naked" redirect here. For other uses, see Nude (disambiguation) and Naked (disambiguation) . "Nudes" also redirects here. For the 2001 folk rock album, see Nudes (album) . "Clothes free" redirects here. For the preference for nudity in non-sexualized social settings, see naturism .
Nudity or nakedness is the state of wearing no clothing.cite web|url= http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nudity |title=nudity – Definitions from Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |accessdate=17 October 2009 The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations (such as a need for warmth or protection from the elements) and social considerations. In some situations the minimum amount of clothing may be socially acceptable, while in others much more clothing is expected.
Origin of clothing
see also|Evolution_of_hair#Human_Hair Modern human s are the only survivors of several species of naked apes who may have worn clothes, according to DNA studies of body louse|clothing lice .cite book |last=Reed |first=David |title=Pair of lice lost or parasites regained: The evolutionary history of Anthropoid primate lice |publisher=BMC Biology |year=2007 This study suggests that clothing may have been used as long ago as Timeline of human evolution#Homo|650 thousand years ago – much longer than previously thought. Embarrassment and shame may be consequences of the prolonged infancy of human offspring whose care implies a state of monogamy for some long time, together with the reduction of the temptations of infidelitycite web |last=Fieldman |first=George |title=What's the Problem with Nudity? |web= http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00j0hnm |publisher=BBC UK (Horizon documentary) |year=2007
Social attitudes
People, as individuals and in groups, have varying attitudes towards their own nudity. Some people are relaxed about appearing less than fully clothed in front of others, while others are uncomfortable or inhibited in that regard. People are nude in a variety of situations, and whether they are prepared to disrobe in front of others depends on the social context in which the issue arises. For example, people need to bathe without clothing, some people also sleep in the nude, some prefer to Sun tanning|sunbathe in the nude or at least Toplessness|topless . Many people are prepared to disrobe for a medical examination , while others are nude in other situations. Some people adopt nudism as a lifestyle.
Though the wearing of clothes is the social norm in most cultures, some cultures, groups and individuals are more relaxed about nudity, though attitudes often depend on context. On the other hand, some people feel uncomfortable in the presence of any nudity, and the presence of a nude person in a public place can give rise to controversy, irrespective of the attitude of the person who is nude. Besides meeting social disapproval, in some places public nudity may constitute a crime of indecent exposure . Many people have strong views on nudity, which to them can involve issues and standards of modesty , decency and morality . Some people have a psychological aversion to nudity, called gymnophobia . Many people regard nudity to be inherently sexual and Eroticism|erotic .
Nudity (sex-related or not) is also to be found in visual arts (see also art nude , nude photography , nudity in film ), also on the Internet, and in performing arts . It is a factor in Sex industry|adult entertainment of various types.
Terminology
Full nudity refers to complete nudity, while partial nudity refers to less than full nudity, with parts of the body covered in some manner. The term partial nudity is sometimes used to refer to exposure of skin beyond what the person using the expression considers to be within the limits of modesty . If the exposure is within the standards of modesty of a given culture and setting (e.g. wearing a bikini at a non-nude beach), terms such as nudity, partial or otherwise, are not normally used. If however, the degree of exposure exceeds the cultural norms of the setting, or if the activity or setting includes nudity as an understood part of its function, such as a nude beach , terminology relating to nudity and degrees thereof are typically used. Toplessness is regarded by most people as partial nudity.
Full frontal nudity describes a state of full nudity with the subject facing forward with the whole front of the body exposed, including intimate part s such as a man's penis or woman's vulva . Partial frontal nudity typically only refers to the exposure of the breast s. Non-frontal nudity describes nudity where the whole back side of the body, including the buttocks , is exposed, or a side-view from any other direction.
Community facilities
See also|ModestyAn individual's personal attitudes to modesty have an impact on their attitudes to their own nudity as well as that of others. Some people regard any display of bare skin as erotic or offensive, while others are more relaxed about nudity. The attitudes to nudity are strongly dependent on the context in which it takes place, so that what may be considered inappropriate in one context (e.g. on a public street) may be acceptable in another context (e.g. in the home). These are individual subjective standards. Even personal standards take into account exceptional situations, when standards are waived or qualified, as in the case of Physical examination|medical examinations .
Public facilities generally reflect generally accepted community standards of dress. The same applies to public toilets, changing room s, etc., where some degree of disrobing must take place. In those situations, sex segregation|gender-specific facilities are usually provided so as to reduce embarrassment of users of these facilities to predictable levels. Some countries allow non-gender-specific open space changing rooms with individual cubicles or stalls, and in some cultures communal shower ing, non-segregated sauna s and other bathing facilities are also accepted. In some cultures and for some individuals, nudity may be considered inappropriate and embarrassing.
Public nudity
Main|Public nudity A society's attitude to public nudity varies depending on the culture, time, location and context of an activity. There are many exceptions and particular circumstances in which nudity is tolerated, accepted or even encouraged in public spaces . Such examples would include a nude beach , within some Intentional community|intentional communities (such as naturism|naturist resorts or clubs) and at special events.
In general and across cultures, more restrictions are found for exposure of those parts of the human body that display evidence of sexual arousal . Sex organ s and often women's breast s are covered, even when other parts of the body may be freely uncovered. Yet the nudity taboo may have meanings deeper than the immediate possibility of sexual arousal, for example, in the cumulative weight of tradition and habit (psychology)|habit . Clothing also expresses and symbolizes authority, and more general norms and values besides those of a sexual nature.
Another common distinction is that gratuitous nudity is perceived as more offensive than the same degree of physical exposure in a functional context, where the action could not conveniently be performed dressed, either in reality or in a fictitious scene in art. The intent can also be invoked: whether the nudity is meant to affect observers; e.g. streaking can be considered unacceptably provocative, and nude sun tanning viewed mildly as rather inoffensive.
Social nudity
Some people take part in non-sexual public nude event s. These may be in a naturist resort or club or at a nude beach . Outdoor nude recreation can take place in private or rural areas, though generally limited to warm weather.
Others practice casual public nudity. Topfree sunbathing is considered acceptable by many on the beaches of Finland , France, Spain, Italy and most of the rest of Europe (and even in some outdoor swimming pools); however, exposure of the genitals is restricted to nudist areas in most regions. In the United States, topfree sunbathing and wearing thong (garment)|thong s are not common in many areas, but are limited to nude beaches in various locations. It is normally acceptable for men in the U.S. to be barechested or shirtless when engaged in outdoor recreational activities. Where the social acceptability of nudity in certain places may be well understood, the legal position is often less clear cut. In England, for example, the law does not actually prohibit simple public nudity, but does forbid indecent exposureCitation needed|date=July 2009. In practice, this means that successful prosecution hangs on whether there is a demonstrable intention to shock others, rather than simply a desire to be nude in a public place. Specifically, using nudity to "harass, alarm or distress" others is an offence against the Public Order Act of 1986. Occasional attempts to prove this point by walking naked around the country therefore often result in periods of arrest, followed by release without charge, and inconsistencies in the approach between different police jurisdictions. Differences in the law between England and Scotland appear to make the position harder for naked ramblers once they reach Scotland.
Photography of installation art|installations of massed nude people in public places, as made repeatedly around the world by Spencer Tunick , claim artistic merit.
Means of attracting attention
main|Nudity and protestNudity is at times used to draw attention to a cause, with the participants remaining anonymous. Timeline of significant non-sexualized public nudity activities|Nude events are at times staged as a forum for usually unrelated messages, such as clothing-optional bike ride s. At times, the cause is merely a personal justification for taking part in a nude event, which are popular in their own right. Many nude calendar s are produced each year featuring naked men or women. Some of these are produced to raise money for charities or other causes. Nudity, like sexuality, is also used to draw attention for a commercial purpose, such as for sex in advertising|promotion or advertising .
Children
Globalize|section|date=July 2011
Home
There are differences of opinion as to whether, and if so to what extent, parents should appear naked in front of their children. Gordon and Schroeder report that parental nudity varies considerably from family to family. cite book|title=Sexuality: A Developmental Approach to Problems |author=Betty N. Gordon and Carolyn S. Schroeder |year=1995 |publisher=Springer |isbn=0-306-45040-2 |page=16 They say that "there is nothing inherently wrong with bathing with children or otherwise appearing naked in front of them", noting that doing so may provide an opportunity for parents to provide important information. They note that by ages five to six, children begin to develop a sense of modesty, and recommend to parents who wish to be sensitive to their children's wishes that they limit such activities from that age onwards.
Bonner recommends against nudity in the home if children exhibit sexual play of a type that is considered problematic.cite book|title=Handbook for Child Protection Practice http://books.google.com/books? id=37dhPVW-NXUC& pg=PA209& lpg=PA209& dq=%22When+does+sexual+play+suggest+a+problem%3F%22+bonner& source=bl& ots=LvzaqwfONY& sig=fUns5GE0kOfmP2VePV10fZ1cmlk& hl=en& ei=MBhgS7DsCs-Utgf089DXDQ& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=1& ved=0CAcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage& q=& f=false|editor=Howard Dubowitz and Diane Depanfilis|year=1999|publisher=Sage Publications|isbn=0-7619-1371-8|author=Barbara L. Bonner|chapter=When does sexual play suggest a problem? |page=211
A U.S. study by Alfred Kinsey found that 75% of the participants stated that there was never nudity in the home when they were growing up, 5% of the participants said that there was "seldom" nudity in the home, 3% said "often", and 17% said that it was "usual". The study found that there was no significant difference between what was reported by men and by women with respect to frequency of nudity in the home.cite book|title=Sexual Development in Childhood|author=John Bancroft|pages=146–147|year=2003|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=0-253-34243-0
In a 1995 review of the literature, Paul Okami concluded that there was no reliable evidence linking exposure to parental nudity to any negative effect.Okami. P. (1995) ." Childhood exposure to parental nudity‚ parent-child co-sleeping‚ and 'primal scenes': A review of clinical opinion and empirical evidence," Journal of Sex Research , 32: 51–64. Three years later, his team finished an 18-year longitudinal study that showed that, if anything, such exposure was associated with slight beneficial effects, particularly for boys.Okami, P., Olmstead, R., Abramson, P. & Pendleton, L. (1998). http://www.taasa.org/library/pdfs/TAASALibrary52.pdf “Early childhood exposure to parental nudity and scenes of parental sexuality (‘primal scenes’): An 18-year longitudinal study of outcome,” Archives of Sexual Behavior , 27(4), 361–384.
Depictions of nudity
main|Depictions of nudity Depictions of nudity#Children as subjects|Depictions of child nudity or children with nude adults appear in work of art|works of art in various cultures and historical periods. These attitudes have changed over time and have become increasingly frowned upon particularly in recent years,cite book | last = Higonnet | first = Anne | title = Pictures of Innocence – The History and Crissi of Ideal Childhood | publisher = Thames & Hudson | year = 1998 | location = London | url = | id = | isbn = 0-500-28048-7 especially in the case of photography. In recent years, there have been a few incidents in which snapshots taken by parents of their infant or toddler children bathing or otherwise naked were challenged as child pornography .cite web | last = Kincaid | first = James R. | title = Is this child pornography? | url = http://archive.salon.com/mwt/feature/2000/01/31/kincaid/index.html | accessdate =28 April 2007
In May 2008, police in Sydney, Australia, raided an exhibition by the photographer Bill Henson featuring images of naked children on allegations of child pornography.cite web|url= http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/henson-exhibition-shut-down/2008/05/22/1211183043937.html|title=Henson exhibition shut down|work=The Age |location=Australia|date=23 May 2008|accessdate=2 September 2008|author=Paul BibbySee also Jock Sturges and Julia Somerville . Comparable artworks by Henson had been exhibited without incident since 1975, perhaps indicating that this sensitivity has heightened in recent years.
In June 2008, it was reported in The Age that police would have no basis to prosecute Henson over his photographs of naked teenagers, after they were declared "mild and justified" and given a PG rating http://www.theage.com.au/national/no-charges-for-henson-20080606-2mnv.html No charges for Henson. theage.com.au 6 June 2008 by the Australian Classification Board , suggesting viewing by children under the age of 16 is suitable with parental guidance. http://www.theage.com.au/national/no-charges-for-henson-20080606-2mnv.html 'No charges for Henson Retrieved on 6 June 2008. Out of protest, the Art Monthly Australia magazine published an image of the 6-year-old Olympia Nelson taken by her mother, Polixeni Papapetrou. According to the then-11-year-old Olympia, she did not believe the photograph amounted to abuse and was upset with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's remark that he hated it. Olympia's father, art critic Professor Robert Nelson, defended it, saying: "It has nothing to do with pedophilia . The connection between artistic pictures and pedophilia cannot be made and there is no evidence for it."cite web|url= http://www.theage.com.au/national/photo-girl-defends-naked-cover-shot-20080707-32w9.html|title=Photo girl defends naked cover shot|work=The Age |location=Australia|author=AAP|date=7 July 2008Photograph of http://polixenipapapetrou.net/work.php? cat=Dreamchild_2003& img=4 Olympia Nelson depicting Lewis Carroll's Beatrice Hatch before White Cliffs, 2003 from Polixeni Papapetrou's website.
Children seeing nudity
Attitudes toward children seeing nude people vary substantially, depending on the child's culture, age and the context of the nudity (see also the section Home above).
Television and radio regulations in many countries require broadcasters to avoid transmitting images or language considered inappropriate for children from 5:30& nbsp;am to 9& nbsp;pm (the so-called " watershed (television)|watershed "). In the United Kingdom, the Broadcasting Code states, "Nudity before the watershed must be justified by the context."cite web | title = The Ofcom Broadcasting Code | publisher = Ofcom (Office of Communications, UK) | date = 25 July 2005 | url = http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/codes/bcode/protectingu18/| accessdate =1 January 2008dead link|date=May 2012 In the U.S., the Safe harbor#Broadcasting|safe harbor rule forbids depictions of nudity between the hours of 6& nbsp;am and 10& nbsp;pm. Violators may be subject to civil legal action and sanctions if the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) determines the broadcaster did not meet its standards of "decency". "Material is indecent if, in context, it depicts or describes sexual or excretory organs or activities in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium."cite web |url= http://www.fcc.gov/eb/oip/FAQ.html#TheLaw |title=Frequently asked questions about Obscenity, Indecency and Profanity|publisher=Federal Communications Commission |accessdate=25 March 2010
Attitudes to nudity vary substantially throughout Europe. Male and female nudity in Scandinavia is not uncommon. The region has a very open attitude about nudity, although it strictly prohibits children's access to pornography.cite web|last=Mapes|first=Terri|url= http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/specialinterestadult/qt/sexualityinscan.htm|title=Sexuality in Scandinavia: How Scandinavia Looks at Sexuality|accessdate=17 October 2007
Communal showering
Main|Communal showerAnother issue has been the nudity of children in front of other children.
In continental Europe , students tend to shower communally after physical education classes, separated by gender. Fathers taking their young daughters or mothers taking their young sons into the gender-separated changing rooms is mostly viewed as non-controversial, although some public baths have introduced family changing rooms. Some private gymnasiums have instituted rules specifically banning family members of opposite genders taking their children into single-sex locker rooms.Citation needed|date=April 2009 In the U.S. and some of the English-speaking majority of Canada, students at public education|public schools have historically been required to shower communally with classmates of the same sex after physical education classes. In the U.S., public objections and the threat of lawsuits have resulted in a number of school districts in recent years changing policy to make showers optional. Private boarding school s and military academy|military academies in the U.S. often have communal showers, since the focus there is on 24-hours-a-day education and rooming, rather than just acting as day schools. Students in these establishments need places to clean themselves daily.cite web | last = ACLU of Washington | title = ACLU-WA's Work for Student Rights | url = http://www.aclu-wa.org/detail.cfm? id=180 | accessdate =28 April 2007 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070403203030/ http://www.aclu-wa.org/detail.cfm? id=180 |archivedate = 3 April 2007 A court case in Colorado noted that students have a reduced expectation of personal privacy in regards to "communal undress" while showering after physical education classes.cite web | title = TRINIDAD SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1 v. CARLOS R. LOPEZ | url = http://lw.bna.com/lw/19980721/97sc124.htm | accessdate =28 April 2007 According to an interview with a middle school Head teacher|principal , most objections to showering at school that he had heard were actually from the students' parents rather than from the students.cite web | title = Interview with John Pleacher 2/16/87 | url = http://www.unlv.edu/projects/ohpsp/p/133pleacher.html | accessdate =28 April 2007 dead link|date=May 2012
Children participating in naturism
Naturism is usually practised in family groups without age limits, so it may involve nudity of children and children seeing nudity.
Modern technology
Visual media
Mainstream art generally reflects – with some exceptions – social standards of aesthetics and morality of a society at various periods of time. Beyond mainstream standards, artistic expression may be merely tolerated, or be considered as fringe. Since prehistoric time, humans, both male and female, have been depicted in all states of dress, including all states of undress. Nudity in all styles has been and continues to be found in art. Nudity is also a subject of many literary works and in film. All professionally-produced works of art use stylised Composition (visual arts)|composition s to depict the nude body. This also applies to cinema, where even nude scenes are staged and rehearsed.
The erotic aspect of nudity in the arts has been an important factor in its attraction, and has come to be associated with certain states and emotions, such as innocence, playfulness, vulnerability, etc. Pornography does not necessarily involve a naked person, but it involves sexualized scenes, and usually it does not claim to have any artistic merit.
The visual arts were at times the only means available to the general public to view a nude body. Today, the opportunities available for the viewing of the nude body are very wide, and these include magazines, television, films, and the Internet.
Personal privacy issues
Unlike arts in general, which traditionally relied on composed works and professional artists, the invention of photography and then the video camera has opened the art of capturing images of people and of scenes at a relatively low cost to the true amateur. Furthermore, a person could now capture images in both public and private situations. A feature of most of these private photographs and videos is that they are not intended for viewing outside of a very limited range of people, and seldom if ever by the general public.
Vernacular photography , which included nude photography and which previously has been produced for personal enjoyment, is increasingly being more widely disseminated by the medium of the Internet, at times without the knowledge and consent of the subject of the photograph, and to their subsequent embarrassment. Also, the use of secret photography to capture images of an unsuspecting person (undressed or not, and whether for personal use, or intended for posting on the Internet) creates additional personal privacy issues.
Full body scanner
main|Full body scannerA full-body scanner is a device that creates an image of a person's nude body through their clothing to look for hidden objects without physically removing their clothes or making physical contact. They are increasingly being deployed at airports and train stations in many countries.
One technology used under the name "full-body scanner" is the millimeter wave scanner , the active form of which reflects extremely high frequency radio waves off the body to make an image on which one can see some types of objects hidden under the clothes. Passive millimeter wave screening devices rely on only the raw energy that is naturally emitted from the human body or objects concealed on the body; passive devices do not transmit millimeter waves.cite web |url= http://homeland.house.gov/SiteDocuments/20100317140311-88574.pdf |work=House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security & Infrastructure Protection |title=An Assessment of Checkpoint Security: Are Our Airports Keeping Passengers Safe? |author=Mitchel Laskey |date=17 March 2010dead link|date=May 2012cite web |url= http://securitymanagement.com/news/companies-seek-full-body-scans-ease-health-privacy-concerns-006852 |work=Security Management |title=Companies Seek Full-Body Scans That Ease Health, Privacy Concerns |author=Matthew Harwood |date=3 May 2010 Another technology in use is the backscatter X-ray .
Western culture
Functional nudity
Functional nudity for a short time, such as when changing clothes on a beach, is sometimes acceptable, while staying nude on the beach generally is not. On nude beach es it is acceptable to be nude.
In some locations, most particularly within western societies, a woman breastfeeding in public can generate controversy. For example, in June 2007, Brooke Ryan was dining in a booth at the rear of an Applebee's restaurant when she found it necessary to breastfeed her 7-month-old son. While she said she attempted to be discreet, another patron complained to the manager about indecent exposure . Both a waitress and the manager asked her to cover up. She handed him a copy of the Kentucky law that permitted public breastfeeding, but he would not relent. She ended up feeding her son in her car and later organized civil disobedience|"nurse-out" protests in front of the restaurant and other public locations.cite web |url= http://www.kpho.com/news/14076268/detail.html |title=Breastfeeding Protest Targets Restaurant Chain |date=10 September 2007 |work=Khpo.com |accessdate=13 July 2010dead link|date=May 2012 Most U.S. states (40 as of January 2009) have laws clarifying a woman's right to breastfeed in public.cite web|url= http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/breast50.htm|title=50 State Summary of Breastfeeding Laws|month=November | year=2008|publisher=National Conference of State Legislatures|accessdate=7 January 2009
Toplessness and "topfreedom"
Main|TopfreedomSee also|Toplessness In many western societies and in appropriate settings, such as while suntanning, the exposure of women's breast s is not, of itself, normally regarded as indecent exposure. In the United States, however, exposure of female nipple s is a criminal offense in many states and not usually allowed in public (see Public indecency#Legal status in the United States|Public indecency ), while in the United Kingdom, nudity may not be used to "harass, alarm or distress" according to the Public Order Act of 1986.cite web|url= http://gouk.about.com/od/uknudebeaches/f/nudity_law_uk.htm |title=What is the Law Covering Nudity in the UK? Is Nudity Lawful on Unofficial Nude Beaches? |publisher=Gouk.about.com |date=8 October 2009|accessdate=17 October 2009
Prosecutions of cases has given raise to a movement advocating " topfreedom ", promoting equal rights for women to have no clothing above the waist, on the same basis that would apply to men in the same circumstances. The term "topfree" rather than "topless" is advocated to avoid the latter term's perceived sexual connotations.
Naturism
See also|Naturism|List of places where social nudity is practised Naturism (or nudism ) is a culture|cultural and political movement practising, advocating and defending private and public nudity . It is also a lifestyle based on personal, family and/or social preference. See 2002–2003 World Naturist Handbook, pub International Naturist Federation INF-FNI, Sint Hubertusstraat, B-2600 Berchem(Antwerpen) ISBN 90-5583-833-0 The Agde definition. The INF is made up of representative of the Naturist Organisations in 32 countries, with 7 more having correspondent status. The current edition is * Naturisme, The INF World Handbook (2006) http://inf-fni.org/guide.htmldead link|date=May 2012 ISBN 90-5062-080-9cite web|url= http://www.inf-fni.org/ |title=International Naturist Federation |publisher=Inf-fni.org |accessdate=10 December 2011
Naturists reject contemporary standards of modesty which discourage personal, family and social nudity, and seek to create a social environment where people feel comfortable in the company of nude people, and being seen nude, either just by other naturists, or also by the general public.
Nude bathing
The trend in some European countries (for instance Germany, Finland and the Netherlands ) is to allow both genders to bathe together naked. Many German spas allow mixed nude bathing. For example the Friedrichsbad in Baden-Baden has designated times when mixed nude bathing is permitted. There may be some older German Public bathing|bathhouse s, such as Bad Burg, which remain segregated by gender, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Most German (not to mention French, Spanish and Greek) beaches and swimming pools offer Freikörperkultur|FKK (clothing-optional) areas. In general, continental Europeans have a more relaxed attitude about nudity than is seen in the British-influenced world. Some have attributed this difference to the influence of Queen Victoria 's husband Albert, Prince Consort|Albert , who was raised in a very restricting religious sect (see Victorian morality ). The sauna , originating from Finland , is attended nude in its source country http://corz.org/public/docs/naturism/nakedness%20and%20the%20finnish%20sauna%20.txt Nakedness and the Finnish Sauna. Corz.org. Retrieved on 7 October 2011. as well as in most Scandinavian and in the German-speaking countries of Europe. This is true even when a swimsuit must be worn in the swimming pool area of the same complex. Saunas are very common in modern Finland , where there is one sauna for every three peopleWeaver, Fran. (2010-10-08) http://finland.fi/Public/default.aspx? contentid=170017 thisisFINLAND – Seeking the real Finnish Sauna. Finland.fi. Retrieved on 7 October 2011. and became very popular in the remainder of Europe in recent decades. Gender segregation is more the exception than the rule in modern European sauna facilities.citation needed|date=May 2011
Sexuality
Main|Nudity and sexualityNudity in front of a sexual partner is widely accepted, but not in all cases. For example, some partners insist on nudity only at the time and place of sexual intercourse|sex , or with subdued lighting; during bathing with the partner or afterward; covered by a sheet or blanket, or while sleeping.
Non-Western attitudes
Attitudes in Western culture s are not all the same as explained above, and likewise attitudes in non-Western cultures are many and variant. In almost all cultures, acceptability of nudity depends on the situation.
Cultural and/or religious traditions usually dictate what is proper and what is not socially acceptable. Many non-Western cultures allow women to breastfeed in public, while some have very strict laws about showing any bare skin.
Africa
The curse of nakedness
Main|AnasyrmaIn Africa, woman have used stripping naked on purpose as a curse, both historically, and in modern times. The idea is that women give life and they can take it away. The curse initiates an extreme form of ostracism , which anthropologist Terisa Turner has likened to "social execution". The curse extends to foreign men as well, and is believed to cause impotence, madness or other similar harm. http://www.imow.org/wpp/stories/viewStory? storyId=1098 The Curse of Nakedness. Imow.org. Retrieved on 7 October 2011. The threat has been used successfully in mass protests against the petroleum industry in Nigeria http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0731-08.htm Naked Ploy Is Latest Threat in Oil Wars. Commondreams.org (2002-07-31). Retrieved on 7 October 2011., by Leymah Gbowee during the Second Liberian Civil War . http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Leymah-Gbowee-and-Abigail-Disney-Shoot-for-Peace-in-Liberia/5 Leymah Gbowee and Abigail Disney Shoot for Peace in Liberia. Oprah.com. Retrieved on 7 October 2011., and against President Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivory Coast .cite news | title = The Ivory Coast Effect | url = http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/03/the-ivory-coast-effect.html | date = 22 March 2011 | work = The New Yorker | format = article | accessdate =22 March 2011
Clothing and nudity
Different traditions exist among, for example, sub-Saharan Africa ns, partly persisting in the Postcolonialism|post-colonial era. Whereas it is the norm among some ethnic and family groups including some Burkinabese and Nilo-Saharan (e.g. Nuba peoples|Nuba and Surma people ) in daily life or on particular occasions not to wear any clothes or without any covering below the waist – for example, at highly-attended stick-fighting tournaments well-exposed young men use the occasion to catch the eye of a prospective bride.
Liberia
In modern Liberia , soldiers under Joshua Blahyi|General "Butt Naked" Joshua Blahyi fought naked in order to terrorize their opponents. http://hrw.org/reports/2004/liberia0204/6.htm How to Fight, How to Kill: Child Soldiers in Liberia: Roles and Responsibilities of Child Soldiers. Hrw.org. Retrieved on 7 October 2011. Nude except for lace-up leather shoes and a gun, the general led his fierce Butt Naked Battalion into battle on behalf of the warlord Roosevelt Johnson , who hired the unclothed warriors for their fearlessness and fighting skills.
Brazil
In Brazil , the Yawalapiti , an indigenous Xingu peoples|Xingu tribe in the Amazon Basin , practice a funeral ritual known as Quarup , to celebrate life, death and rebirth, and also involves the presentation of all young girls who have begun menstruating since the last Quarup and whose time has come to choose a partner.
Asia
In Japan, public baths are very common. Bathing nude with family members or friends of the same (or sometimes opposite) gender in public bath houses, saunas, or natural hot springs ( Onsen ) is popular. In Korea , public baths ( Jjimjilbang ) are also widespread and communal nude bathing is normal, although nudity is not permitted in unisex areas. In the south Asian region, public nudity is totally restricted.
In India nude beaches can be found in Goa . In many List of Muslim majority countries|Muslim countries , public nudity is illegal.
Nudity is considered shamelessness in the conservative society of India. Some of the conservative people with extreme religious views also consider bathing in nudity as an insult to the water goddess. Hence, nudity in the view of orthodox society is considered a sin.
Historical overview
Main|History of nudityIt is not clear when humans started wearing clothes. Anthropology|Anthropologists postulate the adaptation of animal skins and vegetation into coverings to protect the wearer from cold, heat and rain, especially as humans migrated to new climates; alternatively, covering may have been invented first for other purposes, such as magic, decoration, cult, or prestige, and later found to be practical as well. For men and women, public nudity was at least permissible in ancient Sparta, and customary at festivals.
In some hunter-gatherer cultures in warm climates, near-complete nudity has been, until the introduction of Western culture , or still is, standard practice for both men and women. In some African and Melanesia n cultures, men going completely naked except for a string tied about the waist are considered properly dressed for hunting and other traditional group activities. In a number of tribes in the South Pacific island of New Guinea , the men use hard gourdlike pods as Koteka|penis sheath s . Yet a man without this "covering" could be considered to be in an embarrassing state of nakedness. Among the Chumash people d of southern California, men were usually naked, and women were often toplessness|topless . Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans of the Amazon Basin usually went nude or nearly nude; in many native tribes, the only clothing worn was some device worn by men to clamp the foreskin shut. However, other similar cultures have had different standards. For example, other native North Americans avoided total nudity, and the Native Americans of the mountains and west of South America, such as the Quechuas , kept quite covered.
In 1498, at Trinity Island, Trinidad , Christopher Columbus found the women entirely naked, whereas the men wore a light girdle called guayaco . At the same epoch, on the Para Coast of Brazil , the girls were distinguished from the married women by their absolute nudity. The same absence of costume was observed among the Chaymas of Cumaná , Venezuela, and Du Chaillu noticed the same among the Achiras in Gabon .Dr. Jacobus X : http://www.archive.org/stream/untroddenfieldso00xjac#page/182/mode/2up Untrodden Fields of Anthropology . Falstaff Press, NY, 1937. vol. 2, p. 183
Forced nudity
During witch-hunt s, the alleged Witchcraft|witches were stripped to discover the so-called Witches' mark#As evidence in trials|witches' mark s. The discovery of witches' marks was then used as evidence in trials. Never on a Broomstick ; Frank Robert Donovan; Stackpole Books, 1971; pp.& nbsp;134–136
Nudity (full or partial) can be part of a corporal punishment or as an imposed public humiliation|humiliation , especially when administered in public. In fact, torture manuals have distinguished between the male and female psychological aversion to self-exposure versus being disrobed.
Nazism|Nazis used forced nudity to attempt to humiliate inmates in Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps . This was depicted in the film '' Schindler's List . Substantive and Procedural Aspects of International Criminal Law: The Experience of International and National Courts ; by Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, Olivia Swaak-Goldman; Published by Brill, 2000; pp.& nbsp;280–283
In 2003, Baghdad Central Prison|Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad gained international notoriety for accounts of Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse|torture and abuses by members of the United States Army Reserve during the Post-invasion Iraq, 2003–present|post-invasion period . Photographic images were circulated that exposed the posing of prisoners naked, sometimes bound, and being intimidated and otherwise humiliated, resulting in widespread condemnation of the abuse.
Religion
Main|Nudity in religion
Hinduism
A religious sect known as Naga sadhu (monk) can be seen nude. These sadhu s usually remain naked or some wear a loin-cloth around their waist and ashes smeared over their body. They usually remain in their Akhara (group, also means a wrestling arena) or deep forest and come out in public only during the Kumbha Mela festival. They have a very long history and are warrior monks, who usually also carry a talwar ( sword ), trishula|trishul ( trident ), bhala ( javelin ) or such weapons, and in mediaeval times have fought many wars to protect Hindu temples and shrines.
Similarly, the Aghori , followers of mystic tantra|tantric rituals and who usually stay in isolated place or cremation grounds, can be found naked. But they do not appear in public nor do the general public go to meet them. Sightings of Aghori in public places is very rare.
Jainism
In Jainism , there is a major sect of Digambar Jain, whose monks remain naked. The people of this sect keep their god naked. Though the Shwetambar is the another major sect of this religion who have opposite views to the Digambars. The Shwetambar monks always cover their whole body and keep their god in clothes.
Judaism
In Judaism, a person who enters a ritual bath (a mikveh ) does so without clothing. This includes jewelry and even bandages.
Christianity
See also|Christian naturism In the early Christian Church , nudity was considered acceptable in some contexts such as working outdoors. For example, the Gospel of John (bibleverse-nb||John|21:7|KJV King James Version) describes Saint Peter|Simon Peter being naked ("for he was naked") while fishing from a boat, but then dresses in order to meet Christ.
The first recorded liturgy of baptism , written down by St. Hippolytus of Rome in his 'Apostolic Tradition', required the removal of all clothing for both men and women, including all foreign objects such as jewellery and hair fastenings. http://www.bombaxo.com/hippolytus.html The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus of Rome (chapter 21:1–5) This practice is reflected in early Christian art depicting baptism.
When artistic endeavors revived following the Renaissance , the Catholic Church was a major sponsor of art bearing a religious theme, many of which included subjects in various states of dress and including full nudity. Painters sponsored by the Church included Raphael , Caravaggio and Michelangelo , but there were many others. Many of these paintings and statues were and continue to be displayed in churches, some of which were painted as murals, the most famous of which are at the Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo.
Islam
In Islam, the area of the body not meant to be exposed in public is called the awrah , and while referred to in the Qur'an , is addressed in more detail in hadith . In the Sunni tradition, the male awrah is from the navel to knees. Other denominations have differing interpretations. For women, there are different classifications of awrah. In public, many Muslim women wear the hijab and long dresses which covers most of their head and body, with only specific body parts such as hands and face allowed to show. But in front of direct family (parents, children, siblings), the awrah is relaxed further, allowing them to uncover, except between the chest and the thighs. Sharia law in some Islamic countries requires women to observe purdah , covering their entire bodies, including the face (see niqab and burqa ), However, the degrees of covering vary according to local custom and/or interpretation of Sharia law.
See also
Portal|Nuditydiv col|colwidth=25em
Burlesque
Heroic nudity / Hero
Prisoner of war#Germany|Nudity amongst prisoners of war
Nudity in combat
Nudity in sport
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References
Reflist|30em
Further reading
refbegin|30em
Brandom, Robert, "Critical Notice of Blind and Worried", Theoria 70:2–3, 2005.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php? search=starkers& searchmode=none Etymology OnLine- various lemmate & cite web|url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php? search=bare& searchmode=none |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |date=1 July 1929|accessdate=17 October 2009
Rouche, Michel, "Private life conquers state and society," in A History of Private Life vol I, Paul Veyne, editor, Harvard University Press 1987 ISBN 0-674-39974-9
Mark Storey|Storey, Mark Social Nudity, Sexual Attraction, and Respect Nude & Natural magazine, 24.3 Spring 2005.
Storey, Mark Children, Social Nudity and Academic Research Nude & Natural magazine, 23.4 Summer 2004.
Dennis Craig Smith, The Naked Child: The Long-Range Effects of Family and Social Nudity Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto : R & E Research Associates (1981) ISBN 978-0-86548-056-8
Dennis Craig Smith, Growing Up Without Shame , Elysium Growth Press, book, 1986
Smith, Dennis Craig, Naked Fear , Ultraviolet Press, 2010
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External links
Commons category|Nudity
wikiquote-inline|Nudity
http://www.all-art.org/20centuri_nude/00001contents.htm 20 century Nude in the "History of Art"
http://www.primitivism.com/nudity.htm Nudity in Ancient to Modern Cultures by Aileen Goodson (This chapter excerpt is from Aileen Goodson's Therapy, Nudity & Joy)