Northwest Nude News – 04/03/2014
AANR-Northwest
This week in the Northwest 4/4 – 4/10
*Saturday*
Breakfast – 8am – LARC
Highway Clean Up – 10am – LARC
Bare Bowling – Hidden Springs
80’s Theme Dance – 8:30pm – Lake Bronson
*Monday*
Spa Night @ LadyWell’s – 6:00pm – _SLUGS_
Next week in the Northwest 4/11 – 4/17
*Entire Weekend*
AANR-NW Spring Board Meeting – Sun Meadow Resort
Opening the Mountain – Bare Backers
*Friday*
Meet & Greet @ Campfire – 7:00pm – LARC
*Saturday*
AANR-NW Forums – 10:00am – Sun Meadow Resort
Board Meeting @ Tent – 10:00am – LARC
Board Meeting – 10:00am – Mountaindale Sun Resort
General Meeting – 1:00pm – Mountaindale Sun Resort
April Dinner and DJ Dance – 6:00pm – Mountaindale Sun Resort
Atomic Jive
-7:30pm – Sun Meadow Resort
Theme Dance @ Tent – 7:30 pm – LARC
Easter Potluck – 6:30pm – Squaw Mt Resort
*Sunday*
AANR-NW Board Meeting – 9:00am – Sun Meadow Resort
Executive Board Meeting – 10:00am – Squaw Mt Resort
General Assembly – 12:00pm – Squaw Mt Resort
Nudity, Nudism and our Society
by Mel Kanner
/Number 3 in a series of articles examining the changes that I have
observed to the practice of nudism over the years and our society’s view
of nudity./
Archive: #1
Archive: #2
Some comments about the evolution of swim suits and nude beaches:
Through the 20th century swimming attire became less restrictive, more
comfortable. And in some respects, more sexually provocative. In the
early part of the century, women wore attire that covered them from
head to toe, including stockings and a hat. Gradually the swimming
suits got smaller covering less and less. Men went from a one piece
suit that exented from the neck to mid-calf, to two piece suits
consisting of shorts and a sleeveless top. By the 50’s women wore a
one piece skin tight suit , made popular by Esther Williams in Hollywood
productions designed to show women in swim suits. Men were no longer
required to cover their chests.
Then came the “Itsy-Bitsy, Teenie-Weenie,Yellow, Polka-Dot Bikini”. The
swim suit and the popular song appeared in 1960.
Beachwear has evolved even more since then. For a brief period there
was the single-piece topless monokini, introduced by the fashion
designer Rudi Gernreich (1964). It was too avant garde for Americans.
The bikini stayed the standard for a long time. And recently became
even smaller with the thong swim suit, which covers little more than the
pubic area and the nipples. For men, there have been two separate
evolutions: one is the speedo, and the other is a form of baggy shorts
that extends below the knee. The baggy shorts version seems to be the
most common today. I will examine that phenomenon later.
And that is where the evolution has stopped in the U.S, and I think it
has reached a plateau. Even though it seemed to me, as a nudist, that
eventually the swimsuit would disappear and that all public beaches
would permit nudity. That seemed inevitable since this is what seemed
to be happening in Europe and Australia/New Zealand and the Caribbean.
There, topless was becoming the norm; nudist/naturist beaches were
common; more nudist resorts were being developed, some with
encouragement and financing by governments (e.g. Cap d’Agde in France).
Nudist/naturist beaches have increased in number significantly in the
U.S. In 1955 I knew of no public beaches where one could swim nude.
There were probably some out of the way places where it was
traditional to swim nude, but none that were sanctioned by any
government agencies. But, I was so sure that it was inevitable that I
made a bet with a friend that by 1965 there would be a publicly
sanctioned nude beach. I think I lost the bet (neither of us tried to
collect), off by about 10 years.
In 1976, a portion of Blacks Beach, a 900 ft. section, owned by the city
of San Diego, was officially designated by the city as a clothing
optional public beach. Blacks Beach is two miles long, and with the
exception of the 900 ft. section, is owned by the state of Calif, and is
treated as a state park. It can be reached with difficulty — either a
long walk in from either end, or a climb down (and up) a precarious
cliff. It had been traditionally a nude beach, but had never been (and
still isn’t) officially designated as one. Park rangers patrol it
periodically and do not enforce any anti-nudity laws. (The story is a
little more complicated than this. There have been varying degrees of
agreement during the years between our nudist organizations and the
state Parks Dept. on nude use in state parks.)
On opening day, 10,000 nude beach goers packed the 900 ft. section.
Unfortunately, succumbing to pressure from residents in the vicinity,
the city council reversed their decision. Since the 900 ft. section was
no longer officially designated as a “public beach”, the city was no
longer obligated to spend public monies on access, toilet facilities,
maintenance, etc. The section reverted back to being treated as it it
was just another piece of the state park.
I single out Blacks because it was the first nude beach that I was aware
of, and when it was officially sanctioned by the city it felt as if what
I had predicted was finally becoming true. I had been residing again in
San Diego at that time, and I experienced great disappointment in the
setback. However, upon reflection now, it was probably financial rather
than anti-nudity that was the motivator for the San Diego city council
to reverse their decision.
But the right economic model has helped other nude beaches in the
country gain a foothold. The one that seems to work the best is
Haulover Beach in Miami, FL. The beach draws a lot of tourists,
particularly from Europe, who spend money on parking and motels and in
the local stores.
There has been a lot of growth in the number of nude beaches and in nude
use of public lands. There have been many setbacks, too, but overall
there has been a net positive change.
In the next installments I will share some of my observations about the
problems in the U.S. with nude beaches, some ways that we have dealt
with them, and why I think we have reached a plateau in the evolution of
the swimsuit.
(to be continued)
Pending Florida Legislation
Pending Florida Legislation would elevate the penalty of public exposure
of genitalia to a third-degree felony on the second incident.
Additionally, the bill would allow law enforcement officers to make
arrests without a warrant. The Senate bill is SB 254 and can be found
at the following link:
http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2014/0254/BillText/__/PDF
An identical bill is scheduled to pass out of the House and cannot be
stopped.
The AANR Government Relations Team is attempting to influence Senators
to kill their version of the bill before it comes up for a vote. As an
alternative, AANR has proposed amendments, one of which would eliminate
all references to the escalated felony punishment.
AANR has asked all Florida residents to contact their Senators.