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Spending a day at the beach without clothes can be one of life's
most exhilarating experiences. In many European countries, it is
accepted as normal human behavior to enjoy the sand and water in
the nude if one so chooses. Women are often free to go topless
wherever men are, and there is a genuine understanding that the
human body is a form of beauty, not something that should be
covered up because it is somehow dirty.
We believe that all people have a constitutionally guaranteed
freedom to express themselves in the nude in public areas like
beaches, parks, neighborhood streets, and lawns. Public
nudity should be decriminalized so that people may dress - or
not dress - as they so choose.
 Questions and Answers
What is nudism?
Nudism is the state of being nude, especially in public places.
Is nudism
sexual?
It can be, but it
usually isn't. Most nudists want to be nude merely because they
feel more comfortable and more natural when they are not wearing
clothes. Laws that ban nudity in public essentially make it
against the law to be yourself.
Where is nudism legal?
Nudism is generally legal only on private property that is
not in view of the general public. A small number of public
beaches and parks in America also "tolerate" nudism in certain
restricted areas, but in most cases a person can still be
ticketed or even arrested for being nude in those areas at any
time. Police crackdowns also periodically occur in nude areas
when authorities receive one or more complaints from the public
about "indecent exposure".
Why is public nudism
illegal?
Like laws regulating other aspects of sexuality, nudism laws are
remnants of rigid religious and moral codes that do not belong
in today's world.
What needs to
be done?
Either Congress must pass a human rights law decriminalizing nudity in public, or
the Supreme Court needs to issue a ruling declaring that laws
banning public nudity are unconstitutional because they violate
a person's right to free expression, and that laws banning
toplessness for women but not men violate the equal protection
clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Where can I find out more information on nudism?
Below is a list of resources with more information on nudism.
The Naturist Society -
http://www.naturist.com
American Association for Nude Recreation -
http://www.aanr.com
International Naturists Association -
http://www.clothesfree.com
Top Free Coalition -
http://www.geocities.com/topfreedom
Top Free Equal Rights Association -
http://www.tera.ca
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