| Klondike |
10-11-2010 12:23 AM |
nudity and protest have a long history, and I think that it probably goes back to when the peasants of old wore little clothing, while the King was spectacularly dressed. In that case, nudity was equated with poverty, and one can then see the connection which today in the developed world no longer really exists. But even in Ghandi's time, there were overtones of this as Ghandi would wear little clothing while dressed like the "untouchables". He would then join them in protests against uniformed attackers. So.....it seems as though getting naked to protest something like big oil, especially if you are well off as many of the riders are, is a way of showing solidarity with "the masses" who are poor or materially "naked" so to speak. And I think also the idea is to make it more unjust for a cop or enforcer who might strike or assault a protester, i.e. assaulting a naked person vs a clothed person is more akin to assaulting a poor defenseless child, etc. So then not only is their a feeling of solidarity with the poor, but also an attempt to sort of present oneself as a defenseless child to a potential attacker (In the case of PETA, its to present oneself as a poor defenseless animal). Anyway, I don't think that in Ghandi's era there were sexual overtones in what they did, and before that time, seeing naked poor people, especially children, was a common everyday occurance.
That said, today we ARE seeing exhibitionists and people with a more sexual agenda join these protests! Its not hard to see why :) After all, millions google these pics and they occur right alongside pics from other public nudity events on websites all over the net. In fact, probably less than 10% of those viewing these pics really know the difference between a Fremont (non-protest) parade pic and a WNBR pic. They all are getting smooshed together in peoples minds, and only a few of us "in the know" here at OCC can really tell you which pic goes with which event.
Anyway, we are living in an era that neither Ghandi nor any British Monarch could ever have dreamed of. Public nudity is in part about exhibitionism, and how many exhibitionists care if the next event nearby is protest related or not? And frankly, a lot of non-political events in which there is nudity are also making a social or political statement of some type in the process. Usually, its about "liberation" or something and typically cop-types are not particularly welcome.
Anyway, but I think the connection between nudity and the childlike, innocent state is EXTREMELY important not only in protests and public nudity events, but in ALL of naturism.. This is to me where the distinction between non-sexual and sexual nudity arises. Because the desire to carry into adulthood the joys of INNOCENT nudity that perhaps one enjoyed as a child IS divorced from sexual overtones. Nudity in this case is not equated with sex, but simply with adolescence and the associated carefree days where there were no adult responsibilities. Everyone is a kid at heart, and they say men would still be walking around naked if not for the pressures of modern society. So then add public hair (and breasts for the ladies) and oops, all of a sudden we are going to get some sexual tension there from observers, but that does not change what is going on in the minds of those that are naked. BUT.......now then add a boner.........!! And perhaps at that point the line is crossed, the chemistry changes, and you are now seeing your innocent escapade destroyed to be replaced with a sexual one??!! The transition from the adolescent state to the adult state is perilous, and sex implies so many things that one may not be prepared for! The blood pressure rises, the heart starts to pound.....
So.......the guys that showed up at the London WNBR this year who were well photographed with boners? Society needs to understand when and how to separate non sexual nudity from sexual nudity, and without that separation, non sexual nudity may go away for good. There will always be a strong desire to keep them separate. As long as there are children and memories and old people, that will never change..
Klondike
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