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Pedro, I wanted to comment along those lines earlier. What makes Fremont so interesting is 1) that so many "ordinary" girls paricipate ( as Klondike noted they might even outnumber the men); and 2) how much fun the girls seem to be having showing off--unlike WNBR etc where the girls might be naked, but still resent being oggled, and get angry if people stare, take pictures, etc.

It would seem that Fremont is one public nudity event that is truly compatible with the female mentality about nudity and sexuality. In my opinion, it's a lot like Halloween. Girls absolutely love Halloween. Why? Because they love getting dressed up, and they can express their sexuality i.e dress sl*tty without anyone judging them. And of course once they costume goes on they express their sexuality more openly as well. But it's totally safe for them because it's all part of role-playing whatever their costume is.

I think Fremont is a lot like that. First off, with the exception of the few girls who go completely naked, there is actually a "costume," though it's made up of paint rather than cloth. When they strip down they get a chance to "dress up" in bodypaint and adopt another identity. Bodypaint itself has reached a point of acceptance in our society at this point that it's not thought of as being truly naked. By now lots of models and celebrities have appeared in just bodypaint on magazine covers and even prime time television. I think part of the logic is, that if it's OK for them, it's OK for me. And again, on top of that, they get a chance to create an elaborate costume that makes them look and feel beautiful, which all women love. So, like Halloween, they get to act out sexually, soak up the attention and feel desirable without feeling like they're crossing the line too much.

It's a lot safer, a lot more acceptable, and a lot more appealing to them than just stripping their clothes off and having men stare at their naked bodies. Of course, we at OCC like looking at them either way, so it's a win-win.

Of course, a lot of this is because the "ordinary women" we're talking about are ordinary within the context of one of the more liberal cities in America, but I still think it's this reasoning that makes the magic happen at Fremont.

I woke up at 3AM and just had to check in. You guys scouring Flickr are doing a magnificent job!

You will notice that pics from Gasworks park don't seem to be quite so plentiful this year. THis is what I noticed yesterday at the end of the ride - a large contigent of riders made a U-turn just before entering the park and headed back up towards Leary, never to be seen again (by me). Exactly what this meant, I don't know. The thing is that sooner or later, they would have run into the floats headed the other way, and would not be able to get by them. So they must have left the parade route somewhere at some point, stopped, dressed, and left, etc. Somewhere besides the usual Gasworks Park. This in effect split up the end-of-parade photo ops into two groups. with one exiting at some unknown location. Lets see if pics turn up. Anyway, I think this probably means that the group just wanted more crowd exposure as opposed to not wanting to be seen by the multitudes in the park. PEdro is right - these girls want to be seen and appreciated! At the painting party, EVERYONE at some point seemed to strike up a pose for some photog. Its the thing to do at FRemont! I rarely look for the posed shots, but yesterday a few girls, seeing me photographing them, actually struck up a formal pose! How often has that happened to me before - um, try never!

And lastly, also a first for me in a pic I will post soon - a topless spectator. Now thats an exciting trend! THis particular women did not ride at all. She just got caught up in the fun and removed her top while watching the spectacle. THis has got to be one of the greatest public nudity events today :)

Here are a few more pics of a girl that I photographed extensively. She is my runner up star of the PArade.

EDIT: FLanker7 - there we go posting simultaneously again, and even expressing similar thoughts. I think both you and PEdro are right, and yesterday I came away feeling much the same about things, while marveling at this city and its culture. MOre and more women seem attracted to the unique aspects of bodypainting which allows them to both express themselves and get attention and adulation. And with bodypaint, there are so many possibilities and degrees of nakedness and expression that you can adopt. The black paint, for example, hides one almost as well as clothes. Want to be a little more daring (and quite a few women did this year)? - get a paint job like this woman below...

Klondike

A few topless only's for you. I took so many pics yesterday, I could stay with fully nudes for quite a while.

KLondike

hell yours are the only 'painting party' pics i think i've seen yet !
been looking and looking, I can't recall any yet on flickr !

Some flickr v5
 

Whittled down from 100's of pics from user Philip Weiss. This dude needs a new camera. Maybe you can have a talk to him Klondike...

pennywiseguy2

Some flickr v6
 

Whittled down from 100's of pics from user Philip Weiss. This dude needs a new camera. Maybe you can have a talk to him Klondike...

pennywiseguy2

Some flickr v7
 

Whittled down from 100's of pics from user Philip Weiss. This dude needs a new camera. Maybe you can have a talk to him Klondike...

pennywiseguy2

Some flickr v8
 

From flickr user 'manleyaudio'.

I'll check this thread after work tomorrow, and I expect that there will be a bunch of pics to catch up on. Problem is, Klondike has spoilt us, and most webfinds just can't compete.

Later

pennywiseguy2