WNBR 2011

[simonlintworm]

Originally Posted by BeachBiker

It is legal to ride topless in New York, but full nudity is against the law, and the world famous NYPD rode along with the New York ride in force to make sure there was no nudity. The first arrest, probably male, was reported about half an hour into the ride, and there are reports he spent the night in jail.

So, the message is clear. The nudity that happens in cities all over the world is NOT going to happen in NYC anytime soon. And a ride that takes place in the "Naked City" (an old detective TV series) of 8-million people, and a metro area of 18-million, will continue to attract a couple of hundred riders.

This video shows a topless female rider, but then quickly switches to the police dealing with one young rider who rode outside the designated bike lanes that all bicycle riders are always supposed to stay in, it is obvious that the police are not in a festive mood.....

youtube.com/watch?v=oT0fNaCKsQc

What is this?! Are people in New York living under some cruel dictatorship or something? It's a harmless protest and they are treated as if they are criminals! So much for Freedom of thought.

[flanker7]

Originally Posted by Pedro the Fisherman

Ah ha! The land of the free.......almost! If you had not bothered with that silly old War of Independance' stuff, you too could have had fully nude in NY....like er, umm Seattle or Chicago

Yeah, this is a disappointing development. There were several nude males and one nude female last year, which gave hope that more ladies would join in this year. However, as Pedro points out virtually all other American rides allow full nudity, even St. Louis which was originally supposed to be a pasties and bikinis affair. I think have been others than have popped up and fizzled out after one year, though, so it's possible repressive law enforcement is the reason.

On the whole though, I'm actually quite pleased with how liberal and supportive law enforcement has been in most American cities. Full nudity is definitely against the law in nearly every jurisdiction where rides take place, so the police and so the police and city officials are to be applauded for having the sense to look the other way.

But what I find even more puzzling is how other more liberal countries continue to suppress the WNBR. The Berlin ride was shut down this year, and I recall seeing a video a few years ago of a man being arrested for going nude at an fledgling Paris ride. Yet in these countries you see nudity on TV during prime time. Then you have Sao Paulo, where no one's naked, yet a few month prior women were dancing naked in the street for carnaval.

I'm sure there are good explanations rooted in the different cultural attitudes toward nudity. I once heard a French woman in a Spencer Tunick documentary explain that the French view nudity in art beautiful, but interpreted public nudity (where not already allowed, like a beach) as an aggression. I have no idea if that's actually the case or not, but that kind of stuck with me.

[BeachBiker]

you too could have had fully nude in NY....like er, umm Seattle or Chicago

While the way the City of New York handled this year's WNBR may be discouraging, it may help to remember the long evolution of the Fremont Naked Riders in Seattle.

It all started there with streakers in the front of the regular solstice parade in 1992, and over the next dozen or so years there were a handful of painted or nude riders each year, and there were arrests. And when the nudity finally gained acceptance it then took many more years to build up to the many hundreds of naked riders seen in recent years.

New York is an otherwise liberal city, and it is hard to think of another city in the US where women are legally allowed to go topless on the street. Perhaps, the NYPD are concerned that if full nudity is allowed in a once a year bike ride, there will be a court ruling legalizing full nudity on the street at any time. It was a judge's ruling that made being topless legal.

Apparently, the NYC police warned the NY ride organizers that there would be "Zero Tolerance" (Zed) for the breaking of any law, including full nudity. There were reported to be, at least, two summonses and four lane violations issued to riders. The early ride arrest, which can be seen in the video below, was for riding a bike on the sidewalk.

The best attended rides in the US, in Portland and Chicago, are held at night in the dark where crowds aren't usually expected on the streets, and ride participants don't have to worry as much about being seen by non-riders or being photographed for all the world to see for years to come.

The New York riders who want to ride fully nude in a city will have a chance in early September in Philadelphia, which is a couple of hours away by car or train. Philadelphia, which has had some very tough police organizations in the past, has its ride on a Sunday evening at sundown in the middle of a three day national holiday. The ride goes through a nearly empty business district, that makes it a lot easier for the police to look the other way on public nudity. Riders get to ride nude, if they want, but the "demonstration" aspect to the ride is diminished.

This link is to a video of the NY ride arrest, and then shows an interview with a female rider explaining her understanding of the rules the City of New York has imposed. She isn't nude, so don't get your hopes up.

hxxp/www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_au-fYni-A

[down2000]

So, is it just the fact Europe has more liberal laws or Europeans are willing to take the chance. I am curious if the laws regarding nudity are similar?

[crispus]

Hitherto-unregenerate logorrheic pleads: more pix! Apocalypse nigh?

[simonlintworm]

I think crispus is right. This thread needs more pics. That's why I did a hunt and came up with these.

6 London pics and 1 Chicago.

(Has the pics-well run dry?)

[mattingl]

A few more of my originals from New York.

[Fango]

vimeo.com/26994042 - Artsy short film of the New York WNBR.

Enjoy

Fango

[laylak]

couple more of the so-called ENF girl from Bristol, she seems to have got over her embarassment totally at this stage though.

also another girl that has slipped under the radar so far, probably because she bottomless rather than topless!

[simonlintworm]

4 London and 3 Chicago that were uploaded today