[at-l] REG hiking naked

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

At 04:50 PM 10/4/2003 -0400, Rogene Beers wrote:

>He's right, of course, but that hasn't stopped him from being arrested ten
>times or from being beaten up in Cornwall. Putting aside the legal issues of
>baring all in public, why does the sight of a naked man out on a harmless
>hike, make some people turn to violence and others snigger or recoil.
>
>Some of the answer is in fear of the unfamilir
>but for some it's haveing been raped and or abused
>singily or many times.  Some just think that if you don't see or talk about
>it it dosen't exhist.  Too many people have had that kind of sex education.
>I'm sure theres many more reasons to this irational fear of naked bodies but
>for those that have been abused with that kind of power forced upon them a
>unwanted naked man or woman triggers some pretty bad memories.  There's more
>than one side to this coin.

There are societies that are more tolerant of nudity than the US or 
Britain. Partial or total nudity is not cause for alarm on many beaches in 
Southern Europe and runners participating in races in Scandinavia can be 
seen changing into or out of their running clothing right on the street. 
The anti-nudity laws are likely there because it reflects the attitude of 
the majority toward nudity in public. Changing a culture though is not 
simply a matter of challenging laws, no matter how irrational the law. 
Personally I have no problem with nudity but as a large male I'm not 
threatened by it. Even if it were legal I wouldn't make a habit of hiking 
nude because of bugs, nasty plants (poison ivy, stinging nettles and the 
like) not to mention the potential for sunburn in places I really don't 
want sunburn. I have been known to go skinny dipping in appropriately 
secluded places. I guess while I sympathize with the idea that most people 
are irrational about nudity, I learned long ago that there are some battles 
that simply aren't worth winning. This seems to me to be one of them.

Saunterer