Nudity in VT

[Dreepa]

Nudity in public sounds like a freedom issue until it is suggested that you "trim your pubic hair". 

Cathleen

pubic or public?

[burnthebeautiful]

Nudity in public sounds like a freedom issue until it is suggested that you "trim your pubic hair". 

Cathleen

pubic or public?

"keep your pubic out of the public" sounds like a slogan to me.

[KBCraig]

I guess if you cut it close enough, it's pubic nudity in public.

[Kat Kanning]

Nice article from the sentinel.

          

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Vermont?s naked truth is not so easily found
   

Sometimes being a journalist means stripping off every layer of a story to reach the naked truth.

But I was a willing volunteer this week. I do have some experience.

Last summer in Maui, purely by accident, my sister-in-law scrambled to the top of a cliff that separates Big Beach from Little Beach to check out the waves. She called us over. They were perfect for body surfing.

It wasn?t until we had picked out a shady spot under a palm tree that we realized we were the only ones wearing bathing suits. We nonchalantly agreed that a nude beach was no big deal. We could handle it.

Then we spent the next two hours in the water, hiding our attire and consciously avoiding staring at others. No big deal. Right.

So, with that background in mind, I ventured to Brattleboro this week in search of the naked truth. After all, our friends across the river made national headlines this summer. The Associated Press labeled the community of 12,000 the ?bastion of bohemia? in a story picked up by dozens of papers, coast to coast.

Teenagers in Brattleboro were hanging out naked downtown and there was nothing the adults could do about it. Most were bemused. Some were offended. But the teens had the law on their side. No state or town ordinance prohibits frolicking naked on Main Street, or anywhere else in Brattleboro.

Not so here in Keene. Naked people can?t circle Central Square, carry signs and ask motorists to honk if they see something they like. Chances are they?ll be arrested and charged with indecent exposure and lewdness. A state law covers that.

Just last summer, 67-year-old Robert Schultz of Keene tried to take part in the World Naked Bike Ride and was quickly hauled away before pedaling more than a mile or two in Conway.

(In case you were wondering, ?Isn?t riding naked uncomfortable?? is the most frequently asked question on the group?s Web site. The answer is no, though with some qualifications.)

That?s not to say everyone in New Hampshire frowns upon public nudity. In Acworth, they unabashedly turned nudity into a profitable fundraiser.

Four years ago the ?Acworth women,? young and old, posed for a nude calendar that raised $15,000 for the town?s village store and fire department. That?s a lot of calendars. This year the Acworth men got in on the act, posing for a 2007 calendar that will benefit the Unitarian Church and grange hall.

Not to be outdone, members of the Plaistow Lions Club are posing nude ?at work and play? for a 2007 calendar fundraiser.

On Saturday, the Naturist New Hampshire club organized a hike in the White Mountains. If you encountered some naked people on the White Ledge trail yesterday, there?s your answer.

If that sounds appealing, how about naked bowling on Sept. 23, or Phil?s Forest cookout on Sept. 30. Maybe you?d prefer a ?Happy Nude Year? celebration Dec. 31. Or the ?Unwearin? of the Green? on St. Patrick?s Day.

In Nottingham, Cedar Waters Village says it?s ?celebrating 56 years of family nudism.? It claims there are 20 million practicing nudists in the U.S. Mom, Dad and the kids can sunbathe, swim, sail, play tennis, shuffleboard, horseshoes, fish ? you name it ? naked at this summer camp. It?s also open weekends in the fall.

Incidentally, in all these cases organizers emphasize sexual promiscuity, in any form, is not tolerated, nor is excessive physical contact.

Thus, I learned Brattleboro is not unique in tolerating social nudism. But if I thought hanging out at the Harmony parking lot on the edge of downtown ? the supposed center of nudism ? would reveal dozens of unabashed nudists, well, it?s just not so.

On a cool, misty Wednesday afternoon, no one was naked. Nearby merchants say the summer spotlight has dimmed, the press has dispersed and it?s not an issue. By most accounts, going naked became a stunt, a caricature of itself.

?A few people made a big deal about it, but I think to most people here all the attention was kind of amusing,? resident Jim Speirs said.

Police Chief John Martin says this isn?t the first summer it has happened and probably won?t be the last. He told The Associated Press his department checks out all complaints, but takes a laid-back approach. Still, he says, this summer?s snowball effect offended some residents.

?It?s clearly to outrage people,? he said. ?It?s clearly rebelliousness.?

A group of (clothed) teenagers downtown said they were mainly amused by the whole thing. It wasn?t like hundreds of teens were traipsing through town all summer without clothes on. Often, it was small groups of friends daring each other.

?It?s much ado about nothing,? said one Brattleboro Union High student, who would only give her first name, Jen. ?Just a bunch of people showing off.?

Guess that just about covers it.

Steve Gilbert is an editor at the Sentinel. His column appears every Sunday.

[KBCraig]