Just Roca, 56, a specialist in sexology... compares the campaign against nudity to a parallel proposal to ban the wearing of the Muslim women’s veil, often called the burqa, in public places, as several nearby cities in the Catalonia region have done and as the Barcelona City Council is considering. Mr. Roca called both measures forms of segregation. “It’s like ‘No Negroes,’ ” he said. Just as politicians fear that a burqa-clad woman has something to hide, he said, “they imagine an undressed person has something to hide, too."
April 13, 2011
The city of Barcelona has respected "the right of the citizenry to nudism."
(NYT link.) It has put out a brochure called “Expressing Yourself in Nudity,” with photos of naked people walking in the streets and parks. But that's all about to end....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
30 comments:
They're both hiding in plain sight.
Public nudity would be a good idea just to prove that it's uninteresting after two minutes of novelty effect.
It might clear up hysteria about a lot of things.
Don't we have the right to not see their junk?
Just so long as they aren't wearing shorts...
Most of us look better with clothes on, even if they're shorts.
I'm having difficulty with the counter intuitive statement that nudists have something to hide. Most of them probably have things they ought to hide, but they fail to do so.
No Roca, most of these nude people have something they should hide.
Now here I always thought it was nudists that had nothing to hide. Silly me. I'll have to go to a nude beach and check on ...
What's that, Honey?
Okay, plans canceled. Forget I said it. Didn't know my wife knew words like that.
How about burkas on even days and nude on odd days. Every body gets expressed AND repressed. It's all about diversity.
Mama's got a squeezebox - Daddy never sleeps at night.
So not only are public employees in Wisconsin just like blacks in the Jim Crow south, nudists in Barcelona are also just like blacks in the Jim Crow south.
Damn, is there anyone left out there who isn't just like blacks in the Jim Crow?
Remember the underwear bomber. He was an idiot, but even he knew what this "specialist" does not: If they can see your junk, then they can see your junk.
It's not that you look better in clothes, but that you can systain interest with clothes.
What clothes conceal is that nothing is being concealed.
Which nudism lacks.
I was just there and saw n'er a naked body.
Damn, is there anyone left out there who isn't just like blacks in the Jim Crow?
White hetero males who vote Republican.
You've got to have somebody left to blame.
However, if that white hetero male goes nude... would he get a dispensation?
"What was that man on that bicycle wearing?"
"I don't know, but it sure needs ironing."
Some things look better covered up. We need to work on the obesity problem first.
Mind your own business in a tapas bar in Barcelona. Actually mind your own business no matter what you do in Barcelona. Nothing but grifters in that town. Nude and clothed.
It not that people want to be naked, it's that they want other people to see them naked (and hopefully be outraged).
Like having more than one bumper sticker on your car is less about how you feel than it is about being Leftier than thou.
PS They don't do their cause much good invoking Spencer Tunick, a nebbish who only seems to be able to get women naked in the company of hundreds of chaperones.
“It’s like ‘No Negroes'"
Yeah, because being naked is an inherent property of a person, like skin color.
So that's totally relevant and not utterly stupid.
“They imagine an undressed person has something to hide, too."
LOL! Absolutely fucking clueless.
I am OK with that but only if there is a licensing process that screens out unattractive, fat people from going around nude. I just left a 711 and there were 3 college coeds there who I would not want to see naked. To be fair, they would not want to see me naked either.
So I say without a license to validate you are hawt, you can't be a public nudist. Sound fair?
"It not that people want to be naked, it's that they want other people to see them naked (and hopefully be outraged)."
Some years ago, at a discussion of the life and work of fantasy writer Theodore Sturgeon, another writer who had stayed at Sturgeon's home mentioned that Sturgeon, a nudist, always answered the door naked. Postal carrier, UPS delivery, political canvasser, charity soliciter, it didn't matter. If they were upset or offended, so much the better.
I'm in favor of segregation: nudist-only chairs, benches and seats in public conveyances.
Think about it.
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.
But the naked people like the coast.
While not a nudist, if often go to a nude (actually, 'clothing optional') beach in N. Miami. Yes, I'm old; yes, I'm out of shape. So are most of the others on the beach.
We're not there for visual aesthetics, though sometimes there are pleasant surprises. We're there for the sun and swimming in the ocean without encumbrance. Most of us are not there as part of some mating ritual, either.
It's purely hedonistic and selfish: we don't care what others may think of our bodies. It's about our own skin, the sun, and the sea. If the pleasurable aspects of that combination aren't apparent, then then there's no explaining it.
It's a family beach, too. All ages, from babies in arms to octogenarians show up, though there is a notable void in the 12-16 y/o range. Body self-awareness and shyness seem to hit that age. It's probably just as well that they avoid the beach, in fact, as there are those who have trouble abiding the lines that circumscribe child porn.
But sexual behavior on the beach is not only strongly frowned upon, it's an arrestable offense. Police regularly patrol this beach as they do the 'clothing mandatory' beaches to the north and south. The life guards may give a warning before calling the cops, but they don't hesitate to call them. There was enough difficulty in getting the laws changed to permit the clothing-optional beach to ensure that the users keep the abusers away.
I'm aware that my attendance is likely due to having been raised in New England--Emily Dickenson's quiet gardens and Hester Prynne's dressmaker. Shucking the claustrophobic social milieu seems to have led to shucking clothes, too.
I'm certainly not out to offend anyone by my presence. Equally, I'm not offended by anyone else's presence, be they obese or anorexic; with two, one or no breasts; odd or even numbers of limbs. It's about our own bodies, not others' or what others might think of our own.
Thanks for your comment, Burgess. Well said and makes me think. But as to the actual topic, burqa's versus nudity. Well, there is no comparison near as I can tell. One is about freedom, the other oppression.
I meant to add, but forgot to do so, that I believe Mr. Roca is relying on his polictical sense rather than his common sense. As many, far too many, do nowadays.
I suppose there are other motivations, but many of the nudists and burqistas have a wish to express hostility towards western conventions.....I stayed at a Club Med some time back. There were many French girls there, and they all went topless. Some of the girls were very pretty, and it was a pleasant enough experience. After a few days, most of the American girls started going topless as well. It was all very civilized, but there were some girls who gave off such a jolt of sexuality that it was difficult to keep one's composure in their presence. Nudity among strangers causes more hypocrisy than clothing.
"A specialist in sexology"? Ye gods.
The best line George Will ever wrote was about jobs that should be denied to anyone who seems eager for them. Like "sex instructor," or "Ambassador to the UN."
wv: aderisin. I expect I'll see that advertised in the "Ask your doctor about" fashion any day now. It sure sounds better than "Orudis."
“It’s like ‘No Negroes,’ ” he said. Just as politicians fear that a burqa-clad woman has something to hide, he said, “they imagine an undressed person has something to hide, too."
Offering concrete proof that mental diseases still conquer!
PS: Your captcha code is "foust." Mere co-incidence?
Post a Comment