Stopping Exploitation Begins at Home, Mr. Deschênes

Stéphane Deschênes of Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park and the Federation of Canadian Naturists, has released his latest web podcast entitled "Exploitation", which condemns the people who have exploited nudism and naturism, those who would "objectify our bodies and sexualize our activities." He rails against profiteers who "pander to deviants", selling photos and videos of children engaging in nude recreation, which have no interest to actual naturists, but only to those with "prurient intents." Deschênes uses strong words like "infect" and "victimize" when referring to people who "twist the definition of naturism to suit their purposes."

I wholeheartedly agree, and I will have a lot more to say about this subject, which is extremely important and should be of great concern to nudists and naturists worldwide.

But Mr. Deschênes is on the Board of Directors for "Going Natural", the official publication of FCN, which accepts advertising from "Nudism Lifestyles" (see page 39 Summer 2010 issue), which sells DVDs for $45 and up which include "mothers and daughters enjoy a morning of lively water exercises", "dozens of guys spend the day at the gym", "Ms. Nude Texas", "1999 Junior Miss Pageant", and other similar exploitative materials.

And on page 52 of the same issue is an ad which features a nude child with the words "RUSSIANBARE.COM" painted on her back, used as a human billboard to sell exactly the types of exploitative materials so condemned by Mr. Deschênes on his podcast.

So I urge everyone to let Mr. Deschênes (stephane@fcn.ca) know that he needs to start looking  in his own back yard when it comes to rooting out those who "conceal themselves beneath the cloak of legitimacy that naturism provides."

Canadian Freehiker Beats Indecency Charge

The law did everything in its power to prevent a man from hiking nude in Orillia, Ontario, Canada, but this week indecency charges were dropped, thus potentially making this a landmark case for nudists and naturists in the Great White North.

Gleb Bazov, a Toronto-based lawyer who represents the man, believes the decision sets an important precedent.

"It is a landmark case in the sense that the law has been applied to nudists and naturists. Now there is a clear pronouncement that a naturist is not engaging in an indecent act." 

The reason for the dismissal was due to the fact that the man's naturist activity was determined to be of no harm to the public.

Reactions from residents are typical, ranging from expressions of personal offense to allegations of harm to children for seeing a nude man, but these are fears and misconceptions based upon centuries of societal restrictions and religious dogma, and have nothing to do with reality.

Congratulations to this unnamed man who has been freehiking in Canada for years, and who can now practice his naturist activities without fear of further harassment from the police. It might take time for the general public to become accepting of freehikers, and hopefully many others will exercise their freedom and experience nature without the unnecessary restrictions of clothing.

UPDATE: Another story on the dismissal is here.

Stephane Deschenes, director of the Federation of Canadian Naturists, says naturists are just embracing their “natural self” and shouldn't "have to fear being out in the public.

"We, as a society, have a real phobia about our own body. We are so incredibly uncomfortable that we find our own image embarrassing, shameful and offensive."

This story was covered by us previously here.

Naturist Action Committee Newsletter for May 2010 Now Online

May 2010 Contents

• Manitoba: Beaconia Beach Hangs in the Balance - by Judy Williams. Activists in Manitoba fight to save a traditional clothing-optional beach from a naked land grab.
• Maine: Topfree in Maine. Bare female breasts are legal in the state. Are high profile public topfree walks creating greater acceptance?
• The "proper" setting for TNS events. Before you show up, a great deal of thoughtful consideration is put into choosing a venue.

View pdf file here.

Of particular note is the NAC declaration of support for topfreedom:

For many, topfreedom is about women’s rights; for naturists it can also be an incremental march towards full body freedom. Both goals merit our support and applause.

Is Canada's Nudity Ban Unconstitutional?

That's precisely what attorney Clayton Ruby intends to prove in defending Bracebridge resident Brian Coldin against two nudity charges. Due to weakness in evidence, two charges have already been dropped.

“We’re pleased to have them withdrawn, because that means the Crown’s acknowledged they can’t prove them,” said Ruby. “(And that’s) after getting the consent of the Attorney General (to have the charges laid), I might add. I wonder what he was told?”...In defending Coldin, Ruby said he will be raising the constitutionality of Section 174 of the Criminal Code of Canada, which states that it is an offence if one is nude in a public place, or is nude in a private place, but is exposed to public view.

Earlier stories here, here, here and here.
Brian Coldin's Facebook page is here.

Heightened Canadian Airport Security

Nudists Told to Cover Up

Although residents of Glen Echo Family Nudist Park in Ontario have been given a full year to vacate by a Landlord and Tenant Board ruling, they are being forced to put on clothing by the spiteful owners, and if they don't, the police will be called.

The owner's latest gambit in his dispute with tenants over the sale was based on his lawyer's argument at the hearing that leasehold regulations do not permit discrimination.

That would mean limiting membership to nudists violates human rights codes, (lawyer Jack) Rosati said.

Excuse me, but wouldn't limiting membership to textiles also violate "human rights codes"? Seems to me that the nudists have a clear discrimination case here. Interesting story which could have long-term ramifications.

Citizen Janes Observes the 90th Anniversary of Nudism in Canada

Canadian Freehiker Perseveres

Interesting article from Orillia, Ontario, Canada, about a man who has been freehiking trails in that area for years. A recent encounter with cyclists provoked the following reaction:

"He was like anybody else," said (Guy) Aubin. "He just gave us a nod. If he had clothes on, you wouldn't think he was weird or nothing."

Still Aubin felt compelled to call the Orillia OPP to report the bizarre encounter. "It doesn't bother me personally, but if kids are out there, I'd be worried."

"He should get a fine to encourage him to put his clothes on."

This sort of irrational response isn't anything new to the unidentified naturist. He has been charged with public nudity and committing indecent acts but never convicted on either charge, and in 2007 authorities managed to harrass him with a "mischief" charge.

"He's been doing it for years," Severn Township mayor Phil Sled said. "We asked him not to do it any more, but he thinks he's within his rights. We passed the matter on to the police, but they couldn't do anything.

"It's just one of those things. It is kind of humorous."

Orillia OPP Sgt. Robin Moore said the hiker is not committing an indecent act if he covers his genitals, however skimpily.

Four questions. 1) If the man is within his rights, why do the authorities continue to harass him? 2) If the mayor finds the man humorous, why continue to pass the matter on to police? 3) What exactly is it that makes even the skimpiest covering of the genitals "decent", and the uncovering of them "indecent?" 4) What specifically is it about the mostly nude freehiker with one arm that is dangerous to children?

There are no good answers to these questions. This freehiker is being persecuted simply due to people's ignorance of the law, and of naturism. Has the Federation of Canadian Naturists come to the support of this man, or has he been fighting this battle alone?

I have been fortunate enough to freehike at Ohio's Cedar Trials, which has 5 miles of paths, and after feeling the freedom of not having sweaty clothes clinging to my skin, and feeling the cool breeze instead, I think it's weird that anyone would ever want to hike wearing textiles.

Freehiking could be one of the keys to getting the next generation interested in naturism. Next to sunbathing, swimming and beach volleyball, it's the recreational activity that makes the most sense being done in the nude.

Shouldn't Be Viewed by Kids

The Canadian Times & Transcript warns that the movie "The Time Traveler's Wife" shouldn't be viewed by kids because Eric Bana's backside can be seen several times on screen, yet the front page of the web site, shown above, exploits the bikini-clad body of a local beauty dipping her toes in a pond to beat the heat. Just sayin'.

Report from Toronto's World Naked Bike Ride Event

Paul Rapoport writes:

The stated aim of the ride is to protest "indecent exposure to cars" and oil dependency. For this event, the naked body seemed not a provocation but simply an antithesis au naturel to concrete and cars. Although naked may also imply vulnerable, we felt strong and determined in our large, merry horde...My strongest memory of the ride is a naked young woman cycling to the front of our group to hold the traffic at a busy intersection. She revealed complete calm and confidence. I saw no fainting spells or car accidents.

What Not to Wear

"What Not to Wear" is a 10 minute audio broadcast about a real woman named Tracy who decided to accompany her husband on a nude vacation. Listen here. Thanks to Paul Rapoport of FCN, who assures me this is indeed a true story.

The Weekend Newds 5/29/09

• According to Canadian journalist Sharlene Asam, the Internet has "sped up teens' sexual willingness and behavior."
• 7 out of 10 Spanish men say they have no problems getting naked.
• Facebook has reinstated graphic photos of a woman's mastectomy scars after initially calling the images "sexual and abusive."

  'I put these pictures out on Facebook to put a message out to women - check your breasts regularly and do not ever be ashamed of a mastectomy,' said Miss (Sharon) Adams, 45, yesterday. 'For Facebook to claim they were sexual and abusive was absurd. Facebook has online groups about sexual positions and some groups which are bordering on racist - but they ban this.'

• Schools across the country are imposing bans or restrictions on hugs due to fear of lawsuits over sexual harassment or improper touching.
• The rampant retouching of photographs in magazines which turns ordinary humans into something unknown in the natural world is causing a backlash.

  It now seems fresh, even exclamation-worthy, when a magazine presents an unvarnished image. Last month, for example, an issue of Life & Style took the unusual step of declaring that a cover photograph of Kim Kardashian was “100 percent unretouched,” as if it had done a great service to the cause of pseudo-celebrity journalism. And People, in its “100 Most Beautiful” issue this month, included images of 11 celebrities “wearing nothing but moisturizer.”

• A UK cable station is producing a "documentary" which "follows a Newcastle-based business building up to 'Naked Friday', a day when all of its workers will come to work nude."
• Noting that "there's never a bad reason for celebrating the human body", Las Vegas City Life explores all the opportunities for non-sexual clothes-free activities in the Nevada/Arizona area.
• Unbelievably, prison officials, prosecutors, judges and attorneys in Texas are gearing up for a big investigation over a photograph of a woman exposing her breast which was sent to convicted killer Robert Fratta.

  “It’s a class C misdemeanor to distribute obscene material to someone in a correctional facility,” District Attorney spokeswoman Donna Hawkins said. “Any violation of the law will be investigated, although no charges are likely to be filed before the conclusion of the trial.”

• A Malaysian editorial calls for a heavy penalty for "unhealthy activities" after a Danish production company taped a reality series on one of the islands off Johor where some participants were nude. Apparently an apology and the firing of the director were insufficient.
• Some Australian men streaked through Sydney wearing special "nude suits" to promote a cell phone company.
• Public interest law professor John Banzhaf has weighed in on the teen sexting issue.

  Anti-child-pornography laws were designed to protect children, including teens, from coercion and other forms of exploitations by adults, and adults involved in or encouraging sexting by teens may reasonable be punished, just as they would be if they participated or encouraged teens to play strip poker, says Banzhaf. But when a teen voluntarily sends racy pictures of herself to an equally-willing teen of about the same age, the basis for prosecution - coercion, exploitation, or other wrongful conduct by an adult - is no longer present, so punishing participating teens for exhibiting themselves to others in emails may be no more justified that punishing them for exhibiting themselves to each other when skinny dipping or playing strip poker in private among only other consenting teens.

• More news here on the "naturist walk" in Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada. Details are still sketchy, apparently FCN had nothing to do with it.
• Topless coffee shop owner Donald Crabtree says that the female employee accused of being outside the establishment with no top on actually had her breasts covered with her hands and arms. Charges are unlikely to be filed, but the Vassalboro town meeting on June 8 should be interesting, since a nudity ordinance will be considered.
• The Vassalboro coffee shop is cited as a reason for another town in Maine to enact preventative ordinances against adult businesses. Waterville planning board member Erik Thomas said "To me, it's better to be proactive about these things."
• The UK Advertising Standards Authority has approved the image of a bare-breasted woman in a brochure, saying, "we concluded the images were not so provocative as to present a risk to teenagers or be unsuitable for the target audience."
• Officials in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, are planning to auction off the site of the former Sunshine Park nudist resort because revenues are down. Residents would rather see the land cleaned up and left au naturel.
• You've heard of "Banned in Boston", but how about "Censored in Chicago"?

The Weekend Newds 5/23/09

• 89 year-old Jo Wallace remembers when fundraising was done in formal wear, but now she has posed nude for a calendar to raise money for a local women's shelter.
• Members of the Dunscar Golf Club in the UK raised £10,000 for breast cancer by selling a nude calendar.
• The nude body of a man has been found floating in the waters east of Wreck Beach in British Columbia, Canada.
• James Martin explores places to get naked in Europe.
• Nick Sortal of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel got naked for a yoga class. Instructor Ray Whetstone said, "If you can stand in front of a mirror naked 15 minutes a day and deal with the issues, you're going to be a very healthy person."
• Illinois has become the latest state to make "sexting" a crime.
• I'm not so sure I understand this story. A size 12 Cambridge student is in the finals of a modeling competition because "Studies have shown that 63 per cent of girls would rather be a topless model or lap dancer than a doctor, lawyer or teacher...I want to use this opportunity to show young girls that education is important, as someone that has prioritised my own education and worked really hard to get into Cambridge and get my degree." So...she's trying to put a stop to female objectification by posing in her bikini?
• Tom Lubbock critiques the great painting "Reclining Nude" by Jean-Francois Millet.
• A 12-year old boy in Dallas could face obscenity charges for having a nude photo on his cell phone.

  "It makes me uncomfortable to think about that," said Scott Mauro, a school counselor. "I mean, these are just little kids. I think it's just a cry for attention, just looking to give them attention."

• Time Out New York promotes the World Naked Bike Ride event through Central Park on June 20.
• I'm not so sure that this letter to Annie's Mailbox is legit.

  I looked around and saw a man in a hot tub. I assumed this was the guy, so I kept watching. Five minutes later, he got out of the hot tub and really was naked. I instantly got a headache and my eyes burned. I want to do something to prevent children from seeing him. I know he was in his own backyard, but you could see him clearly from the field. Would that count as public nudity? Do you think I should report him? — Scarred for Life

• You want to run around naked in public? Apparently all you have to do first is declare you are doing it for charity. 21 year-old Roy McGuinness was cheered on by family, friends and spectators has he rode "The Naked Bus" in Ireland to raise money for the MS Society.
• Model Amy Houlton, wearing only the paint of an artist's design, walked through downtown Toronto to promote the Canadian Bodypainting Championships.

  Amy poses next to the main doors, below huge images of CBC’s best-known presenters. Peter Mansbridge’s stern, 20-foot tall face seems to disapprove. Inside, an encounter with a school group elicits a mixed reaction. One girl dismisses it as “disgusting,” but some of the teenage boys can’t believe their luck: “Oh my God, was she naked?!”

• A poster of a toddler pretending to breastfeed her doll is eliciting both scorn and praise at a hospital in Manchester, England.
• 25 actors had to take off their clothes for 25 days during the filming of "The Girl Who Lived", the story of a young woman who survived the Auschwitz death camp during World War II.

  The volunteer cast and crew worked from 4pm to 4am to avoid work and study commitments and spent months taking part in trust exercises and workshops so the nude scenes could be filmed with ease.

• Former Albion mayor Michael Hadick, when asked about nude photos of him posted on a website, declared, "I am naked every day. It isn't a big deal."
• Guy Adams, commentator for The Independent, cannot understand America's strange morality laws.
• A Munich art exhibit celebrates 150 years of body images in photography.
• A Denver prosecutor says that a woman flashing her breasts in public is not free speech as protected by the First Amendment.

The Weekend Newds 4/4/09

• A federal judge has struck down a Maryland statue which would have banned strip clubs.

  On first gloss, the Maryland law would simply seem to ban such activities as exotic dancing, peep shows and lap dances anywhere with a liquor license. But by putting strictures on a whole list of naughty-sounding activities, including anything even simulating a sex act, the legislature went too far, wrote Judge Marvin Garbis of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division. Bans against performers touching each other's buttocks, for instance, could prevent ballet dancers from lifting each other into the air, he noted, quoting the plaintiffs lawyers. Restrictions on even brief nudity would have prevented the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Wit" from being performed. Shakespeare, political satire and musical theater (think "The Full Monty") could all suffer as well.

• Mothers are planning a nurse-in at a Canadian pool to protest harassment by lifeguards.

  Gemma Kelsall, 32, is one of the organizers of a "nurse-in" planned for 10 a. m. at Killarney Aquatic & Recreation Centre. Kelsall visits the Killarney pool once or twice a week and sometimes nurses her 21-month-old daughter Kaliya in the water. She said she's been asked not to breastfeed "about 200 times" by lifeguards in the past 14 months. "In the past five weeks, they've been getting more aggressive and abusive about asking me to leave," said Kelsall, who operates a day home.

• Australia has joined the United States on the list of countries which seek to criminalize teenage sexuality.
• This article provides more details on the German nudist hotel.

  "We want to create a relaxing environment in which like-minded people can enjoy a natural environment in complete nudity," Mr Haferkorn said. "Lots of people try to portray nudity as something smutty, but we aim to show that it is something completely natural." Mr Haferkorn said his hotel's website had been inundated with booking requests.

• Three teenagers were trapped on a cliff while trying to get down to the clothing-optional Black's Beach in California, and had to be rescued by lifeguards.
• A student editorial from North Carolina State University supports the rights of women to pose nude for Playboy magazine.

  I am a beautiful young woman (inside and out), but I also know I do not fit the traditional standard of beauty portrayed in magazines like Playboy. If I want to go let someone take photos of me in a bikini, I have every right to do so. It does not make me any less of a woman. It does not mean I am going to lead a life of prostitution or become a victim of abuse. It does not mean I am objectifying or disrespecting myself. What it means is I am comfortable in my skin and happy with my body.

The Daily Newds 2/26/09

• The Kennebec Journal in Maine regrets publishing a page one photo which implied that a waitress was topless at a newly opened coffee shop, but does not regret running the front page story which did more than imply that the woman was topless. In a related story, it is reported that 150 people applied for the 10 available jobs at the new cafe.
• Citizens for the Preservation of Bay2Breakers claim to be 20,000 strong and will make their case before the San Francisco city committee to keep the floats, nudity and booze as part of the annual event. Another story is here.
• Representatives in North Dakota are considering legislation to make it a class B misdemeanor to transmit a nude photo with a cell phone even if there is consent for the photo to be taken in the first place.
• The Theta Phi Alpha sorority at Suffolk University sponsored a "How to Look Good Naked" forum to critique how the media portrays body image.

  Throughout history, the public image of women drastically changed. In the 1950's, Marilyn Monroe, who (speaker Lynn) Saladino says "looked good," was actually a size 14, which surprised many of the students who attended the talk. However, only ten years later, British model Twiggy rose to international fame at 5'7'' and 91 pounds. By the 1990's, five million American women were suffering from eating disorders, which Saladino says is because of an unreachable standard that is now spreading to other cultures.

• The Naked People Project, a German web site, has photos of 24 people of various ages and body types, and when you click on them, their clothes disappear. The goal of the art project appears to be to challenge our perceptions of clothing and how it obscures or stereotypes people in the minds of others. [Hat tip to Just Out]
• A Canadian life drawing class is free to high school seniors.

  Maeve O'Connell (better known in the local art world by her maiden name, Maeve Bellmore) is now offering a unique opportunity to learn the finer points of capturing the many dimensions of the human form with paper and pencil. "Drawing the human form is one of the hardest things you can draw," she explained, "Because what you're doing is you're taking something 3D and ... trying to put it on 2D."

• In a typical move, the momlogic web site is all upset about the latest topless photos of Lindsay Lohan, but has all the photos for anyone to see with the subtitle "Lindsay topless and skinny!"

The Weekend Newds 11/7/08

• A Polish court fined two women for sunbathing topfree.

  "Showing nudity goes beyond social customs and norms in Poland," read part of the verdict issued by a court in Szczecin, northwest Poland. "Personal freedom ends where the freedom of another person begins."

• A visit to Croatia's southern islands was shocking for one travel journalist.

  Five minutes into my book I realized others had discovered my rocky shore and planted themselves on the rocks. I almost had a heart attack when I realized they were all naked! I had stumbled upon the “nudists” islet. Not that there is anything wrong with hanging on the beach in your birthday suit, but this certainly was not for me. I quickly gathered up my belongings and headed straight back to the dock to catch the next taxi-boat. Why didn’t the taxi-boat driver say anything as I left the boat? They just let me wander onto the naked island! I waited three hours for the next boat without lifting my eyes.

• This video of Wellington's Boobs on Bikes parade shows what a big yawn the whole event really was.
• Does the mention of Oxford University evoke visions of students in tweed studying Milton? Then you might be surprised to learn about the school's Gender Equality Week which featured topless girls wrestling covered in KY jelly.
• Closet nudism is alive and well. 76% of South Australia residents admit to stripping off and walking around in the nude.
• The annual naked bike ride at the University of Vermont could be banned because of "the behavior of those attending the event as spectators".
• A woman was found not guilty of indecent exposure for jumping naked into Moosehead Lake in Maine because it could not be proven that she exposed her genitals. Two of her male friends who joined her in the plunge were not as fortunate because apparently their genitals were slightly more visible to the people who filed the original complaint.
• Some star performers of the Royal Opera House have posed nude for a charity calendar.
• An Australian woman was fined for mooning, apparently because of her age.

  Magistrate George Wilkie told (Lucinda) Dimond: "I'd have thought you are a bit past this behaviour at your age," before fining her $400.

• A dozen Canadian high school cheerleaders stripped down to bootie shorts and strategically placed tape and paint and ran out onto the field during a football game. The girls were not punished, but they have apologized and promised that next year's routine would portray a more wholesome image.
• A politician in the UK has quit her position as councillor because her colleagues could not take her seriously. Myrna Bushell runs a phone sex business and acts as a "kissogram, strippergram and stripper entertainer".
• Tasmanians think that a proposed nude statue is the devil.
• Naturists have noted the passing of Rev. Bernice Gerard, whose 1977 march against nudity actually had the opposite effect and put Wreck Beach on the map.
• Travelmeister Rick Steves writes about American prudes and European nudes.

  It's long been a frustration for me as a guide — the difficulty of getting Americans into spas with naked Europeans. My first time was with my wife and some German friends — a classy, good-looking young couple. We were swept into the changing area with no explanation. Suddenly they were naked and I felt like the Road Runner just beyond the cliff's edge. Then — we eased up, and got naked. It's not sexy ... simply open and free.

• Kapiti Coast officials have received written submissions and petitions from nearly 1400 people opposing nudity on the district's beaches.
• The 12 runners who were ticketed at Boulder's recent Naked Pumpkin Run could face registering as sex offenders.
• Halle Berry admires the confidence of another actress.

  "Kate Winslet is always naked, sitting on a toilet, running buck-naked. She's free. I want to be the kind of actress who can really be comfortable with my body like that," she tells Elle Magazine.

• Amy Green is planning to row 3500 miles across the Indian Ocean - naked. She and her team leave in 162 days, and you will be able to follow their progress here.

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked

The Weekend Newds 10/24/08

• An 8 foot nude statue of Diana the Huntress was covered up in Pueblo, Colorado, for a Joe Biden political rally.
• When it comes to topless women at Australia's Gold Coast Indy auto race, Premier Anna Bligh is being urged to "live and let live'.
• The period of time for submitting concerns over the lifting of nudity restrictions on New Zealand beaches has been extended. "Most of them are saying `no, no, no, no, we don't want our beaches naked' and we're saying `well, no, neither do we, but we can't enforce that'," (Kapiti District Council communications manager) Mr Cronin said.
• A New Zealand artist has put together a gallery show focusing on the male nude.
• A stunning collection of Andre de Dienes vintage nudes are available on eBay Included are many Marilyn Monroe glamor shots.
• A 13 year-old boy is under house arrest for receiving a nude photo of a 15 year-old girl. Authorities say that charges against other students are possible.
• The Plastic Surgeon General warns of a small breasts epidemic.
• Australian councillor Elaine South argues against a naturist beach. “I’ve got grandchildren, and I don’t think I would like them to come across people who were ‘optionally clothed’.”
• Could the nudist communities of Tampa Bay determine the outcome of the Presidential election?
• The word "evil" was spray-painted twice on the billboard in Australia promoting "The Naked and the Nude" art exhibit.
• A sex educator in Vancouver is offering an art gallery tour entitled "That Lady is Naked!" designed to answer questions from children and help parents to speak in plain language about nakedness in art.

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked

Nordic Nudes

Since their funding was cut in half, five women from the Canadian National Biathlon Women's Team have posed nude for a fundraising calender.

Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked