Is frolicking around naked the epitome of freedom?
The problem with public nudity in Oregon
http://www.dailyemerald.com/scene/hitz-is-frolicking-around-naked-the-epitome-of-freedom-the-problem-with-public-nudity-in-oregon-1.1789660
November 22, 2010
by Hitz
Burning Man. The Oregon Country Fair. The Solstice Cyclists. What do
these events have in common? A marked lack of shame in all of their
participants.
Shame. What does it do? For some people it keeps their clothes on.
But in recent decades this age-old instinct has been ditched.
Apparently, in the '60s and '70s, hippies started doing drugs,
freeing their minds, getting primal and going "organic," which
inevitably led to public nudity.
Oregon's history as a counterculture haven has designated it a
cesspool of nude liberation and the state's First Amendment law has
even gone so far as to protect these brazen types.
But where's convention in all this? Where are those staples, those
societal pillars that we can hold on to as finite, moral and trustworthy?
Some might say they've vanished.
Article 1, Section 8 of the Oregon Constitution protects individuals'
right to the "free expression of opinion" this encompasses public
nudity (without the intent to arouse) and has been held up by state
and appellate courts. However, as of late, certain cities have been
opting toward a more conservative attitude. Public nudity was banned
in Ashland in January. The ACLU went berserk, but no further
discussion occurred.
Public nudity has been banned in Portland since 1985 when the Oregon
Court of Appeals upheld the city's ruling; however, the court also
cited that as a form of expression for instance in the case of
protesting or rallying it's still a protected right. So, where
does this leave us? We're stranded, attempting a cost benefit
analysis of public "expression" and all the ambiguity behind the word.
The shroud of gray that surrounds the act of expression delves much
further than mere naturism. We assume that by "expression," the law
intends to address political expression, the most protected form of
speech in the U.S. However, limiting ourselves to assumption is for
those of the derriere strain. I express myself every day by what
shoes I put on (political statements via Toms), what types of food I
buy (Sustainable agriculture? Fair trade?), and the books I choose to
read for class.
Expression can manifest itself in anything, and if it ostensibly
doesn't, then you can sure as hell find a way to manipulate words to
make it seem so. Oregon law is kind of double-edged on this matter.
In one sense it provides the most protection of free speech of almost
anywhere in the world, and in another, it leaves citizens confused as
to what constitutes the expression protected under the law.
A much more cohesive argument is put forth by such campaigns and
activist groups as The Freedom to Be Yourself campaign, a nudist
activism group headed by Vincent Bethell. The guy sounds like a real
asshole (he's British) when he claims that his "earliest memories are
regarding (his) deep self-awareness," but disregarding his
egotistical feelings, he stands behind something that Oregonian
nudists (and Oreganic hipsters) feel strongly about. Self-expression
here is what matters most. Yet, Bethell's ideology couples that with
an overarching goal of what he terms humanization.
"My goal is to inspire everybody, the entire human race, regarding a
celebration of our human racial identity," he wrote on his blog.
"This is why I seek skin freedom."
The freedom to be naked if you want to be.
Freedom means different things at different times. The most acute and
jarring sense of the word can be felt when it's being repressed.
That's when freedom blares out. The freedom to be naked in Oregon is
the most liberal, by modern measures, but that's no excuse to be
idle, because it's not liberal enough.
Ashland is home to tweakers, hippies and conservative assholes but
no naked people. That's good because everyone should be entrusting
their livelihood, their dignity and their fortitude to the fabrics
and materials that clothe them, right? I think the fat cats down in
Ashland would probably like a nice tunic or frock to go along with
their well-endowed, Victorian sense of shame.
.
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