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Conference moira::naturism

Title:Naturism
Notice:Site report index is in topic 7
Moderator:GENRAL::KILGORE
Created:Tue Jan 26 1988
Last Modified:Thu May 08 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:457
Total number of notes:3687

87.0. "Are clothing-optional beaches discriminatory?" by MOIRA::FAIMAN (A goblet, a goblet, yea, even a hoop) Fri Jul 15 1988 18:16

    I had a small revelation the other day, as I finally understood why we
    can't have clothing-optional beaches in this country:

	Some people find nudity offensive.

        In fact, some people are so offended by nudity that they wouldn't
        go somewhere where nudity was allowed. 

	Public beaches are meant for everybody.

	If you allow people to be nude on a public beach, then the people
	who are offended by nudity can't go to that beach.

        Therefore, clothing-optional beaches would be discriminatory,
        because they would unfairly exclude the people who would be
        offended by the other people who would be naked there.

    You think I'm joking?  So help me, I wish I was!

	-Neil
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87.1CADSE::WONGLe Chinois FouFri Jul 15 1988 18:4312
    What a bummer...
    
    Does a situation like Moonstone resolve that issue?  there's the
    public textile beach beside the clothing-optional beach and both
    sections are always occupied.  Those who don't care for nudity
    stay on the textile side.  The nude section always has some people
    who do not sunbathe in the nude.  Of course, the two sections are
    not separated by a barrier or anything, but people can always walk
    a little further down the beach so that they aren't near the dividing
    line.
    
    
87.2It's their problemSSDEVO::YOUNGERJust remember one thingFri Jul 15 1988 21:0318
    I understand the line of reasoning, but let's apply it to another
    group.
    
    In the earlier part of this century, there were those whites who
    were offended by the site of a black person on their beach.
    
    With the advent of civil rights legislation, it is now illegal to
    refuse to open the beach to blacks.  This, in effect, keeps bigoted
    whites off of the beach.  Most people today would think that is
    the bigoted whites' problem.
    
    Likewise, if someone is offended by naked people running around
    on the beach, it is their problem.
    
    Maybe someday we will be open enough as a society to make this
    happen...
    
    Elizabeth
87.3The legal opinion :-(MOIRA::FAIMANA goblet, a goblet, yea, even a hoopSun Jul 17 1988 02:0049
    Lest you think I am exaggerating, the following is a brief excerpt from
    Judge D. J. Woodlock's decision in _Craft v. Hodel_ (a class action
    suit seeking to forbid enforcement of the Special Regulation
    prohibiting nudity at the Cape Cod National Seashore), handed down in
    Boston federal district court this April.  Quoted from an article in
    _Clothed With the Sun_, volume 8 number 2:

	-Neil

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------

    The defendants have maintained that three substantial governmental
    interests are served by the Regulation:

    ...

    (ii)  preservation of the Seashore as a beach available for the
    enjoyment of all persons; i.e., prevention of the preemptive effect
    nude bathing would have on the majority's use of the public beach;

    ...

    Defendants maintain that nudity on the seashore is "disturbing to other
    users, such as families, and causes them to avoid the beach."
    Defendants explain that a primary purpose of the regulation since its
    initial promulgation has been to assure that the seashore is available
    to all users ...

    ...

    However, there arguably are "less restrictive means" of controlling
    nudity on the Seashore ...  The government could ... set aside certain
    beaches along the Seashore for nude bathing.  The critical variable in
    the equation is whether an alternative regulation exists to the
    outright, total ban on nudity which would also serve, e.g., the
    government's substantial interest in keeping the entire Seashore open
    to all users.  ...

    The "less restrictive alternative" of allowing nude bathing on certain
    select (and secluded) beaches along the Seashore would also undercut
    the government's substantial interest in keeping the entire Seashore
    available to all.  Although setting aside select beaches for use by
    nudists would reduce the risk of other persons being offended by visual
    contact with the nudists, it would do so by legitimizing what has
    traditionally been viewed as a public nuisance and by reducing in
    absolute terms the amount of beach front available to the bathing
    population as a whole.

    ...
87.4Rationalization of the imperial wishlist.IOENG::JWILLIAMSZeitgeist ZoologyMon Jul 25 1988 21:3324
    Re .last:
    
    One thing they forgot to specify was exactly which party was holding
    a gun to the victim's head and forcing them to look. If the beaches
    were swarming with nude bathers, methinks the nude bathers would
    be the majority. It is the opposite which is quite true, and frankly,
    I might complain that the sight of bathing suits offends me. I don't
    think it likely for the government to come rushing to my aid. It
    has nothing to do with right or wrong. It has everything to do with
    the fact that people piss and moan about things they can't comprehend.
    If people could share in the first place, there wouldn't be property.
    Therefore, if they can't share, you gotta split it up and dish it
    out accordingly.
    
    I never asked for all beach front. I never expected all beach front.
    I only want SOME beach front where I can enjoy myself the WAY in
    which I please. If they insist with the notion that I am trying
    to offend them ( and I can think of many better ways to accomplish
    exactly this ), we'll just have to find different places to play.
    
    If they think they can force me to play their games, and only their
    games, they've lost a customer.
    
    						John.