Month: February 2024

According to clothesfree.com, the two bills aimed at stopping events like World Naked Bike Ride in Wisconsin have failed to pass. As reported here recently, the Republican majorities in both houses of the Legislature introduced and supported the bills, but the Democratic governor had stated that he would likely veto them. The state Assembly adjourned before the bills could be brought up on the floor for debate. The Madison and Milwaukee WNBR’s should be able to proceed this summer without a legal cloud hanging over them.

Here in Houston, where we have hosted one or more WNBR’s every year since 2011, it must be said that we have a history of riders participating in the World Naked Bike Ride in a state of nowhere-near-nudity. This is odd, given that the climate here is too hot for clothing most of the year, but understandable: The fear of arrest for violating the city’s public nudity ordinance is legitimate, even though we’ve (fortunately) never had an arrest, and only one rider has ever received a citation (caught nude by police in front of Super Happy Fun Land before the ride even began).

Pressuring individual riders to undress, or even suggesting it, is a violation of the Principles of Consent under which we operate. Even though we recognize that nude cycling is not a sexual activity, there are usually sexual motivations behind asking participants to strip off and continuing to do so after being told no.

The dress code for the ride remains Bare As You Dare; if that means you’re down to your undies, that’s wonderful. Those who keep their outerwear on during a World Naked Bike Ride are really missing the point though.

To get more people to push the Bare As You Dare envelope, a better strategy is to provide information to “sell” them on it. Here, then, are some talking points for riders who need convincing, to be presented to the general crowd rather than any individual.

The Existential Threat of Climate Disruption

This ride is a public demonstration against policies and practices that result in accelerating climate change, which is causing more extreme and deadlier weather events. In the face of that, the concern that people might see your personal bits is rather small.

If You Are Still Worried about Someone Seeing Your Nude Body…

Maybe someone saw you, or photographed you and put your naked image on the Internet for all including your boss and your mom to see, but no one has to know for certain that it’s you. You can easily mask your identity with face and body paint, a wig, a bicycle helmet, and (especially on a daytime ride) sunglasses.

The Law

As mentioned above, riding nude carries an element of legal risk in a place like Houston, Texas. The public nudity ordinance makes no exception for protests protected by the First Amendment. However, in 13 years and more than 20 rides we have had no arrests (though once a rider got separated from the pack and came close to getting taken downtown), and only one citation, which was overcome in court. Individuals are vulnerable, like the young gazelles in the back of the herd who have trouble keeping up. A tight, organized pack of nude riders is far less susceptible to interference by The Law.

The more people ride bare or nearly bare, the less likely any law enforcement officer is to make trouble. At most the LEO will say, “Dude, put some clothes on.” If instructed by someone with a badge to cover up, one should cover up, and wait until it is safe to uncover again.

Lastly on this topic, the statute in Texas (Section 21.08) regarding public nudity/indecent exposure is laughably vague. Prosecutors must prove the “intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person, and [recklessness] about whether another is present who will be offended or alarmed by his act.” Again, there is no exception carved out for protest activities, but if the matter comes before a judge, that judge may be convinced that freedom of expression trumps a vaguely written law.

Nude Is Not Lewd

As long as you’re not visibly attempting to pleasure yourself in public, nor thrusting your parts in someone’s face, then you are engaging in non-sexual nudity. People, especially in the US, need to learn that nudity is not sex, and that nudity isn’t even a requirement for sex. At least in places like Seattle and Portland OR, society in general takes a more European attitude toward non-sexual public nudity.

OMG Think of the Children!

OMG, come on. Being nude and seeing nude bodies of various sizes and types are both psychologically beneficial—yes, even for children. Inheriting parental neuroses about seeing people’s floppy bits is not healthy. This article discusses that very topic in depth, although you have to read pretty deeply into it to see the psychological research findings pointing toward those benefits.

If anyone objects noisily to your naked presence (which has happened a few times on our rides), it’s not worth engaging such people in a debate. You could make a succinct case for the mental and emotional benefits of getting naked, but the objector probably wouldn’t buy your argument. Just tell them you’re engaging in a protest activity protected by the First Amendment, and you’re not harming anyone.

Again, shouldn’t we be more offended by anthropogenic climate disruption and cyclists getting killed by reckless drivers than by the site of someone’s pubic region?

Ah, the Sheer Exhilaration

There is no exhilaration quite like that derived from cycling through the city in the buff and getting away with it. This is particularly true when riding through entertainment districts at night, as the Houston and Austin rides generally do. Night owls on the street make excellent cheering sections for a naked ride.

Anything We Missed?

If you have additional selling points that you’d like to share, please feel free to put them in the Comments section. These points should not include verbiage like People should get nekkid cuz I like to see boobs/dicks LOL!!! Certainly, everyone can benefit from seeing more people in their natural state, but it’s about the whole person, not just the parts.

The Los Angeles and Milwaukee WNBR groups have both announced that their 2024 rides will take place on Saturday 22 June, times and places to be determined. The relatively new ride in Milwaukee faces the prospect of taking place (or not) under a change in the law that would prohibit such activities, even in the form of a First Amendment–protected protest.

As of early February, we can find 2024 WNBR dates set for six cities in North America: Los Angeles, Madison, Milwaukee, Montréal, San Francisco, and Toronto. Madison and Milwaukee are pushing ahead with plans to hold rides despite Republican state legislators’ recent attempts to ban public nudity, particularly where children might see nude adults.

(UPDATE 26 February: The Assembly adjourned without bringing the bills to the floor. For this year at least, it appears that the Madison and Milwaukee rides will proceed without a legal cloud over them.)

Two bills got part-way through the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate in 2023, but were not passed by both houses by the end of the year. The bills have been revived for 2024, and both have already passed the Senate as of mid-January. The vote was almost entirely along party lines, with the Republican majority voting in favor.

Per the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

One bill would change the language in state law from “indecent” exposure of genitals in public to simply “intentional” exposure, with exceptions for breastfeeding or diapering a baby. Under the bills, violations would result in a Class A misdemeanor, which carries up to a $10,000 fine, nine months in jail or both.

The other would prohibit people from allowing minors to attend “an event at which a group of adult participants intentionally expose their genitals, buttocks or other intimate parts in a public area.” It would also prohibit taking pictures of nude children at the event, unless for the purpose of reporting it to police within a day.

jsonline, 16 Jan 2024

The latter bill arose from loud, shocked complaints about a photo of a minor girl participating nude in the Madison ride.

In the Assembly, the bills to watch this year are AB 503 and 504.

Even if the bills pass both houses this year, according to the article quoted above, Democratic Governor Tony Evers has hinted that he would veto them.

While Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has told reporters “it’s probably not a really good idea” for children to participate in the event, he expressed doubts about “litigating and legislating things that frankly don’t need it,” indicating the bills could receive his veto.

The Madison and Milwaukee ride organizers have pressed on as if none of this legislative activity is happening, not even acknowledging the possibility of a ban on their respective websites. Madison’s site shows a date of Saturday 15 June for this year’s ride. The Milwaukee site, with the new domain wnbr-milwaukee.com, shows a ride scheduled for the following weekend on 22 June.

For the record, WNBR Houston organizers believe that people in general, including children, benefit from healthy exposure to nudity much more than they are harmed. A large part of this nation’s neurosis concerning nudity results from not seeing enough of it and viewing the human body as shameful. Other countries—and parts of North America—where nudity is not stigmatized tend to have much healthier attitudes toward sexuality as well. As long as the nudity is not sexualized or forced on the children (don’t thrust your parts in the kids’ faces), the sight of bare bodies of various sizes and types helps young people develop a positive body image.