In thinking about nudity, an important dimension of culture is
private-public and the behavior that is normal within each space. In some cultures
private means being entirely alone, defining personal space. In other cultures, privacy includes family and selected others; intimate space. Being in
public includes potentially anyone as with parks, sidewalks, and roads. Some public spaces are limited to paying customers as with cafés or supermarkets. The meaning of public space changed as cities grew. Between private and public there may be other distinctions that limit access such as age, sex, membership, which define
social spaces, each with expectations of shared norms being followed. In the absence of visual barriers, privacy is maintained by social distance, as when being examined for medical purposes or receiving a massage. Violation of boundaries between doctors and patients is a serious breach of medical ethics. Between social equals, privacy is maintained by
civil inattention, allowing others to maintain their personal space by only glancing, not looking directly, as in a crowded elevator. Civil inattention also maintains the non-sexual nature of semi-public situations in which relative or complete nakedness is necessary, such as communal bathing or changing clothes. Such activities are regulated by participants
negotiating behaviors that avoid sexualization. A particular example is
open water swimming in the United Kingdom, which by necessity means changing outdoors in mixed gender groups with minimal or no privacy. As a participant stated, "Open water swimming and nudity go hand in hand...People don't necessarily talk about it, but just know if you join a swimming club it's likely you will see far more genitalia than you were perhaps expecting." In the 21st century, many situations have become
sexualized by media portrayals of any nudity as a prelude to sex.
Sexual and non-sexual nudity The social context defines the cultural meaning of nudity that may range from the
sacred to the profane. There are activities where freedom of movement is promoted by full or partial nudity. The nudity of the ancient Olympics was part of a religious practice. Athletic activities are also appreciated for the beauty of bodies in motion (as in dance), but in the post-modern media athletic bodies are often taken out of context to become purely sexual, perhaps pornographic. The sexual nature of nudity is defined by the gaze of others. Studies of naturism find that its practitioners adopt behaviors and norms that suppress the sexual responses while practicing social nudity. Such norms include refraining from staring, touching, or otherwise calling attention to the body while naked. However, some naturists do not maintain this non-sexual atmosphere, as when nudist resorts host sexually oriented events.
Concepts of privacy Societies in
continental Europe think of privacy as protecting a right to respect and personal dignity. Europeans maintain their dignity, even naked where others may see them, including sunbathing in urban parks. In Amsterdam, people are not shy about being naked in their homes, and do not use shades to prevent being seen from outside. In America, the right to privacy is oriented toward values of liberty, especially in one's home. Americans see nakedness where others may see as surrendering "any reasonable
expectation of privacy". Such cultural differences may make some laws and behaviors of other societies seem incomprehensible, since each culture assumes that their own concepts of privacy are
intuitive, and thus human universals.
High and low context cultures The concepts of
high-context and low-context cultures were introduced by anthropologist
Edward T. Hall. The behaviors and norms of a high context culture depend upon shared implicit norms that operate within a social situation, while in a low context culture behavior is more dependent upon explicit communications. An example of this distinction was found in research on the behavior of French and German naturists on a nude beach. Germans, who are extremely low in cultural context, maintain public propriety on a nude beach by not wearing adornments, avoiding touching themselves and others, and any other behaviors that would call attention to the body. By contrast, the French, in their personal lives, are relatively high context: they interact within closely knit groups, they are sensitive to nonverbal cues, and they engage in relatively high amounts of body contact. French naturists were more likely than Germans to wear make-up and jewelry and to touch others as they would while dressed.
Private nudity In the early 20th century, the attitudes of the general public toward the human body reflected rising
consumerism, concerns regarding health and fitness, and changes in clothing fashions that sexualized the body. However, members of English families report that in the 1920s to 1940s they never saw other family members undressed, including those of the same gender. Modesty continued to prevail between married couples, even during sex. In the United States, a third of women born before 1900 remained clothed during sex, while it was only eight percent for those born in the 1920s. Individuals vary in their comfort with being nude in private. According to a 2004 U.S. survey by
ABC News, 31 percent of men and 14 percent of women report sleeping in the nude. In a 2014 survey in the U.K., 42 percent responded that they felt comfortable naked and 50 percent responded they did not. In that same survey, 22 percent said they often walk around the house naked, 29 percent slept in the nude, and 27 percent had gone swimming nude. In a 2018 U.S. survey by
USA Today, 58 percent reported that they slept in the nude; by generation 65 percent of
millennials, and 39 percent of
baby boomers.
Body image and emotions Body image is the perceptions and feelings of a person regarding their own body's appearance, which effects
self-esteem and
life satisfaction. There is evidence that the majority of women and girls in western societies have a negative body image, mainly regarding their size and weight. The sociocultural model of body image emphasizes the role of cultural ideals in the formation of an individual's body image. American ideals for women are unrealistic based upon a comparison of a healthy
body mass index (BMI) with the desired BMI, which is 15 percent lower. Cultural ideals are transmitted by parents, peers, and the media. Men and boys are increasingly concerned with their appearance, wanting to be more muscular. In non-western cultures, body image has a different meaning, particularly in sociocentric societies in which people think of themselves as part of a group, not as individuals. In addition, where food insecurity and disease is a danger, a person growing thinner is viewed as unhealthy; a more robust body is the ideal. The evolutionary perspective is that for women, hip-to-waist ratio with emphasis on the hips and a more curvaceous body is the ideal around the world, while for men it is waist-to-chest ratio. However, westernization of cultures has resulted in an increase in body dissatisfaction worldwide.
Shame is one of the
moral emotions often associated with nudity. Shame may be thought of as positive in response to a failure to act in accordance with moral values, thus motivating improvement in the future. However, shame is often negative as the response to perceived failures to live up to unrealistic expectations. The shame regarding nudity is one of the exemplars of the emotion, yet rather than being a positive motivator, it is considered unhealthy. The universality of bodily shame is not supported by anthropological studies, which do not find the use of clothing to cover the genital areas in all societies, but often find the use of adornments to call attention to the sexuality. Others argue that the shame felt when naked in public is due to valuing modesty and privacy as socially positive. However, the response to public exposure of normally private behavior is
embarrassment, rather than shame. The absence of shame, or any other negative emotions regarding being naked, depends upon becoming unselfconscious while nude, which is the state both of children and those that practice naturism. This state is more difficult for women given the social presumption that women's bodies are always being observed and judged not only by men but other women. In a naturist environment, because everyone is naked, it becomes possible to dilute the power of social judgements. Naturists have long promoted the benefits of social nudity, but little research had been done, reflecting the generally negative assumptions surrounding public nudity. Recent studies indicate not only that social nudity promotes a positive body image, but that nudity-based interventions are helpful for those with a negative body image. A negative body image affects overall self-esteem, which in turn reduces life satisfaction. Psychologist Keon West of
Goldsmiths, University of London found that nude social interaction reduced body anxiety and promoted well-being.
Semi-public nudity Historically, certain facilities associated with activities that require partial or complete nakedness, such as bathing or changing clothes, have limited access to certain members of the public. These normal activities are guided by generally accepted norms, the first of which is that the facilities are most often segregated by gender; however, this may not be the case in all cultures. Discomfort with nudity has two components, not wanting to see others naked, and not wanting to be seen by others while naked. In Islamic countries, women may not use public baths, and men must wear a waist wrapper. In some traditional cultures and rural areas modern practices are limited by the belief that only the exposed parts of the body (hands, feet, face) need to be washed daily; and also by Christian and Muslim belief that the naked body is shameful and must always be covered.
Steam baths and spas ,
Taiwan 2012 Many cultures have a tradition going back to prehistory of communal use of hot water or steam/sweat baths which are usually nude, sometimes with mixed genders. The
sauna is attended nude in its source country of
Finland, where many families have one in their home, and is one of the defining characteristics of Finnish identity. For Finns, going to a sauna is a ritual with cultural meanings regarding cleanliness, connections to nature, and connection to other people without public roles or sexuality. Saunas have been adopted worldwide, first in Scandinavian and German-speaking countries of Europe, with the trend in some of these being to allow both genders to bathe together nude. For example, the Friedrichsbad in
Baden-Baden has designated times when mixed nude bathing is permitted. The German sauna culture also became popular in neighbouring countries such as
Switzerland,
Belgium, the
Netherlands and
Luxembourg. In contrast to
Scandinavia, public sauna facilities in these countries—while nude—do not usually segregate genders. The sauna came to the United States in the 19th century when Finns settled in western territories, building family saunas on their farms. When community saunas were built in the 20th century, they eventually included separate steam rooms for men and women. Korean spas have opened in the United States, also gender separated in areas with nudity. In addition to the health benefits, a woman wrote in
Psychology Today suggesting the social benefits for women and girls having real life experience of seeing the variety of real female bodies—even more naked than at a beach—as a counterbalance to the unrealistic nudity seen in popular media.
Changing rooms and showers The men's locker room—which in Western cultures had been a setting for open male social nudity—is, in the 21st century United States, becoming a space of modesty and distancing between men. For much of the 20th century, the norm in locker rooms had been for men to undress completely without embarrassment. That norm has changed; in the 21st century, men typically wear towels or other garments in the locker room most of the time and avoid any interaction with others while naked. This shift is the result of changes in social norms regarding masculinity and how maleness is publicly expressed; also, open male nudity has become associated with homosexuality. In facilities such as the
YMCA that cater to multiple generations, the young are uncomfortable sharing space with older people who do not cover up. The behavior in women's locker rooms and showers also indicates a generational change, younger women covering more, and full nudity being brief and rare, while older women are more open and casual. In the 21st century, some high-end New York City gyms were redesigned to cater to
millennials who want to shower without ever being seen naked. The trend for privacy is being extended to public schools, colleges and community facilities replacing "gang showers" and open locker rooms with individual stalls and changing rooms. The change also addresses issues of transgender usage and family use when one parent accompanies children of differing gender.
Arts-related activities Distinct from the
nude artworks created, sessions where artists work from live models are a social situation where nudity has a long tradition. The role of the model both as part of visual art education and in the creation of finished works has evolved since antiquity in Western societies and worldwide wherever western cultural practices in the visual arts have been adopted. At modern universities, art schools, and community groups
art model is a job, one requirement of which is to pose "undraped". Some have investigated the benefits of arts education including drawing nudes from life as an opportunity to satisfy youthful curiosity regarding the human body in a non-sexual context.
Public nudity Participants in the
counterculture of the 1960s embraced nudity as part of their daily routine and to emphasize their rejection of anything artificial. Countercultural nudity differed from classical nudism by agreeing that nudity is natural and fun but may also be sexual while rejecting the sexual exploitation of women. It also became an expression of dissent in opposition to hostility and violence,
hippies finding that nudity interfered with the usual procedures of civil authority. in
Seattle, Washington In the mainstream,
Diana Vreeland could note in
Vogue in 1970 that a bikini bottom worn alone had become fashionable for young women on beaches from
Saint-Tropez, France to
Sardinia, Italy. In 1974, an article in
The New York Times noted an increase in American tolerance for nudity, both at home and in public, approaching that of Europe. By 1998, American attitudes toward sexuality had continued to become more liberal than in prior decades, but the reaction to total nudity in public was generally negative. However, some elements of the counterculture, including nudity, continued with events such as
Burning Man. Attitudes toward public nudity vary from complete prohibition in Islamic countries to general acceptance, particularly in Scandinavia and Germany, of nudity for recreation and at special events. Such special events can be understood by expanding the historical concept of
Carnival, where otherwise transgressive behaviors are allowed on particular occasions to include public nudity. Examples include the Solstice Swim in Tasmania (part of the
Dark Mofo festival) and
World Naked Bike Rides.
Germany is known for being tolerant of public nudity in many situations. In a 2014 survey, 28 percent of Austrians and Germans had sunbathed nude on a beach, 18 percent of Norwegians, 17 percent of Spaniards and Australians, 16 percent of New Zealanders. Of the nationalities surveyed, the Japanese had the lowest percentage, 2 percent. In the United States in 2012, the city council of
San Francisco, California, banned public nudity in the inner-city area. This move was initially resisted because the city was known for its liberal culture and had previously tolerated public nudity. Similarly,
park rangers began issuing tickets against nudity at
San Onofre State Beach—also a place with long tradition of public nudity—in 2010.
Naturism at
Müggelsee lake beach in
East Berlin, 1989. Nudism, in German (FKK), "free body culture" originated in Europe in the late 19th century among some members of the life reform movement (
Lebensreform) who sought a simpler life in opposition to industrialization. While Christian moralists in the early 20th century tended to condemn nudism, some Christians found moral purity in the nude body compared to the sexually suggestive clothing of the era. Its proponents believed that nudism could combat social inequality, including sexual inequality. Naturist attitudes toward the body became more widely accepted in sports and in the arts in the
Weimar Republic. There were advocates of the health benefits of sun and fresh air that instituted programs of exercise in the nude for children in groups of mixed gender,
Adolf Koch founding thirteen FKK schools. With the rise of
Nazism in the 1930s, the nudism movement split ideologically, the socialists adopting the views of Koch, seeing his programs as part of improving the lives of the working class. Although many Nazis opposed nudity, others used it to extol the
Aryan race as the standard of beauty, as reflected in the
Nazi propaganda film Olympia directed by
Leni Riefenstahl. Between the first and second world wars, naturism spread to other countries based upon the German model, but being less ideological and political; incorporating cultural elements within Scandinavia, France, England, Belgium and the Netherlands. Contemporary naturism (or nudism) is a
subculture advocating and defending private and public nudity as part of a simple, natural
lifestyle. Naturists reject contemporary standards of modesty that discourage personal, family and social nudity. They instead seek to create a social environment where individuals feel comfortable being in the company of nude people and being seen nude, either by other naturists or by the general public. In contradiction of the popular belief that nudists are more sexually permissive, research finds that nudist and non-nudists do not differ in their sexual behavior. The young children with experiences of naturism or nudity in the home had a more positive body image. The social sciences, until the middle of the 20th century, often studied public nakedness, including naturism, in the context of
deviance or criminality. However, more recent studies find that naturism has positive effects on body image, self-esteem and life satisfaction. == Legal issues ==