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Nudists will converge upon the Castro to protest Supervisor Scott Wiener's proposed ban on public nudity.
if you choose to fight the war on public nudity, then head to Jane Warner Memorial Plaza, 401 Castro, on October 20.
http://sfist.com/2012/10/08/nudists_...ly_against.php
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http://sfist.com/2012/10/08/nudists_...ly_against.php
Public nudity drips down to the Mission! (Photo: Ariel Dovas)
Nudists will converge upon the Castro to protest Supervisor Scott Wiener's proposed ban on public nudity. Will you be there? (We will not for we enjoy clothing far too much.) And what, exactly, are people who are going (at least according to the official Facebook page) saying about it? Let's see:
Some (inaccurately) think Supe Wiener is a right-winger and (also inaccurately) believe an attack on public nudity is an attack on all civil rights:
- Morrenin Jovan Byars: "Attacks on nudists' civil rights is an attack on all of our rights - remember, we were ALL NUDE at one point in our lives (think birth). If right winger Scott Weiner succeeds in this attack on nudists' civil rights, then get ready for the onslaught of attacks on other people's rights - from breastfeeding to the right to protest at all. Don't think that can't happen? Think again."
Some are sarastic:
- Austin Tamez: "I'm soooooooooo glad the nudists are out of JWP and very thankful they're gone. I wouldn't want those nasty nudists to sully JWP ambiance of pot smokers, cigarette smokers, people talking to their spirits, or the lovely piss and **** smell that hits your nose like a 2006 Malbec. Thank you Scott Weiner!!!"
- Some say money can be made:
Roy McKenzie: "I'd be willing to give someone 5 bucks a day for a week to go down there at the warmest part of the day to photograph how many nudists are down there for a story on the Castro Biscuit."
Some are making tenuous international parallels:
- Jason Parker: "As far as this sounds .. I have friends and family in iran. Before the revolution people could wear what they wanted. Iran was a cultural vacation destination for wealthy Europeans . Post revolution women were forced to wear chador, roosarie, mantoe. Men could no longer wear. T shirts or shorts all in name of morality. Because the government said so... This has not been an issue for decades!! When did supervisors gain the power to make sf cover up without a vote?"
And some are getting statistical. Mitch Hightower notes that the Naturist Education Foundation (NEF) commissioned Zogby International to conduct a survey on public nudity. It turns out we're not as offended by public non-sexual nudity as we thought! (Side note: Can public nudity ever be considered non-sexual? And could counterprotesters show up wearing, like, lots of sweaters and dresses with crinolines?)
Anyway, if you choose to fight the war on public nudity, then head to Jane Warner Memorial Plaza, 401 Castro, on October 20. Here's hoping to warm weather. Details.
Contact the author of this article or email tips@sfist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
http://sfist.com/2012/10/08/nudists_...ly_against.php
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http ://www.sfgate.com/ bayarea /article/S-F-nudists-say-it-s-about-the-freedom -3945862.php#photo-3582881
S.F. nudists say it's about the freedom
MIKE KEPKA City Exposed
Updated 4:13 p.m., Saturday, October 13, 2012
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. After San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener proposed legislation that would restrict people from showing their genitals on city sidewalks and public plazas, George Davis, of San Francisco, stands up for his beliefs at Jane Warner Plaza in the Castro on Tuesday Oct. 10, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif.
After San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener proposed legislation that would restrict people from showing their genitals on city sidewalks and public plazas, George Davis, of San Francisco, stands up for his beliefs at Jane Warner Plaza in the Castro on Tuesday Oct. 10, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif. Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle / SF
Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle / A recent Tuesday, 2:24 p.m.: The "naked guys" who hang out at Jane Warner Plaza in the Castro have gotten a lot of attention since Supervisor Scott Wiener proposed legislation that would require them to put clothes on or be fined.
Opinions have been voiced. Stories have been written. Now, everybody knows how awful some find it to see naked people in the Castro - but what do the nudists think?
To find out, I decided to conduct a nudist fashion shoot of sorts. A casting call was made on a sunny afternoon in the plaza at the corner of Castro and Market streets. The only requirement was that participants give me an honest response to Wiener's proposed legislation - and, of course, agree to be photographed for all the world to see in the pages of The Chronicle.
Nine people showed without any clothes, four of them women, and only one had second thoughts about being photographed.
Wiener's proposal "is turning us into criminals, and it's criminalizing the human body," said Woody Miller, 54, a waiter working on his master's in history at San Francisco State who moved to the city in 1982 from Lancaster, Pa. "I think San Francisco has always been a place that has drawn people who've wanted to reimagine themselves.
"Very rarely do people ask me why I do this," Miller said. "I like the way it feels. I like the feel of the sun and air on my skin. I think it puts me closer in contact with who I am.
"A lot of people say we are too fat, too old, too hairy. But I consider my body to be a record of my lived experiences," Miller said, noting a dramatic scar from a heart operation that plunges down his chest and ends in a dimpled cross just above his abdomen.
Pete Sferra, 57, of San Jose locked arms with his wife, Laura Vaughn, 59. They smiled, wearing only their shoes and wedding bands.
"San Francisco sets the bar for tolerance of alternative lifestyles of all kinds," said Sferra, a technical writer at a large company in Silicon Valley. "The myth is that we're all sex-crazed. I'd like others to know that we're normal people.
"I'm very comfortable being nude," Sferra said. "There is nothing sexual about it. It's not really a statement; it's about comfort. ... It's about freedom, which is what San Francisco is about."
Wiener said he didn't propose his ban lightly. In fact, it took him two years to work up to the right comfort level.
"We've always had random nudity in the Castro," Wiener said. "When it becomes an everyday thing - when we have naked guys in the only useable plaza - it starts to become a real issue. ... These guys have taken it too far, and the neighborhood has reached the end of its rope."
I trained my camera on Bryan Hudson, 60, a retired bus driver from Middlesbrough, England, as he sat in one of the red chairs holding a grande coffee cup.
He flew here for the Folsom Street Fair and has been experiencing the plaza naked for the past two weeks. This is his fourth year making this pilgrimage, and he intends to come back next year.
"I like it here. It's a good variety of life," Hudson said, taking a sip of coffee. "It's nice to be clothes-free. We got some good weather. Why not strip off? I think it's good for the tourists.
"It would be a shame if it was stopped," Hudson said. "It's not obscene. ... We just come and sit in the sun."
Gypsy Taub's hair flapped in the breeze as she crossed her arms over her bare chest for a photograph. Taub, 43, a single mother of three from Berkeley, said, "I showed because I'm appalled by the idea that someone can ban nudity in San Francisco. I purposely take my kids to gatherings where they can grow not being ashamed of their bodies." She mentioned Burning Man and the Rainbow Gathering.
As the afternoon wore on, few people stopped to ask questions. Nobody yelled or cried out in an effort to stop the nudists as they posed proudly for my camera. The police never came to inquire about my actions. It was business as usual.
Wiener said his legislation is likely to move to the full board in mid-November. He is cautiously optimistic it will pass.
Miller is worried about the precedent it could set for San Franciscans, clothed or otherwise.
"People should support us," he said, "because even though they might not like to get naked, it is about freedoms they have now that could easily be taken away."
To see a multimedia production of this piece, go to blog.sfgate.com/cityexposed. If you have ideas for the City Exposed, e-mail Mike Kepka at mkepka@sfchronicle.com./SF
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl...#ixzz29EY0WJX6
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl...om-3945862.php
Last edited by NakedGary; 10-13-2012 at 06:45 PM. Reason: Spacing
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How to tell if an article is crap:
Side note: Can public nudity ever be considered non-sexual?
The best drinks are named after places. Burgundy, France. Tequila, Mexico. 六安茶, 安徽. Pepsi Cola, Florida.
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