Topic 3: Freikörperkultur

 
Image Source (http://www.dw.de/a-ban-on-nudist-beaches/a-1297329)

Freikörperkultur 
In English it translates to "Free Body Culture"
It means to enjoy being nude without any ties to sexuality.
In the 18th Century, people bathed naked in rivers and lakes in central Europe.
The first Freikörperkultur club was founded in Essen, Germany in 1898.
Conservatives seen nudists as a corruption of morality.
1st nude beach in Germany was on the Island of Sylt in 1920.
1st naturist Olympic Games took place in Thielle, Switzerland in August of 1939.
The first documented nude wedding was in Elysian Fields, California in 1942.
The first nudist holiday resorts opened in France in 1950.
Later decades of the 20th Century, naturism became popular outside Germany.
Nacktwanderung, which translates to "Naked Rambling" in English, is when nudists hike through the open countryside.
Information Source for the above (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freikörperkultur) 



Image Source (http://greece.greekreporter.com/2012/05/28/the-fascinating-past-and-origins-of-the-olympic-games/)

Nudism in History
393 AD: Students in Ancient Greece exercised and received instruction nude, and athletes competed nude.
1st Century AD: Refusal to wear clothes could be a sign of insanity. Nakedness was used as a symbol of poverty or vulnerability.
201-1500 AD: Complete nudity for baptism.
1874: Surfing was a nude activity in Polynesia until the 19th century when missionaries forced the natives to cover themselves.
1891: Earliest known nature club - Thana, India
1900: German nude bathing seen as starting the nudist movement, along with The Cult of the Nude by Henry Rudor, a sociologist.
1903-1932: Nude protests throughout Canadian history. 900 people were imprisoned for 3 years because of their nude protests.
1932: 1st permanent nudist community in the United States, Sky Farm, was established in Liberty Corner, New Jersey.
1933: Nazi's banned many nudist organizations in Germany, but nudists re-formed as "sports" groups and were re-legalized.
1936: Male bare-chestedness was made legal in the United States.
1969: 300 people participated in a massive naked "wade-in" at a Danish beach. As a result, the vast majority of Danish beaches became clothing optional.
August 7th, 1976: National Nude Beach Day was designated.
1989: 14 women went bare-chested outside the Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York to protest the inequality of dress between genders.
Information Source for the above (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_non-sexual_social_nudity)



Image Source (http://www.pulpinternational.com/pulp/entry/Vintage-covers-of-American-Sunbather-nudist-magazine.html)

Nudism in the United States
13 states tried to put skinny dipping on the list of sex offenses where you have to register with the state.
In Montana, your 1st skinny dipping offense leads to 6 months in jail. The 2nd offense is 1 year in jail, and the 3rd is 100 years in jail.
Information for the above (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0721_040721_tvnude_2.html)