The great cover-up: Europe is losing its penchant for public nudity

A man posing as Michelangelo's David with a hat, sunglasses and beach towel at the ready. He is photographed by a tourist.

2024-08-15  1056  困难

Visitors to Europe often imagine public nudity to be an offshoot of its supposed licentiousness: beachgoers start by stripping off together, then end up in each other’s beds. Something close to the opposite is true. In contrast to Americans, many Europeans insist there is nothing sexual about the naked body; it is merely eroticised by those who choose to gaze at it in that way. If all agree, it thus becomes possible to hang out with colleagues, friends and your mother-in-law in the buff with no titillation involved. Some quietly go starkers in their back garden. Others prefer to flash their flab more publicly: national associations of the clothes-shy organise everything from naked campsites to museum visits and pétanque tournaments. Nudist venues exude a chilled-out vibe where formalities are eschewed alongside garments.

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