A group of naturists on a nude beach

"Nude" and "Naked" redirect here. For other uses, see Nude (disambiguation) and Naked (disambiguation). "Nudes" also redirects here. For the 2001 folk rock album, see Nudes (album). "Clothes free" redirects here. For the preference for nudity in non-sexualized social settings, see naturism.

Nudity or nakedness is the state of wearing no clothing.^[1] The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations (such as a need for warmth or protection from the elements) and social considerations. In some situations the minimum amount of clothing may be socially acceptable, while in others much more clothing is expected.

Origin of clothing[link]

Modern humans are the only survivors of several species of naked apes who may have worn clothes, according to DNA studies of clothing lice.^[2] This study suggests that clothing may have been used as long ago as 650 thousand years ago – much longer than previously thought. Embarrassment and shame may be consequences of the prolonged infancy of human offspring whose care implies a state of monogamy for some long time, together with the reduction of the temptations of infidelity^[3]

Social attitudes[link]

Enlisting in the Marines. Recruiting office. San Francisco, Dec. 1941

People, as individuals and in groups, have varying attitudes towards their own nudity. Some people are relaxed about appearing less than fully clothed in front of others, while others are uncomfortable or inhibited in that regard. People are nude in a variety of situations, and whether they are prepared to disrobe in front of others depends on the social context in which the issue arises. For example, people need to bathe without clothing, some people also sleep in the nude, some prefer to sunbathe in the nude or at least topless. Many people are prepared to disrobe for a medical examination, while others are nude in other situations. Some people adopt nudism as a lifestyle.

Though the wearing of clothes is the social norm in most cultures, some cultures, groups and individuals are more relaxed about nudity, though attitudes often depend on context. On the other hand, some people feel uncomfortable in the presence of any nudity, and the presence of a nude person in a public place can give rise to controversy, irrespective of the attitude of the person who is nude. Besides meeting social disapproval, in some places public nudity may constitute a crime of indecent exposure. Many people have strong views on nudity, which to them can involve issues and standards of modesty, decency and morality. Some people have a psychological aversion to nudity, called gymnophobia. Many people regard nudity to be inherently sexual and erotic.

Nudity (sex-related or not) is also to be found in visual arts (see also art nude, nude photography, nudity in film), also on the Internet, and in performing arts. It is a factor in adult entertainment of various types.

Terminology[link]

Full nudity refers to complete nudity, while partial nudity refers to less than full nudity, with parts of the body covered in some manner. The term partial nudity is sometimes used to refer to exposure of skin beyond what the person using the expression considers to be within the limits of modesty. If the exposure is within the standards of modesty of a given culture and setting (e.g. wearing a bikini at a non-nude beach), terms such as nudity, partial or otherwise, are not normally used. If however, the degree of exposure exceeds the cultural norms of the setting, or if the activity or setting includes nudity as an understood part of its function, such as a nude beach, terminology relating to nudity and degrees thereof are typically used. Toplessness is regarded by most people as partial nudity.

Full frontal nudity describes a state of full nudity with the subject facing forward with the whole front of the body exposed, including intimate parts such as a man's penis or woman's vulva. Partial frontal nudity typically only refers to the exposure of the breasts. Non-frontal nudity describes nudity where the whole back side of the body, including the buttocks, is exposed, or a side-view from any other direction.

Community facilities[link]

An individual's personal attitudes to modesty have an impact on their attitudes to their own nudity as well as that of others. Some people regard any display of bare skin as erotic or offensive, while others are more relaxed about nudity. The attitudes to nudity are strongly dependent on the context in which it takes place, so that what may be considered inappropriate in one context (e.g. on a public street) may be acceptable in another context (e.g. in the home). These are individual subjective standards. Even personal standards take into account exceptional situations, when standards are waived or qualified, as in the case of medical examinations.

Public facilities generally reflect generally accepted community standards of dress. The same applies to public toilets, changing rooms, etc., where some degree of disrobing must take place. In those situations, gender-specific facilities are usually provided so as to reduce embarrassment of users of these facilities to predictable levels. Some countries allow non-gender-specific open space changing rooms with individual cubicles or stalls, and in some cultures communal showering, non-segregated saunas and other bathing facilities are also accepted. In some cultures and for some individuals, nudity may be considered inappropriate and embarrassing.

Public nudity[link]

A society's attitude to public nudity varies depending on the culture, time, location and context of an activity. There are many exceptions and particular circumstances in which nudity is tolerated, accepted or even encouraged in public spaces. Such examples would include a nude beach, within some intentional communities (such as naturist resorts or clubs) and at special events.

In general and across cultures, more restrictions are found for exposure of those parts of the human body that display evidence of sexual arousal. Sex organs and often women's breasts are covered, even when other parts of the body may be freely uncovered. Yet the nudity taboo may have meanings deeper than the immediate possibility of sexual arousal, for example, in the cumulative weight of tradition and habit. Clothing also expresses and symbolizes authority, and more general norms and values besides those of a sexual nature.

Another common distinction is that gratuitous nudity is perceived as more offensive than the same degree of physical exposure in a functional context, where the action could not conveniently be performed dressed, either in reality or in a fictitious scene in art. The intent can also be invoked: whether the nudity is meant to affect observers; e.g. streaking can be considered unacceptably provocative, and nude sun tanning viewed mildly as rather inoffensive.

Social nudity[link]

Some people take part in non-sexual public nude events. These may be in a naturist resort or club or at a nude beach. Outdoor nude recreation can take place in private or rural areas, though generally limited to warm weather.

Others practice casual public nudity. Topfree sunbathing is considered acceptable by many on the beaches of Finland, France, Spain, Italy and most of the rest of Europe (and even in some outdoor swimming pools); however, exposure of the genitals is restricted to nudist areas in most regions. In the United States, topfree sunbathing and wearing thongs are not common in many areas, but are limited to nude beaches in various locations. It is normally acceptable for men in the U.S. to be barechested or shirtless when engaged in outdoor recreational activities.

World Naked Bike Ride in Zaragoza

Where the social acceptability of nudity in certain places may be well understood, the legal position is often less clear cut. In England, for example, the law does not actually prohibit simple public nudity, but does forbid indecent exposure^{[citation needed]}. In practice, this means that successful prosecution hangs on whether there is a demonstrable intention to shock others, rather than simply a desire to be nude in a public place. Specifically, using nudity to "harass, alarm or distress" others is an offence against the Public Order Act of 1986. Occasional attempts to prove this point by walking naked around the country therefore often result in periods of arrest, followed by release without charge, and inconsistencies in the approach between different police jurisdictions. Differences in the law between England and Scotland appear to make the position harder for naked ramblers once they reach Scotland.

Photography of installations of massed nude people in public places, as made repeatedly around the world by Spencer Tunick, claim artistic merit.

Means of attracting attention[link]

Nudity is at times used to draw attention to a cause, with the participants remaining anonymous. Nude events are at times staged as a forum for usually unrelated messages, such as clothing-optional bike rides. At times, the cause is merely a personal justification for taking part in a nude event, which are popular in their own right. Many nude calendars are produced each year featuring naked men or women. Some of these are produced to raise money for charities or other causes. Nudity, like sexuality, is also used to draw attention for a commercial purpose, such as for promotion or advertising.

Children[link]

The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (July 2011)

Home[link]

There are differences of opinion as to whether, and if so to what extent, parents should appear naked in front of their children. Gordon and Schroeder report that parental nudity varies considerably from family to family.^[4] They say that "there is nothing inherently wrong with bathing with children or otherwise appearing naked in front of them", noting that doing so may provide an opportunity for parents to provide important information. They note that by ages five to six, children begin to develop a sense of modesty, and recommend to parents who wish to be sensitive to their children's wishes that they limit such activities from that age onwards.

Bonner recommends against nudity in the home if children exhibit sexual play of a type that is considered problematic.^[5]

A U.S. study by Alfred Kinsey found that 75% of the participants stated that there was never nudity in the home when they were growing up, 5% of the participants said that there was "seldom" nudity in the home, 3% said "often", and 17% said that it was "usual". The study found that there was no significant difference between what was reported by men and by women with respect to frequency of nudity in the home.^[6]

In a 1995 review of the literature, Paul Okami concluded that there was no reliable evidence linking exposure to parental nudity to any negative effect.^[7] Three years later, his team finished an 18-year longitudinal study that showed that, if anything, such exposure was associated with slight beneficial effects, particularly for boys.^[8]

Carlo Cignani's Triumph of Cupid

Depictions of nudity[link]

Depictions of child nudity or children with nude adults appear in works of art in various cultures and historical periods. These attitudes have changed over time and have become increasingly frowned upon particularly in recent years,^[9] especially in the case of photography. In recent years, there have been a few incidents in which snapshots taken by parents of their infant or toddler children bathing or otherwise naked were challenged as child pornography.^[10]

In May 2008, police in Sydney, Australia, raided an exhibition by the photographer Bill Henson featuring images of naked children on allegations of child pornography.^[11][12] Comparable artworks by Henson had been exhibited without incident since 1975, perhaps indicating that this sensitivity has heightened in recent years.

In June 2008, it was reported in The Age that police would have no basis to prosecute Henson over his photographs of naked teenagers, after they were declared "mild and justified" and given a PG rating^[13] by the Australian Classification Board, suggesting viewing by children under the age of 16 is suitable with parental guidance.^[14] Out of protest, the Art Monthly Australia magazine published an image of the 6-year-old Olympia Nelson taken by her mother, Polixeni Papapetrou. According to the then-11-year-old Olympia, she did not believe the photograph amounted to abuse and was upset with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's remark that he hated it. Olympia's father, art critic Professor Robert Nelson, defended it, saying: "It has nothing to do with pedophilia. The connection between artistic pictures and pedophilia cannot be made and there is no evidence for it."^[15][16]

Children seeing nudity[link]

Attitudes toward children seeing nude people vary substantially, depending on the child's culture, age and the context of the nudity (see also the section Home above).

Two children bathing in a small metal bathtub

Television and radio regulations in many countries require broadcasters to avoid transmitting images or language considered inappropriate for children from 5:30 am to 9 pm (the so-called "watershed"). In the United Kingdom, the Broadcasting Code states, "Nudity before the watershed must be justified by the context."^[17] In the U.S., the safe harbor rule forbids depictions of nudity between the hours of 6 am and 10 pm. Violators may be subject to civil legal action and sanctions if the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) determines the broadcaster did not meet its standards of "decency". "Material is indecent if, in context, it depicts or describes sexual or excretory organs or activities in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium."^[18]

Attitudes to nudity vary substantially throughout Europe. Male and female nudity in Scandinavia is not uncommon. The region has a very open attitude about nudity, although it strictly prohibits children's access to pornography.^[19]

Communal showering[link]

Another issue has been the nudity of children in front of other children.

In continental Europe, students tend to shower communally after physical education classes, separated by gender. Fathers taking their young daughters or mothers taking their young sons into the gender-separated changing rooms is mostly viewed as non-controversial, although some public baths have introduced family changing rooms. Some private gymnasiums have instituted rules specifically banning family members of opposite genders taking their children into single-sex locker rooms.^{[citation needed]}

In the U.S. and some of the English-speaking majority of Canada, students at public schools have historically been required to shower communally with classmates of the same sex after physical education classes. In the U.S., public objections and the threat of lawsuits have resulted in a number of school districts in recent years changing policy to make showers optional. Private boarding schools and military academies in the U.S. often have communal showers, since the focus there is on 24-hours-a-day education and rooming, rather than just acting as day schools. Students in these establishments need places to clean themselves daily.^[20] A court case in Colorado noted that students have a reduced expectation of personal privacy in regards to "communal undress" while showering after physical education classes.^[21] According to an interview with a middle school principal, most objections to showering at school that he had heard were actually from the students' parents rather than from the students.^[22]

Children participating in naturism[link]

Naturism is usually practised in family groups without age limits, so it may involve nudity of children and children seeing nudity.

Modern technology[link]

Visual media[link]

Nude model posing on a street in Budapest.

Mainstream art generally reflects – with some exceptions – social standards of aesthetics and morality of a society at various periods of time. Beyond mainstream standards, artistic expression may be merely tolerated, or be considered as fringe. Since prehistoric time, humans, both male and female, have been depicted in all states of dress, including all states of undress. Nudity in all styles has been and continues to be found in art. Nudity is also a subject of many literary works and in film. All professionally-produced works of art use stylised compositions to depict the nude body. This also applies to cinema, where even nude scenes are staged and rehearsed.

The erotic aspect of nudity in the arts has been an important factor in its attraction, and has come to be associated with certain states and emotions, such as innocence, playfulness, vulnerability, etc. Pornography does not necessarily involve a naked person, but it involves sexualized scenes, and usually it does not claim to have any artistic merit.

The visual arts were at times the only means available to the general public to view a nude body. Today, the opportunities available for the viewing of the nude body are very wide, and these include magazines, television, films, and the Internet.

Personal privacy issues[link]

Unlike arts in general, which traditionally relied on composed works and professional artists, the invention of photography and then the video camera has opened the art of capturing images of people and of scenes at a relatively low cost to the true amateur. Furthermore, a person could now capture images in both public and private situations. A feature of most of these private photographs and videos is that they are not intended for viewing outside of a very limited range of people, and seldom if ever by the general public.

Vernacular photography, which included nude photography and which previously has been produced for personal enjoyment, is increasingly being more widely disseminated by the medium of the Internet, at times without the knowledge and consent of the subject of the photograph, and to their subsequent embarrassment. Also, the use of secret photography to capture images of an unsuspecting person (undressed or not, and whether for personal use, or intended for posting on the Internet) creates additional personal privacy issues.

Full body scanner[link]

A full-body scanner is a device that creates an image of a person's nude body through their clothing to look for hidden objects without physically removing their clothes or making physical contact. They are increasingly being deployed at airports and train stations in many countries.

One technology used under the name "full-body scanner" is the millimeter wave scanner, the active form of which reflects extremely high frequency radio waves off the body to make an image on which one can see some types of objects hidden under the clothes. Passive millimeter wave screening devices rely on only the raw energy that is naturally emitted from the human body or objects concealed on the body; passive devices do not transmit millimeter waves.^[23][24] Another technology in use is the backscatter X-ray.

Western culture[link]

Functional nudity[link]

Functional nudity for a short time, such as when changing clothes on a beach, is sometimes acceptable, while staying nude on the beach generally is not. On nude beaches it is acceptable to be nude.

In some locations, most particularly within western societies, a woman breastfeeding in public can generate controversy. For example, in June 2007, Brooke Ryan was dining in a booth at the rear of an Applebee's restaurant when she found it necessary to breastfeed her 7-month-old son. While she said she attempted to be discreet, another patron complained to the manager about indecent exposure. Both a waitress and the manager asked her to cover up. She handed him a copy of the Kentucky law that permitted public breastfeeding, but he would not relent. She ended up feeding her son in her car and later organized "nurse-out" protests in front of the restaurant and other public locations.^[25] Most U.S. states (40 as of January 2009) have laws clarifying a woman's right to breastfeed in public.^[26]

Toplessness and "topfreedom"[link]

A topless woman sunbathing

In many western societies and in appropriate settings, such as while suntanning, the exposure of women's breasts is not, of itself, normally regarded as indecent exposure. In the United States, however, exposure of female nipples is a criminal offense in many states and not usually allowed in public (see Public indecency), while in the United Kingdom, nudity may not be used to "harass, alarm or distress" according to the Public Order Act of 1986.^[27]

Prosecutions of cases has given raise to a movement advocating "topfreedom", promoting equal rights for women to have no clothing above the waist, on the same basis that would apply to men in the same circumstances. The term "topfree" rather than "topless" is advocated to avoid the latter term's perceived sexual connotations.

Naturism[link]

Naturism (or nudism) is a cultural and political movement practising, advocating and defending private and public nudity. It is also a lifestyle based on personal, family and/or social preference.^[28][29]

Naturists reject contemporary standards of modesty which discourage personal, family and social nudity, and seek to create a social environment where people feel comfortable in the company of nude people, and being seen nude, either just by other naturists, or also by the general public.^[28][29]

Nude bathing[link]

Vintage image (1943) of skinny dippers near Darwin, Australia

The trend in some European countries (for instance Germany, Finland and the Netherlands) is to allow both genders to bathe together naked. Many German spas allow mixed nude bathing. For example the Friedrichsbad in Baden-Baden has designated times when mixed nude bathing is permitted. There may be some older German bathhouses, such as Bad Burg, which remain segregated by gender, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Most German (not to mention French, Spanish and Greek) beaches and swimming pools offer FKK (clothing-optional) areas. In general, continental Europeans have a more relaxed attitude about nudity than is seen in the British-influenced world. Some have attributed this difference to the influence of Queen Victoria's husband Albert, who was raised in a very restricting religious sect (see Victorian morality).

A nude couple in bed

The sauna, originating from Finland, is attended nude in its source country^[30] as well as in most Scandinavian and in the German-speaking countries of Europe. This is true even when a swimsuit must be worn in the swimming pool area of the same complex.^[30] Saunas are very common in modern Finland, where there is one sauna for every three people^[31] and became very popular in the remainder of Europe in recent decades. Gender segregation is more the exception than the rule in modern European sauna facilities.^{[citation needed]}

Sexuality[link]

Nudity in front of a sexual partner is widely accepted, but not in all cases. For example, some partners insist on nudity only at the time and place of sex, or with subdued lighting; during bathing with the partner or afterward; covered by a sheet or blanket, or while sleeping.

Non-Western attitudes[link]

A woman wearing traditional clothing in southern Ethiopia, where toplessness among women is normal

Attitudes in Western cultures are not all the same as explained above, and likewise attitudes in non-Western cultures are many and variant. In almost all cultures, acceptability of nudity depends on the situation.

Cultural and/or religious traditions usually dictate what is proper and what is not socially acceptable. Many non-Western cultures allow women to breastfeed in public, while some have very strict laws about showing any bare skin.

Africa[link]

The curse of nakedness[link]

In Africa, woman have used stripping naked on purpose as a curse, both historically, and in modern times. The idea is that women give life and they can take it away. The curse initiates an extreme form of ostracism, which anthropologist Terisa Turner has likened to "social execution". The curse extends to foreign men as well, and is believed to cause impotence, madness or other similar harm.^[32] The threat has been used successfully in mass protests against the petroleum industry in Nigeria^[33], by Leymah Gbowee during the Second Liberian Civil War.^[34], and against President Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivory Coast.^[35]

Clothing and nudity[link]

Different traditions exist among, for example, sub-Saharan Africans, partly persisting in the post-colonial era. Whereas it is the norm among some ethnic and family groups including some Burkinabese and Nilo-Saharan (e.g. Nuba and Surma people) in daily life or on particular occasions not to wear any clothes or without any covering below the waist – for example, at highly-attended stick-fighting tournaments well-exposed young men use the occasion to catch the eye of a prospective bride.

Liberia[link]

The Amazonian Yawalapiti tribespeople performing a Quarup ritual

In modern Liberia, soldiers under General "Butt Naked" Joshua Blahyi fought naked in order to terrorize their opponents.^[36] Nude except for lace-up leather shoes and a gun, the general led his fierce Butt Naked Battalion into battle on behalf of the warlord Roosevelt Johnson, who hired the unclothed warriors for their fearlessness and fighting skills.

Brazil[link]

In Brazil, the Yawalapiti, an indigenous Xingu tribe in the Amazon Basin, practice a funeral ritual known as Quarup, to celebrate life, death and rebirth, and also involves the presentation of all young girls who have begun menstruating since the last Quarup and whose time has come to choose a partner.

Asia[link]

In Japan, public baths are very common. Bathing nude with family members or friends of the same (or sometimes opposite) gender in public bath houses, saunas, or natural hot springs (Onsen) is popular. In Korea, public baths (Jjimjilbang) are also widespread and communal nude bathing is normal, although nudity is not permitted in unisex areas. In the south Asian region, public nudity is totally restricted.

In India nude beaches can be found in Goa. In many Muslim countries, public nudity is illegal.

Nudity is considered shamelessness in the conservative society of India. Some of the conservative people with extreme religious views also consider bathing in nudity as an insult to the water goddess. Hence, nudity in the view of orthodox society is considered a sin.

Historical overview[link]

Three runners circa 333–332 BC. It was customary for ancient Greek athletes to compete in the nude.

It is not clear when humans started wearing clothes. Anthropologists postulate the adaptation of animal skins and vegetation into coverings to protect the wearer from cold, heat and rain, especially as humans migrated to new climates; alternatively, covering may have been invented first for other purposes, such as magic, decoration, cult, or prestige, and later found to be practical as well. For men and women, public nudity was at least permissible in ancient Sparta, and customary at festivals.

In some hunter-gatherer cultures in warm climates, near-complete nudity has been, until the introduction of Western culture, or still is, standard practice for both men and women. In some African and Melanesian cultures, men going completely naked except for a string tied about the waist are considered properly dressed for hunting and other traditional group activities. In a number of tribes in the South Pacific island of New Guinea, the men use hard gourdlike pods as penis sheaths. Yet a man without this "covering" could be considered to be in an embarrassing state of nakedness. Among the Chumash peopled of southern California, men were usually naked, and women were often topless. Native Americans of the Amazon Basin usually went nude or nearly nude; in many native tribes, the only clothing worn was some device worn by men to clamp the foreskin shut. However, other similar cultures have had different standards. For example, other native North Americans avoided total nudity, and the Native Americans of the mountains and west of South America, such as the Quechuas, kept quite covered.

In 1498, at Trinity Island, Trinidad, Christopher Columbus found the women entirely naked, whereas the men wore a light girdle called guayaco. At the same epoch, on the Para Coast of Brazil, the girls were distinguished from the married women by their absolute nudity. The same absence of costume was observed among the Chaymas of Cumaná, Venezuela, and Du Chaillu noticed the same among the Achiras in Gabon.^[37]

Forced nudity[link]

Prisoner abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, including forced nudity and humiliation, was widely condemned

During witch-hunts, the alleged witches were stripped to discover the so-called witches' marks. The discovery of witches' marks was then used as evidence in trials.^[38]

Nudity (full or partial) can be part of a corporal punishment or as an imposed humiliation, especially when administered in public. In fact, torture manuals have distinguished between the male and female psychological aversion to self-exposure versus being disrobed.

Nazis used forced nudity to attempt to humiliate inmates in concentration camps. This was depicted in the film Schindler's List.^[39]

In 2003, Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad gained international notoriety for accounts of torture and abuses by members of the United States Army Reserve during the post-invasion period. Photographic images were circulated that exposed the posing of prisoners naked, sometimes bound, and being intimidated and otherwise humiliated, resulting in widespread condemnation of the abuse.

Religion[link]

Hinduism[link]

Naga mystics, at the Hindu bathing ceremony of Ardha Kumbh Mela, at Allahabad

A religious sect known as Naga sadhu (monk) can be seen nude. These sadhus usually remain naked or some wear a loin-cloth around their waist and ashes smeared over their body. They usually remain in their Akhara (group, also means a wrestling arena) or deep forest and come out in public only during the Kumbha Mela festival. They have a very long history and are warrior monks, who usually also carry a talwar (sword), trishul (trident), bhala (javelin) or such weapons, and in mediaeval times have fought many wars to protect Hindu temples and shrines.

Similarly, the Aghori, followers of mystic tantric rituals and who usually stay in isolated place or cremation grounds, can be found naked. But they do not appear in public nor do the general public go to meet them. Sightings of Aghori in public places is very rare.

Jainism[link]

In Jainism, there is a major sect of Digambar Jain, whose monks remain naked. The people of this sect keep their god naked. Though the Shwetambar is the another major sect of this religion who have opposite views to the Digambars. The Shwetambar monks always cover their whole body and keep their god in clothes.

Judaism[link]

In Judaism, a person who enters a ritual bath (a mikveh) does so without clothing. This includes jewelry and even bandages.

Christianity[link]

Adam and Eve, by Albrecht Dürer (1507).

In the early Christian Church, nudity was considered acceptable in some contexts such as working outdoors. For example, the Gospel of John (21:7 King James Version) describes Simon Peter being naked ("for he was naked") while fishing from a boat, but then dresses in order to meet Christ.

The first recorded liturgy of baptism, written down by St. Hippolytus of Rome in his 'Apostolic Tradition', required the removal of all clothing for both men and women, including all foreign objects such as jewellery and hair fastenings.^[40] This practice is reflected in early Christian art depicting baptism.

When artistic endeavors revived following the Renaissance, the Catholic Church was a major sponsor of art bearing a religious theme, many of which included subjects in various states of dress and including full nudity. Painters sponsored by the Church included Raphael, Caravaggio and Michelangelo, but there were many others. Many of these paintings and statues were and continue to be displayed in churches, some of which were painted as murals, the most famous of which are at the Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo.

Islam[link]

In Islam, the area of the body not meant to be exposed in public is called the awrah, and while referred to in the Qur'an, is addressed in more detail in hadith. In the Sunni tradition, the male awrah is from the navel to knees. Other denominations have differing interpretations. For women, there are different classifications of awrah. In public, many Muslim women wear the hijab and long dresses which covers most of their head and body, with only specific body parts such as hands and face allowed to show. But in front of direct family (parents, children, siblings), the awrah is relaxed further, allowing them to uncover, except between the chest and the thighs. Sharia law in some Islamic countries requires women to observe purdah, covering their entire bodies, including the face (see niqab and burqa), However, the degrees of covering vary according to local custom and/or interpretation of Sharia law.

See also[link]

Nudity portal

References[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nudity

• Quotations related to Nudity at Wikiquote
• 20 century Nude in the "History of Art"
• Nudity in Ancient to Modern Cultures by Aileen Goodson (This chapter excerpt is from Aileen Goodson's Therapy, Nudity & Joy)

Ursula Martinez (aka Ursula Lea) (b. 1966)^[1] is a London-based Anglo-Spanish British writer, performer, and cult cabaret diva noted for her use of nudity and non-actors.

Her latest show, "My Stories, Your Emails", builds on the notoriety gained from popular Internet videos of her cabaret strip-tease act, especially "Hanky Panky".^[2] Hanky Panky ^[3] is a disappearing handkerchief magic routine where each piece of clothing that hides the handkerchief is discarded until she is completely nude (and still makes the handkerchief vanish and reappear). ^[4] Her Hanky Panky act was performed in the award winning La Clique cabaret show and was filmed during the 2007 Montreal Comedy Festival. Another popular cabaret segment is called "Light My Fire" in which the panties and g-string Martinez wears burst into flame, one by one, and disappear.

References[link]

1. ^ The Sunday Herald, 2003[1]
2. ^ The Arts Desk, Feb 2010 [2]
3. ^ Hanky Panky video from the Just for Laughs Comedy festival in Montreal [3]
4. ^ The Daily Telegraph [4]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Barbican listing
• "Hanky Panky" filmed live, Montreal Comedy Festival, 2007
• Ursula Martinez's naked ambition, BBC News, 15 August 2001
• Lyn Gardner, In the raw, The Guardian, 11 October 2006

This article about an entertainer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Against Me!
Left to right: Seward, Weinberg, Gabel, and Bowman in 2011
Background information
Origin	Naples, Florida, United States
Genres	Punk rock
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Misanthrope, Crasshole, Plan-It-X, No Idea, Sabot, Fat Wreck Chords, Sire, Total Treble
Associated acts	Hot Water Music, The Draft, Forgetters
Website	againstme.net
Members
Tom Gabel Andrew Seward James Bowman Jay Weinberg
Past members
Kevin Mahon Dustin Fridkin Warren Oakes George Rebelo

Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in Naples, Florida in 1997 by singer and guitarist Tom Gabel. Since 2002 the band's lineup has also included guitarist James Bowman and bassist Andrew Seward; current drummer Jay Weinberg joined in 2010. After releasing three studio albums through independent record labels, Against Me! moved to Sire Records for 2007's New Wave, which reached no. 57 on the Billboard 200. Their fifth and most recent album, 2010's White Crosses, was their most successful, reaching no. 34. In 2011 the band launched their own record label, Total Treble Music, through which they plan to release future albums. In 2012 Gabel publicly came out as transgender, with plans to begin a medical process to live as a woman and eventually take the name Laura Jane Grace while continuing to front Against Me!. The first album expected to feature Laura Jane Grace as frontwoman is Transgender Dysphoria Blues.^[1]

Biography[link]

[edit] 1997–2002: Formation and Reinventing Axl Rose

Against Me! was formed in 1997 by singer/guitarist Tom Gabel as a solo act, occasionally performing with backing musicians. The first Against Me! release was an eponymously-titled 1997 cassette demo. With the addition of drummer Kevin Mahon, a second demo, Vivida Vis! (1998), was released in limited numbers by Misanthrope Records. The band's first EP, Against Me!, was released in 2000 through Crasshole Records. Their first widely-distributed release was the EP Crime as Forgiven by Against Me! (2001), released by Plan-It-X Records and Gabel's own Sabot Productions. A third EP, an eponymously-titled acoustic recording by Gabel and bassist Dustin Fridkin, was released later that year.

Mahon left the band and was replaced by Warren Oakes, and second guitarist James Bowman was added for the band's first album, 2002's Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose, released by No Idea Records. Fridkin left and was replaced by Andrew Seward, and this lineup released the single "The Disco Before the Breakdown" (2002).

[edit] 2003–05: As the Eternal Cowboy and Searching for a Former Clarity

Against Me! signed to Fat Wreck Chords and released their second album, 2003's Against Me! as the Eternal Cowboy. It reached no. 36 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart and was supported by singles for "Cavalier Eternal" and "Sink, Florida, Sink".^[2] The DVD We're Never Going Home followed, documenting their Spring 2004 tour. 2005's Searching for a Former Clarity was their first album to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching no. 114.^[3] It spawned singles for "Don't Lose Touch" and "From Her Lips to God's Ears (The Energizer)", which also became the band's first music videos. The live album Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live in London!!! followed in 2006.

[edit] 2005–10: New Wave and White Crosses

Against Me! on tour in support of New Wave

Against Me! moved to Sire Records for 2007's New Wave, produced by Butch Vig. It debuted at no. 57 on the Billboard 200 and featured their first charting single, "Thrash Unreal", which reached no. 11 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.^[3][4] "White People for Peace", "Stop!", and "New Wave" were also released as singles, and New Wave was named as Spin's album of the year.^[5] The DVD Live at the Key Club followed later that year. In 2008 Against Me! supported Foo Fighters on a North American tour, and Sire released the digital EP New Wave B-Sides.^[6][7]

Oakes left the band in June 2009, in part to focus on running his Mexican food restaurant.^[8][9] "I didn't want to play music with Warren anymore", said Gabel, "it's been a long time coming. Warren's heart hasn't been in this for a while now."^[8] Oakes was replaced by Hot Water Music drummer George Rebelo.^[9] The following month Fat Wreck Chords released The Original Cowboy, an album of demo recordings from the Against Me! as the Eternal Cowboy sessions.^[10]

On August 17, 2009, Against Me! headed into the studio with New Wave producer Butch Vig.^[11] Their fifth studio album, White Crosses, was released on June 8, 2010.^[12] Against Me! joined Billy Talent on tour in Canada in March 2010, and also supported the Silversun Pickups during a US tour starting June 2010 .^[13] The band for this tour includes former keyboardist for The Hold Steady and World/Inferno Friendship Society, Franz Nicolay.

Against Me! released their second album with Sire, White Crosses, on June 4, 2010.^[14] The band announced the release of an EP for the song "I Was A Teenage Anarchist" to be released on April 20, 2010.^[15] However, on April 7 the EP was released on iTunes for users in the US and Canada, with the previously stated April 20 release date for those in other countries.^[16]

On September 29, 2010, just over a day before the start of their Australia/ New Zealand tour, Against Me! cancelled all of their upcoming shows, due to a "culmination of circumstances" and having "to take some time off from touring to go home and sort things out."^[17][18] November 28 saw the arrival of a new post on Gabel's blog, saying that Against Me! have cut ties with Sire.^[19]

[edit] 2010–present: Transgender Dysphoria Blues and recent activity

November 2010 saw Against Me!'s departure from Sire Records, their first (and only) major label. Following a two-month hiatus from touring, the band spoke for the first time since their tour cancellation, talking of their upcoming December 2010 shows, which saw Jay Weinberg cover for George Rebelo on drums, as he toured with Hot Water Music.^[20]

Throughout December 2010, Gabel spoke of George Rebelo's intentions to record an album with his primary band Hot Water Music.^[21] In January 2011, Weinberg was officially confirmed as Against Me!'s new drummer.^[22] Total Clarity, an album of demos and unreleased songs from the Searching for a Former Clarity sessions, was released on May 24, 2011 through Fat Wreck Chords.^[23]

Gabel has expressed his desire to release at least one album per year for the next decade^[24] and that he hopes to record Against Me!'s sixth studio album in Winter 2011.^[25] As well as this, he spoke of releasing a 7" on Sabot Productions before Summer 2011, featuring two original songs. This was announced as being Russian Spies / Occult Enemies, which was released on June 14, 2011. In the same studio session, the band recorded a cover of the theme song for a season 8 episode of One Tree Hill, which aired May 3.^[26]

On June 3, 2011 the band announced that they started their own record label, Total Treble Music.^[27] In September 2011, Gabel built a recording studio in Elkton, Florida, for future Against Me! projects.^[28] The studio has since been named Total Treble Studio.^[29] The first band to record an album in the studio are Cheap Girls from Lansing, Michigan, with their album Giant Orange.^[30][31]

Against Me! started recording their sixth studio album, entitled Transgender Dysphoria Blues^[32] in February 2012, at Total Treble Studio;^[33] the album is a concept record about a transgender prostitute.^[34]That May, Gabel publicly came out as transgender, having dealt with gender dysphoria since childhood.^[35][36] Gabel plans to transition to living as a woman by taking hormones, undergoing electrolysis treatments, and eventually taking the name Laura Jane Grace.^[35] "I felt like I drop-kicked them in the face," Gabel said of informing the other members of Against Me! "We had the most awkward hug ever, and then they left. And the second I shut the door, I was like, 'What the fuck did I just do?'"^[36] Gabel will continue fronting the band, saying "However fierce our band was in the past, imagine me, six-foot-two, in heels, fucking screaming into someone's face."^[36]

Band members[link]

Current members

• Tom Gabel – guitar, lead vocals (1997–present)
• James Bowman – guitar, vocals (2001–present)
• Andrew Seward – bass, vocals (2002–present)
• Jay Weinberg – drums, percussion (2010–present)

Former members

• Kevin Mahon – drums, percussion, vocals (1998–2001)
• Dustin Fridkin – bass, vocals (1998, 2001–2002)
• Warren Oakes – drums, percussion (2001–2009)
• George Rebelo – drums, percussion (2009–2010)

Touring members

• Franz Nicolay - piano, keyboards, accordion, vocals (2010)
• Tyson Yerex - piano, keyboards, guitar (2009–2010)
• Adam Trachsel - bass (2010)

Tom Gabel performing with Against Me! in 2009

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose (2002)
• Against Me! as the Eternal Cowboy (2003)
• Searching for a Former Clarity (2005)
• New Wave (2007)
• White Crosses (2010)
• Transgender Dysphoria Blues (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Against Me!

• Official website

Britney Spears
Spears performing at her Femme Fatale Tour in Europe, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Britney Jean Spears
Born	(1981-12-02) December 2, 1981 (age 30) McComb, Mississippi, U.S.
Genres	Pop, dance
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, record producer, author, fashion designer, video director
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Jive, RCA[1]
Associated acts	The New Mickey Mouse Club
Website	britneyspears.com britney.com

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album ...Baby One More Time in 1999, which became the best-selling album by a teenage solo artist.^[2] During her first decade in the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records, while title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" became international number-one hits. Spears was credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s, and became the 'best-selling teen aged artist of all time' before she turned 20,^[3] garnering her the honorific title of "Princess of Pop".^[4]

In 2001, she released her third studio album Britney and expanded her brand, playing the starring role in the film Crossroads. She assumed creative control of her fourth studio album, In the Zone (2003), which yielded chart-topping singles "Me Against the Music", "Toxic" and "Everytime". After the release of two compilation albums, Spears experienced personal struggles and her career went into hiatus. Her fifth studio album, Blackout, was released in 2007 and despite receiving little promotion, it spawned hits "Gimme More" and "Piece of Me". In 2008, her erratic behavior and hospitalizations caused her to be placed in a conservatorship. The same year, her sixth studio album Circus was released, with the global chart-topping lead single "Womanizer", and hits such as "Circus" and "If U Seek Amy". She embarked on her highest-grossing global concert tour,^[5] The Circus Starring Britney Spears, in 2009. In October of the same year, she released a chart-topping single, "3", which became her third single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Her seventh studio album Femme Fatale, released in 2011, has become the first of her albums to yield three top ten singles in the United States, "Hold It Against Me", "Till the World Ends" and "I Wanna Go". The same year, she also gained her fifth number one single when she featured on the remix of "S&M" alongside Rihanna.

Spears work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including a Grammy Award, 6 MTV Video Music Awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award, 9 Billboard Music Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2009, Billboard ranked her as the 8th overall Artist of the Decade,^[6] and also recognized her as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall.^[7] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) also recognized Spears as the eighth top-selling female artist in the United States, with 33 million certified albums.^[8] Nielsen SoundScan ranked Spears the tenth best-selling digital artist of the country, with more than 28.6 million digital singles as of January 2012.^[9] She has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.^[10] Rolling Stone recognized her instant success as one of the Top 25 Teen Idol Breakout Moments of all time,^[11] while VH1 ranked her eleventh on their "100 Greatest Women in Music" list in 2012.^[12] Forbes also revealed that Spears was the sixth most powerful celebrity, and the third best paid musician of 2011-12, having topped the list back in 2002.^[13] In Fall 2012, Spears will serve as a judge in the second season of the American version of The X Factor.^[14]

Biography[link]

1981–97: Early life, and career beginnings[link]

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, the second child of Lynne Irene (née Bridges) and James Parnell Spears. She is of English heritage through her maternal grandmother, Lillian Portelli who was born in London, and of distant Maltese and Sicilian (Sicani) descent.^[15][16][17] Her siblings are Bryan James and Jamie Lynn.^[18] At age three, she started to attend dance lessons in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, and was selected to perform as a solo artist at the annual recital. During her childhood, she also attended gymnastics and voice lessons, and won many state-level competitions and children's talent shows.^[19][20][21] Spears made her local stage debut at age five, singing "What Child Is This?" at her kindergarten graduation. She said about her ambition as a child, "I was in my own world, [...] I found out what I'm supposed to do at an early age".^[20] At age eight, Spears and her mother Lynne traveled to Atlanta for an audition in the 1990s revival of The Mickey Mouse Club. Casting director Matt Casella rejected her for being too young to join the series at the time, but introduced her to Nancy Carson, a New York City talent agent. Carson was impressed with Spears's vocals and suggested enrolling her at the Professional Performing Arts School; shortly after, Lynne and her daughters moved to a sublet apartment in New York. Spears was hired for her first professional role as the understudy for the lead role of Tina Denmark in the Off-Broadway musical Ruthless!. She also appeared as a contestant on the popular television show Star Search, as well as being cast in a number of commercials.^[22][23] In December 1992, she was finally cast in The Mickey Mouse Club, but returned to Kentwood after the show was canceled. She enrolled at Parklane Academy in nearby McComb, Mississippi. Although she made friends with most of her classmates, she compared the school to "the opening scene in Clueless with all the cliques. [...] I was so bored. I was the point guard on the basketball team. I had my boyfriend, and I went to homecoming and Christmas formal. But I wanted more."^[20][24]

In June 1997, Spears was in talks with manager Lou Pearlman to join the female pop group Innosense. Lynne asked family friend and entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a Whitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures. Rudolph decided he wanted to pitch her to record labels, therefore she needed a professional demo. He sent Spears an unused song of Toni Braxton; she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio with a sound engineer. Spears traveled to New York with the demo and met with executives from four labels, returning to Kentwood the same day. Three of the labels rejected her, arguing that audiences wanted pop bands such as the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be another Madonna, another Debbie Gibson, or another Tiffany." Two weeks later, executives from Jive Records returned calls to Rudolph.^[25] Senior vice president of A&R Jeff Fenster stated about Spears's audition that "It's very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal. [...] For any artist, the motivation—the 'eye of the tiger'—is extremely important. And Britney had that."^[20] She then sang Houston's "I Have Nothing" (1992) for the executives, and got signed to the label.^[26] They appointed her to work with producer Eric Foster White for a month, who reportedly shaped her voice from "lower and less poppy" delivery to "distinctively, unmistakably Britney."^[27] After hearing the recorded material, president Clive Calder ordered a full album. Spears had originally envisioned "Sheryl Crow music, but younger more adult contemporary" but felt all right with her label's appointment of producers, since "It made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me." She flew to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, where half of the album was recorded from March to April 1998, with producers Max Martin, Denniz Pop and Rami Yacoub, among others.^[20]