Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Nakedjen's Dilemma

Nakedjen, who throws off her clothes in public on a regular basis, was flashed by an exhibitionist while she was walking her dogs. It's a perfect example of irony.

But Jen has a dilemma. Since she is an exhibitionist herself, should she report the man to the police, or simply forget about it?

Since she blogged about the incident today, I guess there's no forgetting. So what should she do?

Exhibitionism is a complex subject since it encompasses so many variations on the same theme. Some people consider nudists to be exhibitionists. Also falling under the definition is stripping, mooning, streaking, flashing of the female breasts, and virtually any act involving the exposure of the genitals, breasts or buttocks.

It seems fair to say that exhibitionism exists only because we are a clothed society. One cannot expose that which is already exposed.

In Jen's case, she was flashed by a man exposing his erect penis. Such exhibitionism is done for a sexual thrill, and is more likely a fetish than anything else.

From everything I've read about nakedjen, she likes to get naked primarily as a means to promote body acceptance, and freedom. Her behavior is much closer to nudism.

Unimpressed by the man's naked genitals, Jen tried to talk to him, which only confused him so he ran away.

I don't know what the law in Utah is for indecent exposure, but I feel pretty confident in saying that the flasher committed a crime, and Jen, for not reporting the crime, could possibly be an accessory. A crime is a crime even if you don't agree with the law.

Chances are that the man will repeat the crime, and Jen has done nothing to stop him. Police don't think kindly about people who fail to report crimes.

I fully understand the dilemma. Jen likes to get naked in public, and most laws do not differentiate between nudity as an expression of freedom, and nudity for a sexual thrill.

Had Jen come across a free hiker, or a woman sunbathing topfree, or someone skinny-dipping in a pond, I'd say live and let live.

But this guy could be disturbed, or even dangerous. Who's to say that he's not a rapist in the making?

So, nakedjen should have reported the incident. Men flashing their erect penises is not nudism, or naturism, and would not be tolerated in situations of social nudity. In fact, such a display at a nudist resort will likely be met with a response far more severe than Jen's reaction.

Ultimately the laws need to define differences between types of nudity. College students should not be treated as criminals for streaking, or mooning, and placed in the same category as sex offenders.

Jen writes:
which is more about my issue here. that this public act of nudity is considered offensive. i'm not sure that it should be. it's just a naked body. which each and every one of us have. we all have a naked body underneath our clothes. and it is just that culturally we have chosen (or perhaps more appropriately have been brainwashed) to find that naked body offensive.

i, personally, don't find it offensive. just as i didn't find the man who was naked in the dog park this morning offensive in the least.

so i won't be calling the police. because i was not offended. but i still am struggling with the fact that my body offends, that he was hoping to offend with his nudity, and that we as a culture find nudity offensive.
Sorry, Jen. While I sympathize with your dilemma, and your personal feelings, this incident was not just a "naked body", it was a man confronting you with the intent of getting a sexual thrill. He might also have been hoping that you would have been thrilled, too. Rape is not sex, it is violence, and flashing an erect penis in a park is not nudity, it's a crime.

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6 comments:

Mike4Freedom said...

I agree with NakedJen on this one. Live and let live. Otherwise we play into the hand of the moralists who believe that nudity itself is a sin and is equal to sexual debauchery.

Nor would I make any assumption about that man's propensity to commit rape at some time in the future. I think that he can be cured by simply visiting a nude beach and getting over the naked = sex paradigm.

Prohibition, whether for alcohol, nudity or drugs causes vast problems to society.

Nudiarist said...

Morality has nothing to do with this. Jen was confronted in a public place. Many would consider this a form of assault. We're not talking about "prohibition" here, we're talking about a sex crime, something that would not be tolerated for a second at any nudist resort. Freedom does not mean "anything goes", and never has.

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with NakedJen & mike4freedom. Just because he flashed for a sexual thrill, does not mean he will/may rape in the future. I don't consider it a sex crime. Not tolerated at a nudist resort, yes, i understand that, but not a sex crime!

And i don't care if it actually is a crime or not! Some "crimes" simply should not be criminal. I'm not a "live to the letter of the law" sort of person, i guess. If i don't agree with a law, i'm not going to encourage it. (Not that i've ever broken any laws, as far as i know).

Many consider joking sexually with a co-worker assault as well (which is ridiculous as far as i'm concerned). It just goes down to degrees of morality.

I will say that i understand other people's fear in this case though. I truly can see your side of the coin. I just don't necessarily agree with it.

My moral compass is wider than yours, that's all. And just because the "majority" thinks it's wrong, doesn't mean it is. If it did, then nudity would be "wrong" as well!

Nudiarist said...

Amber, my moral compass is very wide, thank you, but that doesn't mean that I have the power to determine what is, and what is not, a crime. The law still considers indecent exposure illegal, and people convicted of flashing their naked erect penises in front of unsuspecting people can go to jail, and be labeled sex offenders.

Joking about sexual matters with a co-worker is not even close in comparison with waving about an erect penis.

We can achieve topfree equality, more nude beaches and sunbathing areas, but there will never be legalization of public sex acts.

Anonymous said...

You know, i've actually had a bit of a change of heart over this, after thinking about it last night. I had thought about it from your & my points of view, but not from the exhibitionist's.

As an exhibitionist, i'd basically be forcing my fetish on people who more than likely don't want to participate. I don't believe that people should force their religious views on others, so it would just make sense that i don't believe people should force their fetishes on others either. You're right. This is a form of sex & has no business being in public.

Personally, i still wouldn't report the guy though, because i'd be fine participating (as a witness) to his fetish. Because i view it as harmless (to ME). But i wouldn't begrudge others who would report him. If he exposed himself to me AND a child though, then i would definitely report him.

About sexual joking... actually it IS as big of a deal to some women as flashing is, and many men's lives have been destroyed because of it. That's my point. But i do concede that sexual acts should not happen in public with the purpose of being seen. It's unfair to the unwilling witness.

And i also agree that this has absolutely nothing to do with nudism.

Anonymous said...

To try to look at it from Jen's point of view, I agree with Nudiarist's headline that she's gotten herself in a wee bit of a pickle. I think it's all a matter of perception and definition. Reading about Jen's adventures, I never would have thought of labeling her as an exhibitionist, more just "extreme nudism". Flashing an erect penis however, fits the definition of exhibitionism to a T.

So I guess to answer Jen's dilemma, she has to think about how she feels about her own actions. If she thinks what she's doing is in fact exhibitionism, and that it makes her feel hypocritical to report this guy, then she probably shouldn't be doing it.

If however, she feels she's innocent, then there's no moral dilemma or hypocrisy, and she's free to report him.