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E-Bulletin

August 23, 2007 - Volume 1, Issue 14

Brattleboro Drops Nudity Ban

In a turnaround, the city of Brattleboro, Vermont, has reversed its anti-nudity stance. A month ago, Brattleboro passed a temporary prohibition on nudity. But on Tuesday, city board members reversed the ban, voting to reject a proposed ordinance that would have made the ban permanent. One board member said that the reversal was all about tolerance.

Brattleboro has traditionally been laid-back in regard to nudity, and skinny-dipping was considered a rite of summer. Yet, the city began discussing a nudity ban last summer after a group of teens took to hanging around a downtown parking lot in the nude. When the temporary ordinance expires next month, public nudity will no longer be illegal. Read more at Brattleboro.

Politics, Religion & Skinny-dipping

The August 20, 2007 issue of Time magazine features an excerpt from the upcoming book The Preacher and the Presidents by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy about evangelist Billy Graham. The book notes that Graham has been a spiritual guide to United States presidents from Truman through the current administration.

Besides interesting insights into U.S. politics and spirituality, the book also reveals that weeks after John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Graham was summoned to Washington by a shaken Lyndon Johnson “to talk, pray and go skinny-dipping in the White House pool.” Read an excerpt at Time. (more…)

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NATURIST ACTION COMMITTEE
UPDATE
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http://www.naturistaction.org
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Copyright 2007 by the Naturist Action Committee, which is responsible
for its content. Permission is granted for the posting, forwarding or
redistribution of this message, provided that it is reproduced in its
entirety and without alteration.

DATE : August 23, 2007
SUBJECT: Brattleboro, VT
TO : All Naturists

Dear Naturist,

This is an Update from the Naturist Action Committee concerning
Brattleboro, Vermont.

BRIEF HISTORY AND DISCUSSION

After receiving complaints from town residents and business owners
concerning public nudity, Brattleboro’s Selectboard adopted an
“emergency” temporary ordinance that prohibits nudity in the downtown
area, in the town park, in the village of West Brattleboro, and also
within 250 feet of a school or place of worship. The Selectboard enacted
this ordinance by a margin of 3 to 2 and considered making this ordinance
permanent at their meeting on the evening of Aug. 21.

At the meeting, Brattleboro residents spoke in favor and in opposition to
the ordinance, and the Selectboard debated the issue at length. One
Selectboard member proposed an amendment to the ordinance, removing all
references to buttocks and breasts, which passed by a vote of 3-2. In an
ironic twist, the Selectboard member who sponsored the ordinance refused
to vote in favor of making the amended ordinance permanent. As a result,
the ordinance failed to pass, 2-3.

While this outcome may seem to be a victory for naturists and proponents
of personal freedom, the decision is not final. The temporary ordinance
banning public nudity is still in effect, and will not expire for another
month. At that time, the Selectboard may reconsider the ordinance and
decide whether or not to make it permanent.

(more…)

Spencer Tunick, noted photographer of nudes will be shooting at the Sagamore Hotel in Miami Beach on October 8, 2007. This is a great opportunity for those who have followed his career and want to participate in one of his shoots.

Tunic is known for his “Naked States” series where he photographed nudes in public locations in every State. This project was the subject of a docmentary on HBO. Tunick’s most recent events were in Mexico City, with over 18,000 participating, and most recently on a glacier in the Swiss Alps for a Greenpeace project.

The following is from Richard Mason of South Florida Free Beaches and founder of Haulover Beach.

Spencer Tunick will be on Miami Beach on October 8th, 2007 to do a nude photo shoot at The Sagamore Hotel. This was reported today in the Miami Herald in the ‘Scene in the Tropics’ column of Lesley Abravanel.

They are asking for people to show up who want to get nude for the photo shoot.

The photos and video will be available at The Sagamore and at Art Basel.

As you are aware, Spencer Tunick does not want to shoot photos of nudists or naturists. He only wants to shoot pictures of people in the nude.

This makes the statement of his pictures more important to the ideals of naturism. It makes the point that a large number of people will shed their clothing in a non sexual environment. That it is legal. It is also art and a vivid demonstration of US Constitutional protections.

It appears that naturists and nudists will have to disguise themselves in clothing and sneak into the shoot at The Sagamore, then take their clothes off.

Several years ago Lee Baxandall called me about Spencer Tunick and thought it would be a good idea to invite Spencer Tunick to Haulover Beach. I located Spencer at a New York City art gallery where I spoke to an assistant of his. I was informed that Spencer would not be interested in doing a photo shoot at Haulover Beach of nude naturists. That that was not what his photo shoots were about. He only wanted to shoot photos of people from the general population, who were getting nude, most for the first time in public, in a public place. Powerful!

Thanks,

Richard Mason

E-Bulletin

August 9, 2007 - Volume 1, Issue 13

Stars Enjoy Swimming in the Buff

Although the 76th AANR Convention is winding down this weekend and the kids are gearing up to go back to school, summer’s not over yet. There are still many warm days ahead to enjoy our favorite summer pastime–skinny-dipping. Apparently there are quite a few stars that enjoy swimming au naturel, according to the Access Hollywood website. “Heroes” star Ali Larter’s nude swim came with a price–10 hours in the hospital after being attacked by a jellyfish, but most of the celebs interviewed enjoy the experience. Read more and watch the video clip at Skinny-dipping Stars.

(more…)

While we know a lot of nudists don’t wear underwear, now we find out it’s not just nudists. In a survey by the New York Post as a part of a story on National Underwear Day, it was revealed that many of New York’s young ladies also welcome the freedom of going commando.

This year has been a banner year for Papparazi up-skirt shots of several of Hollywood’s younger generation showing they also support this social movement. Who hasn’t seen evidence of this as Britney, Paris, and countless others exit cars with everything visible to the waiting cameras.

The old motto, “we’re all naked under our clothes” is becoming more true as people learn to enjoy the less restricting form of dress we already understand.

PANTIES & ‘ANTIS’
SHUNNED-ERWEAR
By MARIANNE GARVEY
New York Post

August 8, 2007 — National Underwear Day was nothing but a panty waste for New Yorkers yesterday - many admitted that they don’t wear any.

“I go commando so there’s no lines - even thongs leave lines,” 20-year-old student Ashley Leveling boldly declared in Times Square, steps away from a bevy of models from Freshpair wearing nothing but their underwear to promote designer duds.
(more…)

In our visits to the more popular nude beaches, such as Haulover and Gunnison, nudists often take for granted the lifeguards. Very few nude beaches provide this service and for the ones that do have them, we should occasionally take the time and effort to thank these people for their service.

Lifeguarding is one of those jobs where interminable boredom is suddenly broken by a massive jolt of adrenaline. We have all probably have been involved in, or seen, or heard of incidents where a life was tragically endangered or lost at an unprotected beach. We need to let them and their supervisors know how much we do appreciate their efforts.

The New York Times published an account of the career of Tom McLaughlin, a 39-year veteran Lifeguard now at New Jersey’s Gunnison Beach.

In 39 Years, There’s Little a Lifeguard Doesn’t See


Dith Pran/The New York Times
In 1969, Tom McLaughlin, right, became a lifeguard at Sandy Hook, N.J. He is still there, and now so is his son Tom Jr., left.

(more…)

**********************************************************
NATURIST ACTION COMMITTEE
ADVISORY
**********************************************************
http://www.naturistaction.org
**********************************************************
Copyright 2007 by the Naturist Action Committee, which is responsible
for its content. Permission is granted for the posting, forwarding or
redistribution of this message, provided that it is reproduced in its
entirety and without alteration.

DATE : August 5, 2007
SUBJECT: Brattleboro, Vermont
TO : All Naturists

Dear Naturist,

This is an Advisory from the Naturist Action Committee concerning
Brattleboro, Vermont.

BRIEF HISTORY AND DISCUSSION

During a heat wave last summer, the town of Brattleboro received national
media scrutiny for a local group of teenagers who liked to congregate
while partially or fully naked in a downtown parking lot. At the time,
Brattleboro’s Selectboard chose not to act, with the belief that the
nudity would cease when the chilly autumn weather arrived, which did
happen.

On July 6 of this year, a 68-year-old man walked through the downtown
area wearing only sandals and a fanny pack. The man told a reporter from
the local paper that he had planned his vacation in order to visit
Brattleboro because he had learned about their leniency towards public
nudity through the Internet. This happened to coincide with Brattleboro’s
Gallery Walk, a popular monthly event that business owners consider a
draw for tourists and their dollars.

After receiving many complaints from town residents and business owners,
Brattleboro’s Selectboard wrote an “emergency” temporary ordinance that
prohibits nudity in the downtown area, in the town park, in the village
of West Brattleboro, and also within 250 feet of a school or place of
worship. The Selectboard enacted this ordinance by a margin of 3 to 2 and
will consider making this ordinance permanent at their meeting on
Tuesday, August 7, 2007.

(more…)