Nude swimming is the practice ofswimmingwithout clothing, whether innatural bodies of water or inswimming pools. "Skinny dipping" is a colloquial term for nude swimming.
In prehistory and for much of ancient history, both swimming and bathing were done without clothing. In Western societies into the 20th century, nude swimming was common for men and boys, particularly in male-only contexts; however, swimwear began to be expected in mixed-sex environments. The widespread acceptance ofnaturism in manyEuropean countries led to legal recognition of clothing-optional swimming in locations open to the public.
Nude swimming has been depicted in art and in film.
Based upon rock painting found in caves, the human activity of swimming existed for many thousands of years prior to the first civilizations, during which humans were generally naked.[1][2]
InAncient Egypt, clothing was symbolic of social status, making adult nudity an indicator of low status or poverty. However, children, even of the upper classes, would be naked until puberty. Manual laborers of either sex would wear a loincloth or skirt unless their tasks included swimming; fishermen and boatmen often being nude.[3]
In ancient Rome, clothing also represented social status, but public bathhouses were an exception. Bathhouses might include swimming pools that were located in open courtyards.[4]
Swimming became increasingly unpopular after the fall of theWestern Roman Empire, being viewed by the Christian church as both sinful and unhealthy. In spite of church teaching, swimming and bathing returned in the 12th century, sometimes without segregation of the sexes.[5]: 9–10 Defying theChurch of England,Everard Digby's bookThe Art of Swimming (De Arte Natandi) was published in 1587.[6]Melchisédech Thévenot's 1696 instruction book, also calledThe Art of Swimming, was illustrated by 40copperplate etchings that showed swimming was normally nude.[7]
Indigenous peoples swimming naked were depicted by colonists in the Americas beginning in the 16th century.[2]
In theVictorian era, public baths and swimming pools were built inAdelaide to address problems of health and safety, but also to reduce the persistence of nude swimming in open waters. Swimming costumes were issued to pool patrons.[8]
Modest clothing for bathing or swimming was not considered until the 15th century, when women began wearing bathing dresses and men linen drawers. In male-only groups, men continued to swim nude in rivers and the sea until the mid-19th century.[9]The Bath Corporation official bathing dress code of 1737 prohibited men and women from swimming nude either in the day or in the night.[10]
In the early 1730s, fashionablesea bathing initially followed the inland health-seeking tradition.[11]: 12 Sea bathing resorts modelled themselves on Bath, and providedpromenades,circulating libraries, andassembly rooms.[11]: 9 While sea bathing or dipping, men and boys were naked, women and girls were encouraged to dip wearing loose clothing.Scarborough was the first resort to providebathing machines for changing. Some men extended this to swimming in the sea, and by 1736, it was seen atBrighton andMargate, and later atDeal,Eastbourne, andPortsmouth.[11]: 12
In England, bathing in the sea by the lower classes was noted inSouthampton byThomas Gray in 1764, and inExmouth in 1779. InLancashire, working women and men bathed naked in the sea together in 1795: "Lower classes of people of both sexes made an annual pilgrimage toLiverpool where they dabbled in the salt water for hours at each tide in promiscuous numbers and not much embarrassing themselves about appearance."[11]: 11
At the beginning of the Victorian period in England, men and boys typically swam naked in the sea near bathing machines that were used by women. Some efforts were made to designate separate beach sections for males and females.[12] An 1842 review of seaside resorts noted that naked men in the sea were a primary attraction for visitors toRamsgate, including women. The writer finds this no different from women viewing images of nude men in art galleries, near-naked men in the opera, or workers in the water.[13] On theRiver Cherwell near theUniversity of Oxford, an area for male nude bathing was known asParson's Pleasure.[14]
In the latter half of the 19th century, the rise of the influence of ChristianEvangelicals caused arrangements formixed bathing to be reassessed. Moral pressures led some town councils to establish zones for the women and men to bathe separately. These areas were not policed; mixed bathing was a popular activity. Resorts attempted to placate the Evangelicals without upsetting traditional bathers.[15] There are very few records of magistrates enforcing the bylaws. In 1895,Cosmopolitan reported: "At most English resorts, buff bathing is available before eight o'clock in the morning" whileBrighton,Worthing,Hastings,Bexhill,Bognor andFolkestone still tolerated nude bathing at any time of the day, in areas away from the central bathing areas.[16]
Drawers, orcaleçonsas they were called (fr:caleçon de bain), came into use in the 1860s. Even then, many protested against them and wanted to remain in the nude. Rev.Francis Kilvert, an English clergyman and nude swimmer, described men's bathing suits coming into use in the 1870s as "a pair of very short red and white striped drawers". Excerpts from Kilvert's diary show the transition in the England of the 1870s from an acceptance of nude bathing to the acceptance of bathing suits. Kilvert describes "a delicious feeling of freedom in stripping in the open air and running down naked to the sea."[17]
In 1895,The Daily Telegraph,Standard,Daily Graphic andDaily Mail newspapers ran a campaign to reintroduce mixed bathing in all resorts, pointing out that its prohibition split up families and encouraged them to take their holidays abroad. Commercial pressure defeated the moral pressures. Sea bathing had ceased to be done for health reasons and was done overwhelmingly for pleasure. As the segregated beaches in town disappeared, bathing costumes for men became part of the commercial package, and nude bathing ceased.[18]
The introduction of mixed bathing throughout Europe and elsewhere certainly created pressure towards bathing costumes being worn by both genders. However, well into the latter days of the Victorian Era, whereas all females were routinely wearing modest bathing attire, many boys well into their teens in Victorian England, even when in a mixed gender setting, were still swimming and playing at the beach resorts completely naked. An article published on August 23, 1891, in theSyracuse Sunday Herald suggests naked boys of up to 15 years in age were problematic for American parents with daughters, and read:
A 'Bewildered American' writes to the London Standard that he can't take his little girl to play in the sand at a British seaside resort without her being surrounded by crowds of naked boys. An English friend told him that they let their daughters play with naked boys of ten years of age, but draw the line at fifteen.[19]
From 1873, theEast London,Eastern Cape town council promulgated measures to control swimming hours, apparel and especially separate swimming areas for men and women. These regulations were too conservative and constraining for the taste of the residents of this coastal town and for several decades they were the subject of legal battles, or were simply ignored. The dispute was finally settled in 1906 when mixed bathing was permitted with the proviso that both men and women should wear suitable swimming costumes.[20]
Since the early 20th century, thenaturist movement has developed in western countries, seeking a return to non-sexual nudity when swimming and during other appropriate activities.[21]
In the late 19th to early 20th century, using tax revenue to provide public bathing facilities for working-class men was not politically popular inLondon, Ontario, while private establishments served the middle and upper classes. These included swimming at theYMCA, which required membership or payment of fees. However, the problem of men being publicly naked while swimming and bathing in open water was recognized. Efforts to regulate nude swimming with laws against doing so during daylight hours did not prevent increases in incidents in the 1860s through the 1880s by laborers and boys.[22]
In the 19th century, boys and working-class men inToronto swimming nude in the Humber and Don Rivers was allowed in secluded swimming holes, while officially prohibited elsewhere. "Skinny dipping" (a colloquial term for nude swimming)[23] was seen by many as an innocent activity for young males, as long as it did not intrude upon the sensibilities of females. In the 20th century, urban growth had encroached upon this isolation, and also created the problem of water pollution. The development of beaches in theSunnyside district on the Lake Ontario waterfront marked the end of nude outdoor swimming.[24]
As in the United States, men swam nude at YMCAs[25] until they became coed.[26]
In 2004 after some local university students went skinny dipping there, signs were placed at a riverside beach in a public park inZhejiang province declaring a section to be a nudist beach. Following complaints from other park visitors, the signs were removed, although officially China has no law forbidding swimming nude.[27] In a July 2005 heat wave, a number of incidents of men skinny dipping were noted.[28]
In English boys' schools (Manchester Grammar School, for example), students recall nude swimming being required at least from the 1930s until the 1970s. No official reason for the practice was given, but some mention the problem in the early years of fibres from wool swimsuits clogged pool filters. However, nude swimming continued when modern swimsuit materials were available.[29][30]
In a less formal setting, young boys might be nude in mixed company, as shown in a home movie of an outing featuring young Brownies, Girl Guides and Scouts playing in the grounds of a stately home in 1940s Britain. While the girls and older boys wore suits, the boys of about 10 years of age played in the river naked.[31]
Mixed gender nude swimming in lakes, rivers and beaches followingWWI was part of thesocial liberalization in theWeimar Republic. Some swimmers were part of the organizednaturist movement, others sought only an escape from economic and political turmoil. Economic problems had eliminated support for swimming pools and other recreational facilities, these needs being replaced by "wild swimming" in natural bodies of water.[32]
In planning for the1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the West German swim coach suggested that men's events be nude, which cut seconds from their times. The suggestion was not taken seriously by Olympic officials.[33]
In the 1870s, sea bathing at the Athenian seafront was an activity dominated by working class men who swam naked. With the beginning of the 20th century, resorts for the middle class were established, a transition which was at odds with male nudity. This was dealt with by having separate male and female bathing areas, but these became difficult to enforce. In the 1910s, mixed gender bathing began, and became actual swimming away from shore rather that wading. Female beach attire became "semi-nude" by the standard of prior years, exposing women's arms and legs.[34]
The 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries saw the rise of asubculture of boys and young men who swam nude in any availablebody of water.[35] This extended to well-known historical figures;Benjamin Franklin[36] andJohn Quincy Adams were known to skinny dip.[37]U.S. PresidentTheodore Roosevelt described nude swims in thePotomac with his "tennis cabinet" in hisAutobiography: "If we swam the Potomac, we usually took off our clothes".[38]
As towns such asLogan, Utah,[39]Humboldt, Iowa,[40] andDixon, Illinois,[41] grew in the 1890s, the traditional locations became more visible to the public, and local ordinances were implemented prohibiting nude swimming, but were difficult to enforce, or involved very young children who did not receive punishment.[42] Local ordinances often prohibited nude swimming, but they frequently went unenforced or involved very young children who did not receive punishment.[43] In 1850,Grand Rapids, Michigan addressed the issue of both men and women swimming nude in theGrand River by passing an ordinance allowing the activity only at night, between 8 pm and 5 am.[44] In 1907,Nashville, Tennessee deputy sheriffs took no action to stop men and boys from swimming nude in theCumberland River outside of populated areas.[45]
The 1927 California Channel Swim betweenCatalina Island and the mainland was declared clothing optional by the sponsor,William Wrigley. Two Black American swimmers stated their intention to swim nude, as did several other women, saying the suits available were a handicap.[46] In the 1927 Lake George 24 mile marathon, suits were optional if swimmers chose to cover their bodies with grease.[47]
Outdoor nude swimming in isolated Americansummer camps also existed as a socially accepted practice usually, but not always, segregated by gender.[48]Ernest Thompson Seton describes skinny dipping as one of the first activities of hisWoodcraft Indians, a forerunner of theScout movement, in 1902.[49] A 1937 article on swimming atBoy Scoutsummer camps inWashington makes no mention of the boys being naked in almost all the photographs. Descriptions of special "carnival" days that were coed did not mention whether swimsuits were available. It does state "Both boys and girls enjoy the thrill of swimming in the nude, so on occasion, suits may be discarded for the night plunge." Night swimming was allowed only in camps where this was safe.[50] In 1937, boys swimming nude in creeks of Atlanta, Georgia received only warnings.[51]
An editorial mentions the removal of forests in ruralVermont being that sheltered ponds where boys had been swimming naked for 200 years during the 1970s.[52] Older residents ofDuncanville, Texas, remembered the "Blue Hole" on Ten Mile Creek a few hundred feet west of Main Street as the place to skinny dip for decades. In 1967, misbehavior including drinking, fighting, and accidents led to complaints and calls to make the place off-limits.[53]
_River%2c_N.Y._City_LCCN2002715640.jpg)
As urbanization in theNorthern United States brought outdoor nude swimming into public view, cities and towns responded by constructing swimming pools that continued the practice indoors.[35] AmericanYMCAs had nude swimming from the 1890s until gender desegregation in the 1960s.[54] The unavailability of chlorination encouraged nude swimming in indoor swimming pools to maintain hygiene. In 1933, all bathers needed to urinate and shower before entering the pool nude.[55] In 1940, health experts continued to favor boys wearing bathing suits only in pools visible to both sexes. Girls wore cotton suits that could be boiled to disinfect them between uses; wool suits that had previously been used in salt water could not be washed effectively because salt prevents soap from lathering.[56] In 1926, theAmerican Public Health Association (APHA) standards handbook recommended that indoor swimming pools used by men adopt nude bathing policies and that indoor swimming pools used by women require swimsuits "of the simplest type".[57] Swimming pool owners discouraged boys from bringing their own swimming suits because the institutions could not control decontamination.[58]
In 1947, girls at the Liberty School inHighland Park, Michigan, also swam nude in their classes. As boys had not worn suits for years, girls requested to do the same to give them more time in the pool by eliminating changing. After six weeks, officials ordered the girls in the middle school to wear suits, but the elementary school girls continued to swim nude. While following the wishes of parents who believed older girls should behave modestly, all the board members disagreed, stating that there was "no moral issue involved".[59][60]
White residents often excluded African Americans from these nude swimming locations through apseudoscientific claim stating that African Americans served asdisease vectors and could easily transmitinfectious diseases to white Americans.A strict social taboo against interracial relationships also prohibited African American men and boys, even if not nude, from swimming in front of white women and girls.[61] Several instances of violence erupted when African Americans entered formerly segregated facilities during thecivil rights movement.[62]
New developments in pool chlorination, filtration, and nylon swimsuits led the APHA to abandon its recommendation of nude swimming for males in 1962.[63] However, the custom did not immediately cease. During the 1970s, the adoption of mixed-gender swimming led to the gradual abandonment of nude male swimming in schools. FederalTitle IX rules mandating equality in physical education led most schools to switch to co-educational gym classes by 1980, ending nude swimming in public schools. In the 21st century, the practice has been forgotten, denied having existed, or viewed as an example of questionable behaviors in the past that are no longer acceptable.[63][64] However, Jungian psychoanalyst Barry Miller views the sexualization of nudity in male-only situations such as locker rooms and swimming pools as a loss of a healthy practice.[65]
In many countries in the 21st century, nude swimming mostly takes place at nude beaches, naturist facilities, private swimming pools, or secluded or segregated public swimming areas. Some countries around the world strictly enforce various laws againstpublic nudity, including nude swimming. Some jurisdictions which maintain laws against public nudity may ignore incidents of skinny dipping depending on the circumstances.[23]
A 2006Roper poll showed that 25% of all American adults had swum nude at least once, and that 74% believed nude swimming should be tolerated at accepted locations.[66] Nude swimming is fairly common in rural areas of the United States, where unexpected visitors are less likely. However, in some places, even that type of swimming is prohibited by law. There is no federal law againstnudity. Nude beaches such asBaker Beach in San Francisco operate within federal park lands in California. However, under a provision calledconcurrent jurisdiction,federal park rangers may enforce state and local laws against nudity or invite local authorities to do so. Skinny dippers generally deal with this by keeping an eye out for local patrols, who generally do not go out of their way to find violators. Many swimmers in the United States confine nude swimming to private locations due to concerns about attitudes to public nudity.[67]
In Germany, nude bathing is more widespread than in many other countries. A 2014 study revealed Germans (28%) were the most likely of all nations surveyed to have been nude at a beach.[68] As urban rivers in Europe become cleaner, and residents more often seek relief from rising temperatures, many swim or sunbathe nude.[69]
The world record for the largest skinny dip—2,505 persons—was set on 9 June 2018 at Meaghermore beach inCounty Wicklow, Ireland. The record was set at an annual all-women's event known as Strip and Dip, which was created by cancer survivor Deirdre Featherstone. The 2018 event raised money for a national children's cancer charity.[70][71]
Late in the 19th century, painters started to render nude boys and men in realistic settings.Daumier'sBathers shows youths clumsily hauling off their clothes (a symbol of repression) and a naked short stocky youth stepping cautiously into the water that represents freedom.Seurat'sBathers Asnières uses similar symbolism to show the bathers removing their everyday identities to step into the momentary sunlight.[73]
The bathers inThomas Eakins'The Swimming Hole each represent different stages in the artist's life. He prepared for this canvas by taking multiple photographs of his students frolicking at this location. The painting portrays a happy physical un-selfconsciousness seen through the perspective of age; a nostalgia for youth. By the 1880s, this nostalgia for youth was a veneer carefully disguising a latent homosexuality. In contrast, there were poets and painters who would contrast the free young beauty of bodies in the water with the approaching grind of maturity and responsibility.Henry Scott Tuke painted naked bathers in a soft, idealized style, deliberately avoiding overt sexuality.[73]
Cezanne's monumental male bathers derive from memories of a happy childhood rather than direct observation. This was described by his friendEmile Zola as a time when "they were possessed with the joys of plunging (naked) into the deeper pools where the waters flowed, or spending the days stark naked in the sun, drying them selves on the burning sand, diving in once more to live in the river..."[74][73]
In later periods, depictions of nude swimming scenes became rarer, but more likely to depict straightforward contemporary scenes. The cover of the August 19, 1911, edition of theSaturday Evening Post had aLeyendecker painting of three boys;[75] the cover of the June 4, 1921, edition hadNorman Rockwell's paintingNo Swimming, depicting boys in various states of undress escaping from the local authorities.[76]
A number of films have included nude swimming scenes, which have received varying reactions from reviewers and the public.
The boys swim "in the raw." But you must bring a towel, and a piece of soap. That's all they ask of you.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
| Nakedness and clothing | |
|---|---|
| Nudity and sexuality | |
| Issues in social nudity | |
| Naturism | |
| Nude recreation | |
| By location | |
| Social nudity advocates | |
| Depictions of nudity | |
| See also | |
