**TW: Sexual harassment** **TL;DR: Banning public nudity protects people from sexual harassment** In places where being fully-dressed is a cultural norm, such as in Britain, public nudity should remain illegal. Laws against public nudity are in part based upon [the Harm Principle]( https://www.thoughtco.com/why-laws-exist-721458); these laws exist to protect people from being harmed by others. The state of nakedness is not harmful: every human has a body and experiences nudity alone or with others daily. The legality (or illegality) of public nudity is therefore based upon how members of the public perceive it, [rather than upon the act itself](https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/nudity-public-guidance-handling-cases-naturism). In British culture, nudity is something that takes place in private, either alone, or during an intimate sexual encounter with a partner. The idea of public nudity is therefore taboo as it goes against our culture of private nudity. Due to our associations of nudity with sex, we have been conditioned to sexualise adult naked bodies. Consequently, public nudity acquires sexual connotations whether or not the exhibition of public nudity has an intentionally sexual context. This is partly because many instances of public nudity in clothes-wearing societies _are_ presented in a sexual context, which we condemn as indecent exposure. These are a form of sexual harassment, as the person who is ‘flashed’ cannot consent to observing the flasher, and [these incidents cause harm to the target]( https://inews.co.uk/light-relief/offbeat/naked-public-topless-legal-uk-laws-top-off-summer-weather-heatwave-290994), who can feel threatened, alarmed, or distressed. Whilst many public nudists do not intend to cause distress or expose themselves in a sexual context to others, the people who observe their nudity have no way of knowing these intentions and might well feel alarmed and threatened regardless. One person’s well-intended public nudity might look like indecent exposure to another. It is of note that naked bodies are interpreted differently due to their sex. As [men are more often perpetrators of sexual violence]( https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/natureofsexualassaultbyrapeorpenetrationenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2020), the public display of naked male bodies is more often perceived as threatening and harmful to onlookers than the public display of other bodies. Due to the stigma around female sexuality in our patriarchal society, the public display of naked female bodies is often perceived as an open invitation to sexual harassment. Likewise, [due to the prevalence of sexual violence against transgender people in our society]( https://vawnet.org/sc/serving-trans-and-non-binary-survivors-domestic-and-sexual-violence/violence-against-trans-and), the public display of naked transgender (and potentially intersex) bodies might also put these people at risk of harm. Until we live in a society where sexual violence is significantly reduced, public nudity must remain illegal in order to protect people from sexual harassment and distress.

**TL;DR - Making public nudity legal would increase vulnerability to sexual harassment and raises issues of where the boundaries would lie.** While it is argued that nudism is healthier (both mentally and physically), making public nudity legal in a society where sexual harassment and violence is still very much present could cause a lot of people to feel more at risk and uncomfortable. Moreover, in a society where, unfortunately, people experience body-consciousness and dysmorphia, public nudity could worsen these issues. Also, if someone wants to be nude in public then there are places they can go to do that. For example, nude beaches and spas. Therefore, it isn’t necessary to make public nudity legal as it is not like we are completely restricting this right, but merely putting societal safety boundaries on it.

Culturally, we're not ready for it. But ideally? Yeah, nudity would be a casual subject. Sure, an unflattering one maybe, kind of how we all fart and burp. But if you can't get over that? Your problem. Not mine. No idea why people are talking about sexual harassment. That wasn't the question.