Nakedism rides nude in Seattle Pride parade

Nakedism founder and webmaster, B. Alexander, joined nearly two dozen naked men and women on wheels for Seattle's annual Pride parade on Sunday. Members of the Body Pride Ride (BPR) group, often decorated with varying amounts of body paint, regularly appear at the Pride parade and other events to promote body acceptance. This was the first year Bucephalus joined them on their public ride.

This year's BPR contingent consisted of approximately 20 nude (or nearly nude) cyclists and a couple of naked men on roller blades. The group rode through Seattle's popular Capitol Hill neighborhood, stopping at one health-food store and two public parks to pose for photos before continuing downtown to be part of the parade itself.

The naked cyclists appeared near the beginning of the 3-hour parade, which traversed Seattle's downtown retail core along 4th Avenue, lined with hundreds of thousands of spectators.

Announcers along the parade route introduced the cyclists with a BPR-prepared script, saying "This proud peloton shouts 'Pride for every body' because every body is beautiful!"

"These colorful Bare-what-you-dare folks are here to remind us all that we are not defined by our wardrobe, not by shirts or ties, not by tuxes or heels, not sequins nor suspenders," the script continued. "Diversity is about accepting and respecting all our differences ... Seek your body pride!"

After their part in the parade, many of the cyclists stopped to watch the remainder of the procession. The group then proceeded to the Seattle Center, home of the 1962 World's Fair, where a Pride festival was in progress. As they have done in years past, the cyclists joined others frolicking in the Seattle Center fountain while thousands of festival goers looked on.