More images suitable for use as computer backgrounds have been uploaded to Nakedism's Desktop Wallpaper department.
Just choose Wallpaper Downloads from the Photos menu at anytime to see all available images. As in the past, you have a choice of resolutions to download and use however you desire. Just click the link for the desired size to see the image. Then use your browser to save it to your own system.
With this update we are beginning a new editorial calendar which dictates brand new content every Wednesday! The first Wednesday of the month will be a new Photo Set, with other kinds of content on other Wednesdays.
Fresh on the heels of a federal court ruling that airport security personnel have a right to see your naked image in a scanner comes word from the makers of those scanners that new upgrades will make the revealing view unnecessary.
On July 15, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that so-called naked images of Americans passing through full-body scans at airports does not violate their constitutional rights. The court was responding to a suit from EPIC, a privacy rights group claiming that so-called "naked scans" violates their Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable search.
But in the opinion of Judge Douglas Ginsburg found that the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) had taken steps to protect passenger privacy, not the least of which is the option to undergo a patdown instead of a scan.
Then, less than a week later, body scanner manufacturer L-3 Communications announced that a software upgrade that should put privacy-obsessed travelers at ease: The new body scanners will allow security personnel to see anomalies against a generic outline of a body rather than an actual image of the denuded passenger.
The upgrade will be deployed over the next several months to the 241 millimetre wave body-scanning machines used at 40 airports. The company plans a similar upgrade for their 247 backscatter scanners no used in 38 airports.
So rest easy, Americans. Instead of worrying about the risk of radiation or terrorists on your flights, you can go back to complaining about TSA patdowns getting too close to to the scared parts of your body and opt instead for a scan that won't let anyone see see you without clothes. Because, really, what's more important?
They say that men are visual creatures; that we males are more likely to be aroused through the images that land on our visual cortex than are our female counterparts. Looking at all the porn that collects on my hard drive, that isn't very hard to believe.
But one young man in my past drove this point home more than most. Gifted with strikingly handsome features — piercing eyes, dark hair, a mischievous smile as well as flawless skin gracing a lean, defined, muscular body — he is the type to make anyone take notice. I feel honored that he found something appealing about me as well.
But mutual attraction doesn't always mean sexual compatibility.
So what happens when two guys have the hots for each other but aren't into the same scene? That's the story I recount in this week's addition to Nakedism's Stories section, Boy Beautiful.
Maybe it will get you thinking of your own solutions to a problem that can be so very hard.
Nakedism's recent blog post extolled the excitement of having sex in the great outdoors.
But having sex outside at night is one thing. What's it like to be naked outside in broad daylight? In the middle of a city? And not just nude, but stroking yourself into full erection and all the way to orgasm?
That's a challenge I decided to explore this summer. Acting on the dares and requests (orders?) of Nakedism members in a couple of recent live chats, I got naked on my deck in full view of the city, not to mention nearby condos and neighbors. There, under the midday sun, without a thing to cover myself, I stroked myself to a sizzling climax.
But rather than limit this to one or two chats, I decided it was time to record this risky business for posterity — or at least Nakedism members. While setting up the filming, my neighbors even spotted me! You can see me wave at them at the beginning of the video. Busted!
As any nudist will tell you, you don't need any particular reason to get naked. But if you're looking for a good occasion, tomorrow, July 14, may be one of the better ones. That's the day many people call National Nude Day.
Despite its name, National Nude Day isn't a national (in the sense of official) holiday at all. Although its origins are not entirely clear, it appears to have been the creation of New Zealand TV host Marc Ellis, who in 2003 offered a cash reward to anyone who would run naked in front of Prime Minister Helen Clark as part of the day's events.
Ellis also promoted a National Nude Day competition, whose entrants included naked actors performing a Lord of the Rings parody or nude ballet dancers performing outside a University of Otago building.
Since spreading abroad, the holiday has also come to be called International Nude Day and World Nude Day outside of New Zealand.
With a 3-hour nude bike ride through the city last Saturday, Seattle, Washington, has joined the growing number of cities to cycle naked in observance of this year's World Naked Bike Ride event.
In the last two months, cities in the UK, Spain, U.S., Chile, Mexico, and Canada have seen participants bike naked to promote environmentally friendly transportation, raise awareness on biker-friendly urban planning, and protest fossil-fuel use.
The Seattle event drew nearly three dozen riders, including one naked man on roller blades. The group rode through the busiest parts of town, including the Pike Place Farmer's Market and the fashionable Capitol Hill neighborhood, on a warm day when many were out on the streets.
The WNBR riders also stopped for a quick rinse in the International Fountain, a large recreational area that is part of the Seattle Center, home to the Space Needle and site of the 1962 World's Fair.
The event ended at the Olympic Sculpture Park with a group skinny dip in Puget Sound.
Seattle's WNBR ride takes place a month later than many cities to take advantage of the July weather. Nakedism founder Bucephalus joined in the ride.
Last month saw a number of cities playing unwitting host to groups of naked bike riders as the WNBR (World Naked Bike Ride) movement continued its famously nude activities to protest cars and oil dependency and to promote body pride. But even as the movement has grown, the events have faced opposition.
For example, last year in Madison, Wisconsin, police cited 9 naked riders for disorderly conduct when the refused to cover up at the request of police. Hoping to head that off such problems this year this year, three WNBR organizers asked a court to file a temporary injunction to prevent that from happening this year.
But Judge Maryann Sumi refused to tie the hands of the police, saying riders had no right to be naked in public, according to a Wisconsin State Journal report. Nevertheless, in court testimony, police pledged to act only on serious complaints from citizens, and the ride went ahead as scheduled.
Despite the setback, organizers worked with the police and proceeded with the ride on June 18 of this year. Only one person among the 70 riders was cited for disorderly conduct.
A week prior to that, the WNBR movement faced organized opposition in Portsmouth, the second-largest city in England's Hampshire county. Nearly a 1,000 residents signed a petition to stop the event, which they termed "indecent" and "offensive." Despite such efforts organizers went ahead with the ride after consulting with the local constabulary. Nudity in in England is only illegal if it's intended to cause alarm or distress, a circumstance that does not apply to naturists.
Perhaps most surprising was the opposition encountered at the start of the WNBR event in Berkeley, California. As reported by Mitch Hightower on his blog, riders were to meet at People's Park, a small grassy area owned by the University of California at Berkeley. Naked riders applying sunscreen were berated by a middle-aged woman who demanded riders cover up lest she call the police. Minutes later, officers arrived and ordered participants to put on clothes.
"Apparently the University has no problem with drug dealing, indigents living in the landscaping or any of the other questionable activities we observed," wrote Hightower, "but a bare penis is just not acceptable."
According to the report, after this incident the ride went ahead as scheduled with approximately a dozen, although many were clothed.
There is something about having sex outdoors: Maybe it's the fresh air, or the wide open spaces. For some, it may be the risk of being caught or the chance to be watched. Or maybe it's just the sense of freedom, of experiencing our most natural urges in a natural setting.
But one doesn't have to get away from the city to find such pleasure. Some good outdoor sex can be had even in the most dense urban environments. I learned that for a fact one summer when my friend Billy and I happened to meet up at a nearby bar.
Maybe you already know that. But if you want to get a sense of what it was like for me, head on over to our True Sex Stories department, and read the little adventure I call Goings and cummings. I hope you find it stimulating reading.
Americans celebrating their Independence Day today may have missed the start of another holiday: Nude Recreation Week, July 4 – 10, 2011. Begun as National Nude Weekend in 1976 as part of the "free beach" movement, the event is now promoted as a week of nude recreation by the Naturist Society and other naturist groups.
Some American enthusiasts refer to the holiday as National Nude Recreation week, while other groups promote it as an international event.
As part of this year's celebration, the American Association for Nude Recreation is hoping to set a new Guinness World Record for the largest number of people skinny dipping simultaneously throughout the country at 3:00 PM Eastern time on Saturday, July 9.
Nakedism's home town of Seattle will participate, although later in the day following their own World Naked Bike Ride event.
An article written for the Los Angeles Nude Guys cites the Wall Street Journal as saying nude recreation is one of the travel industry's fastest growing segments. A number of cruise ships, resorts, and campgrounds now offer clothing-free options.
More images suitable for use as computer backgrounds have been uploaded to Nakedism's Desktop Wallpaper department.
