Sunday, 26 April 2009

Nude in public... sort of

Peugot's latest publicity stunt does a good job at illustrating the ridiculousness of nudity laws and our society's schizophrenic attitude towards the human body.

On April 23rd, French automaker Peugeot sent out 308 actors outfitted in form-fitting body-colored suits and blue scarves to mingle with London's morning commuters. The reason? To promote the launch of it's new "topless" model, the 308 Coupe Cabriolet.

So they looked nude. But because they weren't actually nude, they were not offensive. Was anything hidden? Not really. I guess the only thing people didn't know was the colour of their pubic hair. Other than that, what's the difference?

In fact, you could wear a body suit that had nipples, penises and pubic hair drawn on it and that would still be OK. Not offensive at all. Only the real thing is apparently offensive.

And what about the actors? I suspect most of them would never have agreed to be nude in public. Yet they were OK with people thinking they were seeing them nude as long as they were not actually nude.

Doesn't that really illustrate the ridiculousness of nudity laws? Exposure of certain parts of the human body is illegal because those parts are apparently so incredibly offensive and upsetting. Yet it's the same parts everybody has and that almost every human being has seen many times in their lives. And since many people wear form-fitting clothing, the actual shape of those parts isn't even a secret.

I can wear the ugliest clothing in the world. I can walk down the street wearing a t-shirt that says nasty things about your mother. That's all OK. However, if I sit nude on my front porch quietly reading the newspaper, that is offensive and worthy of a criminal charge in most jurisdictions. RIDICULOUS!!