---
title: "Nudity"
chunk: 11/11
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudity"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:58:11.011168+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

==== Torture ====
Nazis used forced nudity to humiliate inmates in concentration camps. This practice was depicted in the film Schindler's List (1993).
In 2003, Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, Iraq gained international notoriety for accounts of torture and abuses by members of the United States Army Reserve during the post-invasion period. Photographic images were circulated that showed the posing of prisoners naked, sometimes bound, and being intimidated and otherwise humiliated, resulting in widespread condemnation of the abuse.

==== Strip search ====

A strip search is the removal of some or all of a person's clothing to ensure that they do not have weapons or contraband. Such searches are generally done when an individual is imprisoned after an arrest, and is justified by the need to maintain order in the facility, not as punishment for a crime.

=== Nudity as protest ===

Nudity is used to draw public attention to a cause, sometimes including the promotion of public nudity itself. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) used nudity to protest the use of animal fur in fashion. In Africa from the colonial to the contemporary eras, women have used nudity to confront economic and political injustices. Although similar in behavior, each incident may have different roots in the beliefs regarding female power within each society, in particular between West Africa and Southern Africa.

== Depictions and performance ==

Depictions of the human body, both dressed and undressed, continually reaffirm what each society defines as natural in human appearance, which is part of socialization. The pictorial conventions used in visual culture provide the contexts that make images comprehensible. In Western societies, the contexts for depictions of nudity include information (such as nudes in National Geographic), art (images displayed for aesthetic appreciation) and pornography (images that are primarily sexual). Any ambiguous image not easily fitting into one of these categories may be misinterpreted, leading to disputes. Disputes may be resolved by the invention of a new context, such as erotic art, which combines aesthetic qualities with explicit sexuality. However, more conservative groups may continue to see any sexual depictions as pornographic. Another recent development is the commodified nude used in advertising and promotion. The nude in photography includes scientific, commercial, fine art, and erotic photography.
Making a distinction between art and pornography, Kenneth Clark stated "no nude, however abstract, should fail to arouse in the spectator some vestige of erotic feeling, even though it be only the faintest shadow—and if it does not do so it is bad art and false morals". As an example, Clark referred to the temple sculptures of tenth-century India as "great works of art because their eroticism is part of their whole philosophy". Great art can contain significant sexual content without being obscene.
China has never had a tradition of depicting the nude except in pornography. In 1925, nude models were banned from Chinese art schools. In Islam, any depictions of the body or sexuality, including photography and film, are forbidden as they would be in life.
The naked human body was one of the first subjects of prehistoric art, including the numerous female figurines found throughout Europe, the earliest now dating from 40,000 years ago. The meaning of these objects cannot be determined, however the exaggeration of breasts, bellies, and buttocks indicate more symbolic than realistic interpretations. Alternatives include symbolism of fertility, abundance, or overt sexuality in the context of beliefs in supernatural forces. Surviving examples of ancient art indicate that the modern concept of pornography did not exist before Christianity, with many examples not only of nudity but sexual activity.
Depictions of child nudity (or of children with nude adults) appear in works of art in various cultures and historical periods. Attitudes have changed over time and such images have become increasingly controversial, especially in the case of photography. Once commonplace, snapshots taken by parents of their nude infant or preschool children became suspect during the last decades of the 20th century. When film was developed by commercial photo labs, some were reported to the police as possible child pornography. While some individuals suffered legal actions, no charges involving mere nudity have been ultimately upheld, because the legal definition of child pornography is that it depicts sexually explicit conduct.
Live performances, such as dance, theater, and performance art may include nudity either for realism or symbolic meaning. Nudity on stage has become generally accepted in Western cultures beginning in the 20th century. In Islamic countries any erotic or sexually exciting performances, such as dancing, are forbidden. Contemporary choreographers consider nudity one of the possible "costumes" available for dance, some seeing nudity as expressing deeper human qualities through dance which works against the sexual objectification of the body in commercial culture.
In the United States, nudity in live performance is a matter of local laws except for First Amendment protection of free expression, which is generally recognized with regard to performances in an artistic context. In other contexts, nudity may be limited by local laws; a 1991 US Supreme Court decision, Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc., upheld an Indiana law prohibiting total nudity for dancers in a bar.

== See also ==

Human body
Human skin – Organ covering the outside of the human body
Modesty – Dress or behavior to avoid sexual attraction
Nude recreation – Leisure activity while naked
List of places where social nudity is practised
List of social nudity organizations
Nudity in combat – Fictional and actual practice of wearing little or no clothing in battle
History of the nude in art

== References ==

=== Notes ===

=== Citations ===

=== Works cited ===

==== Books ====

==== Journal articles ====

==== News ====

==== Websites ====