---
title: "Nudity"
chunk: 5/11
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"
---

==== Christianity ====
The meaning of nudity for early Christians was the baptism, which was originally by full immersion and without clothes in a basin attached to every cathedral. Both men and women were baptized naked, deaconesses performing the rite for women to maintain modesty. Until the fifth century CE, pagan nudity was associated with sex, Christian nudity with grace. Jesus was originally depicted nude as would have been the case in Roman crucifixions, but the Christian adoption of the pagan association of the body with sex prompted the clothing of Christ. Some clerics went further, to hatred and fear of the body, insisting that monks sleep fully dressed.
Christian theology rarely addresses nudity, but rather proper dress and modesty. Western cultures adopted Greek heritage only with regard to art, the ideal nude. Real naked people remained shameful, and become human only when they cover their nakedness. In one of a series of lectures entitled "Theology of the Body" given in 1979, Pope John Paul II said that the innocent nudity of being before the fall is regained only between loving spouses. In daily life, Christianity requires clothing in public, but with great variation between and within societies as to the meaning of "public" and how much of the body is covered.
Finnish Lutherans practice mixed nudity in private saunas used by families and close-knit groups. While maintaining communal nudity, men and women are now often separated in public or community settings. Certain sects of Christianity through history have included nudity into worship practices, but these have been deemed heretical. There have been Christian naturists in the United States since the 1920s, but as a social and recreational practice rather than part of an organized religion.

==== Islam ====
Islamic countries are guided by rules of modesty that forbid nudity, with variations between five schools of Islamic law. The most conservative is the Hanbali School in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where the niqab, the garment covering the whole female body and the face with a narrow opening for the eyes, is widespread. Hands are also hidden within sleeves as much as possible. The burqa, limited mainly to Afghanistan, also has a mesh screen which covers the eye opening. Different rules apply to men, women, and children; and depend upon the gender and family relationship of others present.

== Sex and gender differences ==

In Western cultures, shame can result from not living up to the ideals of society with regard to physical appearance. Historically, such shame has affected women more than men. With regard to their naked bodies, the result is a tendency toward self-criticism by women, while men are less concerned by the evaluation of others. In patriarchal societies, which include much of the world, norms regarding proper attire and behavior are stricter for women than for men, and the judgements for violation of these norms are more severe.

=== Female nudity ===

==== Topfreedom ====

In much of the world, the modesty of women is a matter not only of social custom but of the legal definition of indecent exposure. In the United States, the exposure of female nipples is a criminal offense in many states and is not usually allowed in public. Individual women who have contested indecency laws by baring their breasts in public assert that their behavior is not sexual. In Canada, the law was changed to include a definition of a sexual context in order for behavior to be indecent. The topfreedom movement in the United States promotes equal rights for women to be naked above the waist in public on the same basis that would apply to men in the same circumstances. Advocates of topfreedom view its illegality as the institutionalization of negative cultural values that affect women's body image. The legal justifications for topfreedom include equal protection, the right to privacy, and freedom of expression.
The law in New York State was challenged in 1986 by nine women who exposed their breasts in a public park, which led to nine years of litigation culminating with an opinion by the Court of Appeals that overturned the convictions on the basis of the women's actions not being lewd, rather than overturning the law as unconstitutional on the basis of equal protection, which is what the women sought. While the decision gave women more freedom to be topfree (e.g. while sunbathing), it did not give them equality with men. Other court decisions have given individuals the right to be briefly nude in public as a form of expression protected by the First Amendment, but not on a continuing basis for their own comfort or enjoyment as men are allowed to do. In 2020 the US Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of three women after the New Hampshire Supreme Court found that the state law does not discriminate against women because it bans nudity, which has traditionally included female breasts.

==== Breastfeeding ====

Breastfeeding in public may be forbidden in some jurisdictions, unregulated in others, or protected as a legal right in public and the workplace. Where public breastfeeding is unregulated or legal, mothers may be reluctant to do so because other people may object. The issue of breastfeeding is part of the sexualization of the breast in many cultures, and the perception of threat in what others perceive as non-sexual. Pope Francis came out in support of public breastfeeding at church services soon after assuming the Papacy.

=== Male nudity ===