As previously reported, at Tuesday’s Board of Supes meeting, Supervisor Scott Wiener proposed an ordinance on nudity that’s rubbing some nudists the wrong way, as they say it’s unnecessary legislation mandating things that they already do.
Already considered common courtesy by some nudists and non-nudists alike, the ordinance would require our anti-clothing SFians to cover public seating before sitting down and put on clothes before entering restaurants.
Wiener said the decision to propose the legislation came after numerous complaints in his district, the Castro. Describing it as a public health concern, Wiener says “One would hope we wouldn’t need to legislate this, but people aren’t doing it.”
While nudists say they are are offended by the legislation, seeing it as a potential in for harsher proposals banning nudity altogether, many residents feel that the direction the Castro is headed in is no longer conducive to a nudist lifestyle.
SF Weekly seemed to corroborate this last December, stating that “the Castro has gone from edgy to twee and touristy. Strollers have rolled in like an invading army.”
Dubbed the “Free Body Culture movement”, many Castro nudists say they seek to raise awareness of body positivity and comfort, citing others’ reactions as the problem, rather than their nudity.
CW Nevius’ February 10 column in the Chron cries foul to all of this, mocking the “Free Body Culture movement” and essentially imploring residents to think of the children.
Will Wiener’s legislation quell complaints from Nevius and his ilk? Not according to nudist George Davis, who suggested to the Ex that Wiener’s proposal was unnecessary, saying it is “just codifying what is already nudist etiquette.”
A local restaurant worker told the Ex that the Castro nudists, many of whom congregate at the parklet in front of Twin Peaks bar, make a practice of covering up where they sit, saying “I haven’t ever seen the prints of those chairs on their butts.”
However, Andrea Aiello, Executive Director at the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District, told ABC7 “You sure you want to sit down on these chairs? Naked people sit here with their bare butts.”
SF Weekly sees a similar divide between what Davis says is common practice and bitter reality, reporting that Wiener says he “has been in a restaurant…when a posse of naked folks to eat and didn’t cover the seating.”
As noted by the Chron, under Wiener’s proposal, the first time a nudist is caught trying to enter a restaurant in the buff or sit without covering his or her chair, they’d face a $100 fine. A second offense within a year means a $200 fine, and a third arrest could mean a year of jail time.
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