User:SnappyDragonPennyroyal/sandbox2: Difference between revisions – Wikipedia

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Outdoor nude swimming occurred for two reasons: allowing men and boys to travel to a body of water without needing to take swimming trunks with them and serving as a substitute for bathing and showering.<ref name=”:1″ />

Outdoor nude swimming occurred for two reasons: allowing men and boys to travel to a body of water without needing to take swimming trunks with them and serving as a substitute for bathing and showering.<ref name=”:1″ />

=== Nude recreation ===

=== Communal showers ===

=== Communal showers ===

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=== Norms surrounding photography of nude children ===

=== Norms surrounding photography of nude children ===

[[File:Service-pnp-nclc-03100-03174v.jpg|thumb|Three newsboys use a communal shower in 1908]]

[[File:Service-pnp-nclc-03100-03174v.jpg|thumb|Three newsboys a communal shower in 1908]]

=== Race and childhood nudity ===

=== Race and childhood nudity ===

Attitudes toward childhood nudity in the United States have varied greatly according to time period, gender, ethnicity, social class, religion, and ideology. Social practices have ranged from mandatory nude swimming to parental arrest for child neglect; contemporary attitudes tend to be quite negative as a result of concerns surrounding child abuse.^[1][2] Child nudity in the modern United States has largely become confined to the home, changing rooms, and naturist circles.^[3][4]

Precolonial and early American perspectives

Native American tribes did not stigmatize or impose any association of sexuality onto childhood nudity.^[5] Many Native American children living in warmer climates did not wear clothing.^[6]

Early colonists reacted negatively towards the social acceptance of childhood nudity in Native American societies. However, this opposition did not result from modern concerns focused around the potential for abuse; it stemmed from religious interpretations of Adam and Eve covering themselves after leaving the Garden of Eden in the Book of Genesis.^[7]

White American perspectives on childhood nudity in the 17th and 18th centuries varied depending on religious beliefs. Many early white American families allowed their sons to engage in nude swimming, but Puritans did not approve of this because of their aforementioned biblical interpretations.^[8][9]

Enslaved African American children frequently did not wear any clothing. Plantation owners often did not provide enough clothing for children, causing enslaved parents to avoid dressing them when unnecessary. Mattie Curtis, a formerly enslaved woman, recounts her experiences:^[10]

I went as naked as Yo’ han’ till I was fourteen years old. I was naked like that when my nature come to me. Marse Whitfield aren’t carin’, but atter dat mammy tol’ him dat I had ter have clothes.

White American tolerance of childhood nudity among enslaved African Americans, particularly for girls, resulted from a strong attitude of dehumanization towards enslaved people. Whereas many religious groups opposed childhood nudity for their own free white children, they did not show a similar form of opposition with enslaved children.

Late 19th and early 20th centuries

The late 19th and early 20th centuries held the highest level of acceptance of childhood nudity in postcolonial American history, particularly for boys. Membership in conservative religious denominations such as Puritanism declined and hygiene became a major nationwide concern.^[11][12][13] A desire for cleanliness led to the opening of public baths in major cities and increased rates of outdoor nude bathing in rural areas.^[14]

Nude swimming in US indoor pools

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, both boys and girls engaged in nude swimming in indoor pools. However, girls and adolescent boys typically swam nude only in the presence of people of the same gender, while young boys often swam nude in front of women and girls.^[15][16][17] Nude swimming functioned not only as a source of recreation, but also served as a substitute for bathing and showering for impoverished children residing in dirty and overcrowded tenements.^[14]

Indoor nude swimming existed for four main reasons: concerns about earlier swimming attire clogging pool filtration systems, high cost of swimming trunks, use of swimming as a substitute for bathing and showering among the lower classes, and allowing swim classes to save time.^{[14][18][19][20]} Some nude swimming classes allowed for the optional use of swimming trunks, while others banned them entirely for the aforementioned four reasons.^[21] Period perspectives did not emphasize privacy because of mandatory military service and lower levels of concern for child sexual abuse. However, teachers and coaches strictly prohibited boys from touching each other’s nude bodies.^[22][23]

Outdoor nude swiming

In addition to indoor nude swimming, outdoor nude swimming often occurred during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.^[24] Outdoor nude swimming typically only involved men and boys. Unlike indoor nude swimming, which typically involved organized swim classes and events at privately owned properties, outdoor nude swimming typically occurred among friends and family members on a more casual basis by using freely accessible bodies of water.

Outdoor nude swimming occurred for two reasons: allowing men and boys to travel to a body of water without needing to take swimming trunks with them and serving as a substitute for bathing and showering.^[24]

Communal showers

Concerns over hygiene also led to an increase in the use of communal showers during this time period.^[14] Communal showers primarily existed to wash children after engaging in child labor, after exercising, before and after swimming in indoor pools, and to maintain hygiene in tenements and summer camps.^[25][26]

Norms surrounding photography of nude children

Race and childhood nudity

Present day (1970s-present)

Decline of nude male swimming

Decline of communal showers

Contemporary naturism

References