There we were on the sidelines, waiting for the Ultimate Freedom Concert to begin in Times Square, arguing the way bookish folk do: did the adjective “Ultimate” modify “Freedom” or “Concert”? Was it a concert celebrating the ultimate freedom, or was it the ultimate concert celebrating freedom?
It was a way to kill some time as the men inside the enclosure paced and noon turned to 1pm and 1 inched toward 2. One of the men, a sober, even severe, fellow in a charcoal gray t-shirt, held a microphone but didn’t speak into it. Drums stood in one corner, not being played. Yoga instructors balanced tentatively on one foot, then the other. Everyone was holding fire.
The man was a singer and activist calling himself Ton Dou, who’s been traveling around the country for the last several years, trying to persuade people that nudity isn’t anything to be ashamed or frightened of, and governments that it shouldn’t be illegal. Nudity, he believes, can be non-sexual and healthy and beautiful. And somehow he’d convinced New York City to let him hold a concert in Times Square fully nude himself, with anyone attending free to go fully nude as well.
But here we were, an hour and a half after the announced start time, and everyone was still fully dressed.
Was it cold feet? Literally, yes: going nude means going barefoot, and on this autumnal day the pavement was chilly. But maybe metaphorically as well. Ton Dou had the courage of his convictions, and he’d gathered perhaps two dozen men of varying ages and sizes and complexions to join him, but aside from one brave yoga instructor, no women. When Ton finally gave the signal and the clothes came off,
…it was surely the most penises Times Square has ever seen at one time, and all without a police whistle blowing or anyone getting carted off to jail. And that’s wonderful. We agree that nudity isn’t shameful or dangerous and that it shouldn’t be illegal. And yet — with the one brave exception, it was an all-male demonstration. Not even our cadre of body-positive women felt like stepping behind the protective fence and disrobing surrounded by twenty or thirty naked men and several thousand iPhone-wielding spectators. (One of the photographers at the event, a woman representing ClothesFree.com, who gladly goes nude in her own site’s videos, chose to stay clothed at this event. Several of our members who said they were curious and might attend changed their minds when they arrived and saw the gender imbalance.)
It’s interesting to note that this hasn’t been a problem when Human Connection Arts has held bodypainting events in Times Square — those have had a fairly equal mix of women and men from the start, and everyone felt comfortable. (Those also had paint, of course, which may not do much to hide one’s naked body, but does help disguise one’s face, which can be a consideration if you’re going to be naked in front of thousands of onlookers in one of the most public places on Earth.)
So was the Ultimate Freedom Concert a failure? Not at all. It served its purpose: it showed that people can be naked, and can see other people naked, without any catastrophic consequences. People walking through Times Square to celebrate Brazilian Day got to see their share of, uh, brazilians. We overheard conversations between spectators and participants that suggested honest curiosity and supportive dialogue. (“What is this?” was the most common question, followed by “Is it legal?” and “Doesn’t your penis get cold?”) Some faces in the crowd seemed downright bored by the sight, and if that isn’t a victory, we don’t know what is.
But not being a failure doesn’t mean it was a success. A gathering that women don’t feel comfortable participating in — even if that wasn’t the organizers’ intent — might be a step in the direction of freedom, but the ultimate freedom it is not.
Perhaps if Ton Dou is planning another event in New York he might include OCTPFAS to make it truly Ultimate?
He tried to include us — we corresponded with him for several months leading up to the event, and we intended to have several of our members take part. But when the time came, those of our members who showed up made the decision in the moment to not go through with it. It was a judgment call, a gut feeling, and in the moment, they just didn’t feel comfortable. It’s a shame, because there was no reason at all that this event needed to be any less comfortable than the bodypainting events that have taken place in the exact same location. But when the time came, it just was.
It would seem like this was a success and a victory for simple non sexual nudity in public. Especially for male nudity since there ample penises to be observed and they were by many it appears, no one died from it and as you aptly stated, “Some faces in the crowd seemed downright bored by the sight”. For us to ever enjoy true nude freedom and topfree freedom too, this is what we need, ample exposure to the point people are bored with it and the gawkers and voyeurs go away and no longer feel threatened by it (nudity). We think it was a bit of disservice to the event that your group did not lend visible nude support to the event. Should we really let gender imbalance influence who and what we are ? Ms. K
We planned to lend visible nude support — but when our members showed up and discovered that they’d basically be the only women participating and that they’d be hugely outnumbered by men (not to mention surrounded by a very large camera-wielding crowd), they decided not to go through with it. Was this “doing a disservice to the event”? You can call it that if you like. But you have to trust your gut, and if you just don’t feel comfortable, the right thing to do is walk away. We wanted to feel comfortable, we hoped to feel comfortable, we expected to feel comfortable…but then we showed up and we just didn’t feel comfortable. Other events in Times Square have also been co-ed, have also drawn a big crowd, have also involved full nudity, but have felt much, much more comfortable. This one failed to do something those other events did better.
I do agree with what you say, going with your gut and comfort level is the best thing to do. If you force yourself to participate and end up in an unsavory situation then it may cause you to pass later on an event that better serves your purpose. (K)
Was there any explanation for why it started so late? Did the late start contrubute to trepidation?
There was some talk about amplified sound not being permitted in Times Square until 2pm, but who knows if that was real or not. The delay in getting started definitely hurt the event. Some people who were there on time (either to watch or to participate) drifted away — or acted on their cold feet and left — before things finally began.
Times Square is too public for events like this. Another location & an aspect that appeals to women participants would have made for a better event.
I think you were right to trust your gut instincts. If it doesn’t feel right then it probably isn’t right. While this event may have contributed something to normalizing nudity, most of the gawkers and spectators undoubtedly saw it as entertainment, even those who got bored with it (they still looked and took pictures). It seems that nudity for entertainment is much more acceptable than public nudity for other purposes. People would rather be entertained and titillated than to learn something.
Can you think of any concrete steps that could’ve been taken/can be taken to help women feel comfortable and increase all representation?
The organizers of this event could have taken the same care in advance that Andy Golub has with his bodypainting events to ensure that the group of participants is diverse in terms of gender, age, body type, and so forth, so that when people show up they all see at least a few other people like themselves and they don’t feel instantly like they don’t belong. If the initial group is all men, a woman showing up is unlikely to feel entirely at ease; if it’s all 20-year-olds, a person in her or his 50s might feel ill at ease (or vice versa); if there isn’t a single person of color, a person of color might be reluctant to be the first to step into the circle. The broader the set of participants from the start, the easier it is for anyone who shows up to feel welcome.
Assuming that this was the same event, from Ton Dou’s own blog and Twitter feed, it would appear that this event did not end as well as expected. Unfortunately ending with several arrests being made:
https://www.reverbnation.com/page_object/page_object_blogs/artist_920068?utm_campaign=a_public_blog&utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=page_object_news_item
https://twitter.com/musicaunaturel?lang=en
Gut feelings are always the best.
That looks like it was the following day — September 3. But it was several of the same people. Not sure what happened, but maybe they had a permit for the event the previous day but no approval to go naked in the same location on the second day? Just a guess. In any event, it’s very sad that they were arrested. There’s something very perverse about the police protecting these men’s rights to be naked on Sunday but then arresting those very same men for doing the very same thing in the very same location on Monday.
A gender imbalance you could have changed
If there had been 5 men and 5 of us…maybe. But when there are 20+ naked men penned in a fenced enclosure, surrounded by hundreds of snapping cameras, and just one or two of us arrive at a time? That’s a very different situation and people understandably react in a different way. I don’t know too many women, no matter how body-positive or self-confident, who all by themselves would’ve taken off all their clothes and walked behind that fence. If a spark flies off your campfire and you’ve got a bucket of water, no problem, you use what you’ve got to correct the situation. You don’t walk into an inferno carrying a Dixie cup.
By the way, it wasn’t just us. One of the men there was with his wife and tried to persuade her to join the group, but she declined. As noted in the blog post, there was a team from ClothesFree.com there, and the male members of the team got naked but the one female member did not (despite being a very comfortable nudist herself in other settings). There was just something about this event that made women uneasy — even women with lots of experience going naked in public and a passion for doing so. As we wrote in an earlier comment, sometimes you just have to trust your gut. And that’s what we did.
Would have been different, perhaps, without the fence? Perhaps it should have been in the park, but it sounds to me like this Ton Dou guy wanted it to be a spectator event, wanted a spectacle.
And clearly y’all did not want to be part of a spectacle!
Yes, I think without the fence would’ve been better. And yet…the bodypainting events have sometimes had a fence too, and those haven’t had the vibe this one had. Not really sure why.
In the early 80’s was friends with a stand-up comic. He mentioned there were some nights in which the “vibe” of the room, for reasons that couldn’t be explained, were just plain off. You all have done a decent job explaining why the event seemed to tailspin… but….Gee, I look at these photos and everything LOOKS fine. But I know that these vibes are something that can only be fully experienced if one is there, RIGHT at that moment in real time. For whatever reason, the event didn’t flow and as you say, best to go with gut instincts.
I can relate, living in a part of the country and far enough out in the country that I can walk around naked outdoors most of the year, and I often do. But I stay on pavement or wear shoes because of the fire ants and mesquite thorns! 🙂