Nudity in sport

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Nudity in sport, i.e. playing sport without any clothing, is uncommon, but has not been totally absent from ancient or current sporting activities.

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[edit] In ancient times

Minoan youths boxing nude but for a girdle, fresco on the Greek island of Santorini
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Minoan youths boxing nude but for a girdle, fresco on the Greek island of Santorini

In antiquity even before the Classical era, e.g. on Minoan Crete, athletic exercise played an important part in daily life. In fact, the Greeks credited several mythological figures with athletic accomplishments, and even male gods (especially Apollo and Herakles, patrons of sport) were commonly depicted as athletes.

Nudity in sport however was not common. It was first introduced in the city-state of Sparta, during the late archaic period. The custom of exercising naked was closely associated with pedagogic pederasty and with the practice of annointing the body with olive oil to accentuate its beauty and erotic appeal.

Myron's 5th century Discobolos, in the British Museum
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Myron's 5th century Discobolos, in the British Museum

It spread to the whole of Greece, Greater Greece and even its furthest colonies, and the athletes from all its parts, coming together for the Olympic Games and the other Panhellenic Games, competed naked in almost all disciplines, such as boxing, wrestling, pankration (a free-style mix of boxing and wrestling, serious physical harm allowed) -in such martial arts equal chances in terms of grip and body protection require a non-restrictive uniform, as presently common, or the bare-, stadion and various other foot races including relay race, and the pentathlon (made up of wrestling, stadion, long jump, javelin throw and discus throw). However, they did not perform in the nude during chariot races. It is believed to root in the religious notion that athletic excellence was an ‘esthetical’ offering to the gods (nearly all games fitted in religious festivals), and indeed at many games it was the provilege of the winner to be represented naked as a votive statue offered in a temple, or even to be immortalized as model for a god's statue. Performing in the nude certainly was also welcome as a measure to prevent foul play, which was punished publicly on the spot by the judges (often religious dignitaries) with a sound lashing, also endured in the bare.

Evidence of Greek nudity in sport comes from the numerous surviving depictions of athletes (sculpture, mosaics and vase paintings). Famous athletes were honored by a statue erected for their commemoration (see Milo of Croton). A few writers have insisted that the athletic nudity in Greek art is just an artistic convention, finding it unbelievable that anybody would have run naked. This view could be ascribed to late-Victorian prudishness applied anachronistically to ancient times. Other cultures in antiquity did not practice athletic nudity and condemned the Greek practice. Their rejection of naked sports was in turn condemned by the Greeks as a token of tyranny and political repression.

copy by Philippe Magnier made for Versailles of a Classical wrestling statue
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copy by Philippe Magnier made for Versailles of a Classical wrestling statue

The word gymnasium (Latin; from Greek gymnasion, being derived from Greek gymnos, meaning "naked" as ), originally denoting a place for the in the intellectual, sensual, moral and physical education of young men as future soldiers and (certainly in democracies) citizens (compare ephebos), is another testimony of the nudity in physical exercises. In some countries including Germany the word is still used for secondary schools, traditionally for boys. The more recent form gym is an abbreviation of gymnasium.

  • In Hellenistic times, Greek-speaking Jews would sometimes take part in athletic exercises. They were then exposed to ridicule because they were circumcised - a national and religious custom which was unknown in the Greek tradition. In fact the Greek athletes, even though naked, seem to have made a point of avoiding exposure of their glans, for example by infibulation, tying a bit of string around their foreskin. In Roman-occupied Jerusalem, Jews using the gymnasium would wear prosthetic foreskins made from sheep gut in order to avoid being ridiculed for being circumcised.
  • The Romans, although they took over much of the Greek culture, had a somewhat different appreciation of nakedness. To appear nude in public was considered disgusting except in appropriate places and context: the public baths (originally open to both sexes) and even public latrines were as popular meeting places for all as the forum.

Athletic exercises by free citizens (no longer required to serve as soldiers since Marius' army reform) were partly replaced by gladiatorial games performed in amphitheatres. The gladiators were mainly recruited among slaves, war captives and death row convicts – the very lowest, who had no choice – but occasionally a free man chose this fast lane to fame and riches. When fighting in the arena, against one another or against wild beasts, they would be armed with swords, shields etc., but would otherwise be partly or totally naked (see Gladiator for particulars).

  • Gladiators were one of many features, especially religious, Rome inherited from its highly respected Etruscan neighbours. This ancient, alien (not Indo-European, possibly originating from Asia Minor) culture even depicts warriors fighting completely naked.
  • When Christianity in the fourth century became the state religion, gladiatorial games were soon abandoned, and the concept of nudity as 'sinful' took root.
  • In Japan, female sumo wrestlers wrestled in the nude. Today, females are not allowed to sumo wrestle, and the sport, practiced by men in ceremonial dress of loin cloth-size that exposes the buttocks like a jock strap, in general is considered sacred under Shintoism.

[edit] In modern times

In days before the Internet and other means of mass and rapid communication, many athletes, such as Bob Feller (pictured), had fewer inhibitions about showering in view of reporters and camera crews. Such circumstances are less likely today.
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In days before the Internet and other means of mass and rapid communication, many athletes, such as Bob Feller (pictured), had fewer inhibitions about showering in view of reporters and camera crews. Such circumstances are less likely today.
Official poster of the 1912 Summer Olympics
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Official poster of the 1912 Summer Olympics

Sport in the modern sense of the word became popular only in the 19th century. Nudity in this context was most common in Germany and the Nordic countries, where Body culture was very much revered (and some say, copied) by Nazi ideologues.

In the Nordic countries, with their sauna culture, nude swimming in rivers or lakes was a very popular tradition. In the summer, there would be wooden bathhouses, often of considerable size accommodating numerous swimmers, built partly over the water; hoardings prevented the bathers from being seen from outside. Originally the bathhouses were for men only; today there are usually separate sections for men and women.

For the Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912, the official poster was created by a distinguished artist. It depicted several naked male athletes (their genitals obscured) and was for that reason considered too daring for distribution in certain countries. Posters for the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, the 1924 Olympics in Paris, and the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki also featured nude male figures, evoking the classical origins of the games. The poster for the 1948 London Olympics featured a classical nude sculpture of a discus thrower.

A group from the southern U.S., having been invited in the 1950s to participate in a university students' swimming competition in Stockholm, was surprised to find at their arrival at the (indoor) swimming pool that their swimming trunks were out of place; they had to swim stark naked like their Swedish colleagues.[name a specific person/group]

Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio in the locker room shower in the 1940s. During this era, athletes were more comfortable nude in the locker room before members of the press.
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Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio in the locker room shower in the 1940s. During this era, athletes were more comfortable nude in the locker room before members of the press.

It is not uncommon for private clubs with male-only or female-only facilities to allow (for example) nude swimming. Some argue that in more private environments (whether at home or in, say a single-gender bathhouse), the less clothing one has on when exercising or doing any activity the better.

Nudist clubs traditionally offer members and guests of both sexes the opportunity to swim nude. Many own or lease facilities that allow other sports to be played, including volleyball, tennis, badminton, bowling and the like. Typically these sports are played at a recreational level of intensity, and need not be particularly competitive.

During the yearly Roskilde Festival (Denmark), a race for nude runners has been a popular event since the year 2002.

Stephen Gough, dubbed the Naked Rambler, in 2003/2004 made a long-distance walk from one end of the UK to the other, wearing only boots. He was arrested several times, and his walk was interrupted by two periods of jail time, together five months. Including these, the journey took seven months. He undertook his walk as a protest, in order to celebrate the naked human form, and to try to convince the public to stop being paranoid about the naked body. He observed that anti-nudity laws are more strictly enforced in Scotland than in England. He completed a second walk over the same route in early 2006, punctuated by many arrests.

Tracy Seargent streaking the Indoor Bowls Championship Hopton-on-Sea, Norfolk, January 2000; most of her colleagues are men, though.
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Tracy Seargent streaking the Indoor Bowls Championship Hopton-on-Sea, Norfolk, January 2000; most of her colleagues are men, though.

On occasional--often illegal--naked sideshow is when a member of the public, not an athlete, uses a sports venue to perform as a streaker.

On 12 June 2004 over 1,000 people taking part in the World Naked Bike Ride in 24 mostly North American cities rode their bicycle either partially or totally nude in a light-hearted attempt to draw attention to the danger of depending on fossil fuels. In 2005 many European capitals saw bare bikers protesting 'poetically' against the badly protected 'exposure' of the cyclist compared to 'armoured' motor vehicles.

Nudist walking/hiking clubs have been established in several continents. Unlike the example set by Mr. Gough, most keep to wilderness areas and do not seek or encourage publicity. Individuals are also known engage in nude hiking. In keeping with nudist/naturist tradition, participants do it for the enjoyment it brings to them, and will try to minimize any potential discomfort it might bring to an accidental passerby.

In some nudist resorts there is also the possibility to practice nude horseback riding. Like with other sports in nature the naked riders enjoy the direct harmony with the horse and the nature and the feeling of freedom.

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