The 13th annual World Naked Bike Ride in Madison, WI was by all measures a success. Over the years, the city has seen all kinds of participants—first-timers, recurring attendees, local advocates, and families. Among the nearly 200 who participated this year was a young girl no older than ten and her mother. The mother saw it as an opportunity to teach her daughter valuable lessons—not just about body positivity but also self-empowerment, giving her the option to dress however she chose. The young girl chose to participate nude just like everyone else, a choice respected and supported by her mother and, indeed, aligned with the event’s clothing-optional policy.
Yet the girl's presence, entirely unremarkable in the international scope of World Naked Bike Rides, has nonetheless ignited a moralistic media controversy that has escalated to the national level. In the latest development of the continuing saga, proposed measures now aim to redefine public decency laws in Wisconsin, sparking a national debate that could alter the course of body freedom in the state and jeopardize naturist events like this one going forward. 🪐
Double standards in dairyland