News of the Nude, Dec. 2025
Volume 36: Brazil, beach backlash, and a stocking full of body politics
Welcome to this month’s News of the Nude.
Kind of a slow news month this month to be honest, which I’ll happily take. When so much of the news is bad all the time, slow is nice. Rest is nicer, but I’ll take what I can get. It’s Christmas, and I have a six year old at home. I have at least twelve more years of hard time before I am allowed to rest.
This month, Brazil was unexpectedly at the center of the news. It figured prominently in both our original reporting on Planet Nude and in this edition of News of the Nude. When it comes to body freedom on public land and the cultural treatment of nudity, Brazil is proving to be a frontline—where progress, backlash, and public opinion all seem to be clashing in real time.
Before we get to the stories this month, I’d like to, like I sometimes do, feature some recent comments we got from our paid subscribers. These comments really fill our tanks.
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And without further ado, let’s get into it. 🚀
News of the Nude, Vol. 36 🪐
Naturist beach bans nudism in Balneário Camboriú
Brazil’s oldest official naturist beach has lost its legal protection. On December 18, the Balneário Camboriú City Council passed a new master plan revoking Praia do Pinho’s naturist status, citing complaints of public sex, drug use, and the beach’s alleged drift from its original purpose. A mayoral decree the following day extended the nudism ban to the city’s entire coastline.
Praia do Pinho was officially recognized in 1988 and long served as a symbol of Brazilian naturism. As Planet Nude reported, the move has drawn national backlash from the Federação Brasileira de Naturismo, which condemned the decision as a cultural loss based on harmful conflations. The change comes as other beaches in Santa Catarina—like Praia da Galheta—move in the opposite direction, underscoring a tense and contradictory moment for nude beaches in coastal Brazil. 🚀
Related:
Naked man arrested after naturism ban at Praia do Pinho
Just days after the decree was passed banning naturism at Praia do Pinho, police in Balneário Camboriú arrested a man who remained nude on private but publicly visible land near the beach. Officers said the man refused multiple orders to get dressed and was charged with indecent exposure, disobedience, and resisting authority. The arrest is the first under the city’s controversial new policy, which revoked Praia do Pinho’s longstanding naturist status. Officials say the beach had become a site of growing complaints and no longer aligned with its intended purpose. The city aims to remake it into a more universally accessible destination—and is even exploring Blue Flag certification. 🚀
Related:
Florianópolis: Project progress reignites debate about naturism at Galheta Beach
Just down the coast 90 minutes from Praia do Pinho, another major naturist site may be one step closer to legal restoration. Praia da Galheta—long considered a spiritual home for naturism in southern Brazil—has moved into the next phase of legislative debate after a new bill regulating nude recreation cleared Florianópolis’ Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ). The proposal, introduced by councilmembers Dinho and Carla Ayres, would reauthorize nudity on Galheta’s sand and in the sea, but not on trails or surrounding areas. It aims to end nearly a decade of legal uncertainty following a 2016 policy change that stripped the beach’s nude designation under new environmental classifications.
One of Brazil’s most iconic nude beaches, Galheta was formally legalized for naturism in 1997 but continued as a social nude beach even after its permit was rescinded. While conservative critics cite security concerns and scattered police reports as justification to block the bill, supporters argue that clear regulation is the best way to prevent misconduct and protect the beach’s longstanding naturist culture. The bill now proceeds through additional committees before reaching a full council vote. Planet Nude also previously covered the significance of this moment in depth, including interviews with local nudists and activists. 🚀
Related:
Naturist punched off his bike on charity ride says he was mistaken for a ‘pervert’ - and vows to continue cycling nude
Several UK outlets revisited the now‑familiar case of Robert Brown, a 59‑year‑old naturist who was violently punched off his e‑bike during a World Naked Bike Ride event in Colchester last summer. Brown was taking part in a legal, police‑coordinated charity ride when a motorcyclist attacked him, later claiming he had “mistaken” the naked cyclist for a pervert. The assailant, Lee Turnage, received a suspended sentence despite also assaulting two responding police officers. Brown was left with lasting leg injuries, a destroyed bike, and a reliance on a walking stick, but has said he has no intention of giving up nude cycling.
This story follows up one one that was prominently explored in last month’s News of the Nude, largely rehashing most of the same facts but with a familiar tabloid tinge to it, treating lawful social nudity as the provocative element rather than the unprovoked violence itself. Brown’s insistence that public nudity is not a sexual act, and that events like the World Naked Bike Ride are about protest and visibility, often reads as a defensive footnote instead of the central truth. The result is a story that keeps circling the spectacle while missing the simpler point: the only crime here was the assault. 🚀
Is our attitude towards nudity changing?
A feature from RNZ explores whether public attitudes toward nudity in New Zealand are shifting, using anecdotal and cultural touchpoints to assess the country’s complicated relationship with social nudity. Interviewees include Lisa McMillan, founder of Naked World—a group that organizes partially and fully nude events like the festival Naked in the Trees—and Alice de Wet, president of the New Zealand Naturist Federation. Both describe a culture that still leans conservative compared to Europe, but where public nudity is increasingly met with indifference rather than outrage.
New Zealand law allows for nudity in public spaces, provided it’s not deemed offensive by contextual standards. Yet naturist club membership remains low among younger people, and social nudity remains disproportionately male in many informal settings. The article contrasts naturist values—nonsexual community nudity—with the sex-positive leanings of events like McMillan’s, complicating what a “nude normal” might look like. Despite rising attendance at festivals and strong search interest in nude beaches, both de Wet and McMillan note that cultural change is slow and hard to measure, though pockets of comfort—and curiosity—are growing. 🚀
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British Naturism Makes Waves at the BSME Awards
British Naturism celebrated a milestone this month with BN Magazine receiving two nominations at the prestigious 2025 British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME) Awards. Editor Andrew Welch was shortlisted for Editor of the Year in the Independent category, and President Mark Bass’s “EveryBody” cover featuring Saoirse earned a nod for Cover of the Year. Although BN Magazine didn’t take home the awards, the nominations marked a breakthrough moment for naturist media. Sharing the spotlight with legacy titles like National Geographic, New Scientist, Glamour, and The Sunday Times Magazine, British Naturism’s presence was met with surprise and admiration at the ceremony—highlighting how far naturism has come toward mainstream recognition. The BN team emphasized that the true value of this recognition lies not in trophies, but in the new conversations it sparks about body confidence, mental wellbeing, and the life-changing benefits of social nudity. As BN put it, “We’re only just getting started.” 🚀
I thought there was something wrong with my body – until I shared a shower with 50 strangers
In this reflective personal essay, a Guardian staff writer recalls the transformative moment of shedding shame in a communal shower at Oregon Country Fair. Set in the forest among circus performers and artists, the piece drifts through memory and sensory detail to paint a scene of body acceptance sparked by unexpected vulnerability—and the quiet power of shared nudity. The story echoes a familiar refrain found across media lately: deeply felt first-person accounts in which nudity becomes a pathway to healing. Over the past five News of the Nude issues alone, we’ve featured several variations on this theme—from sauna revelations in Ireland to rural retreats in Spain. These essays may serve as a counterpoint to the more clichéd tabloid fare, but they carry their own formula: intimate, epiphanic, and earnest, always with nudity as catalyst. 🚀
And the Award for Most Cynical Look Goes to … the Naked Suit
In a sharply observed critic’s notebook, New York Times fashion writer Jacob Gallagher examines the media frenzy sparked by fashion influencer Elias Medini (a.k.a. Lyas), who appeared at the London Fashion Awards wearing a Jean Paul Gaultier bodysuit printed with a hyper-realistic naked male body. At first glance, the outfit looked like full-frontal nudity; in reality, it was a carefully manufactured illusion—provocative enough to dominate headlines without exposing Medini himself. Gallagher situates the moment within a familiar red-carpet economy where shock outperforms taste and nudity functions as a shortcut to attention. He also highlights the asymmetry at play: women’s actual bodies remain the primary site of “naked dressing,” while men tend to engage nudity through prosthetics, prints, or irony. The result is a spectacle that feels knowingly hollow—less about body freedom than about algorithmic visibility—yet still effective. In an attention economy that rewards reaction over substance, even simulated nudity continues to do its job. 🚀
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Another one bites the dust.
Another year in the bank. Another News of the Nude. Hard to believe I’ve put together 36 of these over the last three years. Wowza.
I’ve ended each of these with a video or song—usually something from pop culture that I enjoy. Sometimes it complements the subject matter; more often, it’s just a little joy I want to share. This one falls squarely into that latter camp. I’ve always loved National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, especially its tuba-forward rendition of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer from the scene where the family is grocery shopping. It’s such a goofy, infectious version of a Christmas classic, but you never hear that joyful instrumental version of it, not ever. That changed for me this year when I found this cover by the Alex Meixner Band, which perfectly captures the spirit of the original. It’s exuberant, tight, and fun as hell to watch. Naturally, this led me down a YouTube rabbit hole of Alex Meixner tearing it up on accordion—and let me tell you, the man is a beast. And the accordion is not an easy instrument, let me tell you. Yes, I’m a dad. Why do you ask?
Happy holidays, friends. However you celebrate them, if you do, and peace and joy to you if you don’t. 🪐