News of the Nude, Nov. 2025
Volume 35: Naked news, naturist nuance, and nudity-fueled notes
Welcome to this month’s News of the Nude.
It’s Black Friday, the high holiday of consumer excess. But this year, more people are rethinking about where their money goes and what it supports, and what kind of culture we’re building when we shop.
Since moving to back to my small home town last year, I’d been getting my daily coffee from the local Starbucks. The staff was always friendly, I’d always run into folks I know, and it genuinely felt like part of my community. There are only like two or three coffee shops in this town to begin with. But this month, after the latest Starbucks workers strike, I decided to change things up and I started frequenting one of the few independently owned cafés in town. The shift has been small, but the difference is has been very positive, and the new place feels even more rooted in the neighborhood, and I feel more pride supporting it.
I’ve concluded that this is the kind of shift I needed, and I think many of us need right now—supporting small business, independent artists and creative communities wherever we can, especially in the face of ongoing strikes and boycotts, hyper-corporatization and transcendent oligarchy. I guess what I’m trying to say is that shit is cray right now, and I believe we seriously need to get local. And that spirit is exactly what’s behind a new book we just released in the Planet Nude Etsy gift shop.
Diary of the Astro-Nudes Presents: The Strips! Vol. 1 is a limited-run zine-style book created by artist Ahmed Raafat and hand-assembled right here in our studio. Originally produced as a special drop for members of the Planet Nude Sticker Club, we made a few extras—and now they’re available to everyone, until they’re gone. It’s a strange and delightful 20-page collection of Ahmed’s retro sci-fi nudist comic, following two interdimensional explorers who land, nude and confused, on a 1950s version of Earth. A great little holiday gift, for you or someone else you love this holiday season. I’ll package and ship it myself, with a little note of love and thanks.
You can grab it here while it lasts: Diary of the Astro-Nudes Vol. 1 on Etsy
This month’s News of the Nude taps into a broader cultural current—a unique moment of friction between body freedom and public discomfort—and explores the ways nudity shows up in our culture, particularly in protest, art, and politics. As always, we’re here to track and make sense of the stories of nudity around the world and what they mean.
So without further ado, let’s get into it. 🚀
News of the Nude, Vol. 35 🪐
Call to ban naked bike rides after nude cyclist attacked by vigilante binman
During a World Naked Bike Ride event in Colchester, UK, last summer, a nude cyclist named Robert Brown was violently attacked by a man on a motorcycle who “mistook” the ride for public indecency. The attacker, Lee Turnage, a local sanitation worker, punched Brown off his bike and later assaulted two responding police officers. He has since received a suspended 14-month sentence. Brown sustained serious leg injuries and says he continues to suffer from pain and reduced mobility.
In the wake of the incident, there has been a wave of criticism from campaigners like Emma-Jane Taylor, who is quoted in both of the linked stories above, referring to naked bike riders as “perverts.” Taylor, a child safety advocate who launched a petition to ban London’s WNBR, claims the events blur legal boundaries and endanger public safety, particularly children—though the connection to how children are harmed is never actually made, especially since the incident in question involved no children at all. The argument also appears to miss the part where it was the clothed vigilante who committed the crime—not the nudist.
Supporters of the ride rightly defend it as a peaceful, legal protest against car culture and for body positivity. WNBR organizers have stressed that the rides are coordinated with police, include safety marshals, and are not aimed at children. They reject claims of indecency and argue that events like these humanize the naked body in a non-sexual context.
Out of journalistic curiosity (definitely not something we’d recommend *wink*), one of our editors (me) signed the petition—only to leave the following public comment and then delete the original signature. To my delight, the signature was successfully deleted, but the comment stayed up:
I signed this petition only to comment that I do NOT support it. This is a textbook case of moral panic—fear-driven, not fact-based. It offers no evidence that children are harmed by nonsexual nudity and falsely equates peaceful protest with perversion. It smears free expression under the guise of “safeguarding.” Shameful, misleading, and dangerous. I’ll be removing my signature now.
If you’re inspired to do the same (which again, we totally wouldn’t suggest you do), just sign, leave your comment, then find the confirmation email from Change.org in your inbox and click the link that says “Didn’t sign this petition? Remove your signature.”
Here’s the petition. There’s nothing wrong with a little good trouble.
This debate is now playing out in the media, but if the petition gains traction, it could soon play out in Parliament too. 🚲
A naturist’s bid to move his High Court case south has failed
Cheshire naturist Neil Cox has lost a bid to have his upcoming High Court challenge heard in London rather than Manchester. Making headlines in recent weeks, his legal team argued that judges in the North might harbor “unconscious bias” against naturism, arguing it constituted as a minority identity that often triggers public scrutiny. Mrs Justice Hill disagreed, writing that there was “no proper basis” for the concern and transferring the case to Manchester’s Civil Justice Centre—one of the UK’s largest courts, where Administrative Court judges regularly rotate.
Cox is challenging a conviction under Section 5 of the Public Order Act after a nude incident in Macclesfield in August 2023 led to charges of behavior “likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.” The facts of the case remain unreported, but CPS guidance states that simple public nudity—absent sexual intent or demonstrable harm—should “rarely” lead to prosecution. His judicial review aims to test whether that guidance was properly followed. In the UK, public nudity without lewd intent is not a criminal offense.
Notably, Cox has become a familiar name in UK media for his highly visible public nudism. From nude hill-running to long-distance naked bike rides, and a controversial pub visit in Somerset in 2023, Cox has used public nudity to challenge cultural discomfort and promote body acceptance. When he has been reported on in the press, he frequently frames naturism as mentally grounding and socially liberating, and has claimed to have made more than 500 nude visits to businesses without incident.
This case is now heading to Manchester and could feasibly set a new legal benchmark for naturists in the UK, depending on the outcome. 🚀
Where did all the naturists go? Inside one of the UK’s last remaining nudist communities
Spielplatz, the UK’s longest-running naturist resort, was founded in 1929 as a nude homestead in Bricket Wood by Charles and Dorothy “Dotty” Macaskie. Nearly a century later, it remains a rare refuge for body freedom, with 53 permanent residents living simply (and nakedly) there. Grant Kelly, the founders’ grandson, now manages the community and works to protect its ethos from misperceptions. The above detailed and delightfully illustrated writeup from Huck profiles Kelly as well as residents like Tom Dryer-Beers, 69, and his wife Victoria, 52, who represent a view of naturism as a path to authenticity and liberation from clothing, conformity, and beauty standards. The article laments dwindling membership over the years, pointing to younger generations deterred by social media pressures and the rising costs of travel. 🚀
The End of Naked Locker Rooms
In this expansive essay, writer Jacob Beckert explores the gradual vanishing of casual nudity from American life, charting how locker rooms, once bastions of everyday nakedness, have been redesigned for privacy and modesty. Rooted in concerns over gender inclusivity, consent, and surveillance, it’s not uncommon for today’s universal locker rooms to ban public undressing entirely.
The basic arguments and conclusions of this wonderful piece won’t be much of a surprise to most naturists. Beckert traces the rise and fall of collective nudity through public bathhouses, nude swimming, and school gym classes, noting how once-routine exposure gave people a more grounded view of their own and others’ bodies. As these spaces disappear, many Americans now see more naked bodies in porn than in real life—distorted images that replace diverse realities with curated ideals.
The piece doesn’t argue for a return to old norms but invites a reimagining of nudity as unremarkable and human—a call we can certainly get behind. The article also compellingly considers how architecture and culture shape our relationships with our bodies and each other, and provokes us to think about how our world could be redesigned to accommodate better the real and unvarnished truths about our shared humanity. 🚀
Fans believe Homer Simpsons’ nipples point to Fortnite policy change
Fortnite players are abuzz this month over a surprising anatomical update to the game: Homer Simpson’s nipples. A forthcoming in-game skin of Homer, shown shirtless in underpants, marks the first time nipples have appeared on a character in Fortnite—breaking a long-standing, albeit unofficial, “nipple ban” enforced by Epic Games. Until now, Fortnite has featured numerous shirtless characters, from Travis Scott to John Cena, but all rendered—as IGN reports—nipple-free. IGN has repeatedly reached out to Epic for clarification, but the company has never officially addressed the policy.
Fans speculate that Homer’s iconic look, or brand requirements from The Simpsons’ team, may have pushed the change. Others wonder if it signals a broader shift in Fortnite’s approach to body realism. I guess time will tell whether it’s a one-time fluke or if it sticks. 🚀
Sponsor message:
Danes are Europe’s keenest nudists in principle and practice, survey suggests
A new YouGov survey across six European countries finds that Danes are both the most accepting of public nudity and the most likely to have done it. While Germans remain champions of designated naturist spaces—upholding their storied Freikörperkultur tradition—Danes stand out for embracing casual nudity in daily life: gardens, wild beaches, and skinny dipping in lakes and rivers.
Nearly 50% of Danes said they had been nude in public at least once as an adult, compared to 45% of Germans and just 22–31% in France, Britain, and Italy. A striking 87% of Danes said being naked in your own garden is perfectly fine. And while most countries frown on nude hiking or nudity outside designated areas, 35% of Danes said it’s okay to be naked on a non-nudist beach.
The survey also showed gender and generational gaps: men were more open than women in every country, and in Denmark, younger adults were more open to naturism—while in Germany, it was older generations who remained most supportive. The findings suggest a shift from formal nudist traditions to more relaxed, everyday forms of social nudity in some parts of Europe.
I, for one, am not entirely surprised by the results of this survey. After all, my own nudist lineage hails from Denmark. My 2x Great Grandfather, Rudolph Johnson, a prominent American nudist in the 1940s and 50s, was born in Bornholm, Denmark, in 1886. 🚀
Garry Starr to attempt nudity world record
Australian performer Damien Warren-Smith, known for his absurdist alter ego Garry Starr, has applied to Guinness World Records for “longest cumulative time of full-frontal nudity in a West End stage show.” His show Garry Starr: Classic Penguins—in which he performs mostly nude save for a pair of swimmers’ flippers—will transfer to London’s Garrick Theatre in February 2026. The one-man comedy, which humorously attempts to perform every Penguin Classic novel ever written, has become known for its bold theatrical nudity, which Warren-Smith says is both vulnerable and disarming. “People often tell me they forget very quickly about the nudity until something happens where it’s poignant, and then they very quickly remember again.”
The Guinness application adds a layer of spectacle to Starr’s mission to “save literature” by exposing audiences—both figuratively and literally—to the classics. 🚀
Naked in the dark, wrapped in steam: Inside Slovakia’s most theatrical spa
At the Aphrodite Spa in Rajecké Teplice, Slovakia, guests soak in natural hot springs, unwind in Roman-style pools, and sit nude in dark, steam-filled saunas as jungle sounds echo around them. The spa leans into fantasy, but it’s also serious about healing—offering medical treatments like cryotherapy and electrotherapy downstairs. After 5 p.m., the naturist area goes clothing-optional, blending theatrical vibes with old-school European spa culture. 🚀
Nude saunas in Ireland: ‘I realise I will soon be naked among these strangers’
In this personal reflective essay, Irish Times writer Rosanna Cooney attends a clothing-optional sauna night hosted in part by the Irish Naturist Association. The piece captures the emotional unease and gradual surrender that often accompany a first-time social nudity experience—especially from a woman’s perspective in a mixed-gender setting. Alongside reflections on Irish attitudes and sauna customs in Nordic cultures, Cooney traces the long history of Ireland’s indigenous sweathouse traditions, now resurfacing through a modern wave of sauna operators offering textile-free sessions. The result is an unusually sensitive and historically aware portrait of how nudity can foster both vulnerability and connection. 🚀
Sponsor message:
Once a month, something wonderful shows up in your mailbox.
It comes in a custom-designed envelope—beautiful, strange, sometimes funny. Inside? Nude-themed stickers, original art, comics, zines, artist collaborations, and surprise goodies you didn’t know you needed. No two months are the same.
Mail used to mean something. Now it’s mostly bills and tracking numbers. The Planet Nude Sticker Club brings back the feeling of getting something personal, unexpected, and made just for you. Membership is limited, but spots are now open. If you’re ready to make your mailbox a little more exciting again, this is your invitation. Join now, while you can. 🐌
That’s November.
With Thanksgiving now behind us, the year’s final stretch is officially here. To close out this month, here’s a gem from the great Shel Silverstein—eccentric children’s author, songwriter, and cartoonist who wrote A Boy Named Sue for Johnny Cash. A casual nudist and frequent dabbler in nudist culture, Silverstein here performs They Won’t Let You Show It at the Beach with Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show as his backing band. I have no idea what year this was, but I sure get a kick out of it.
See you all next time. 🪐
Regarding the article on the "Ban the World Naked Bike Ride" petition, beware of doing the sign it then cancel thing. I tried, and the link to cancel the signature was missing from the confirmation email. I clicked the confirm link, in the hope that I would then get the option, but there is no option, so my signature is now on the petition with no way to remove it. I have contacted support asking them to remove my signature, but I have little confidence that will happen.