KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA (January 7, 2010) - Full body scanning machines proposed in major airports may involve an image received by screeners of travelers in their “altogether,” but all together, scanning makes sense. So endorses the American Association for Nude Recreation (www.AANR.com), the oldest and largest group representing nudists in the US and Canada.
“Put this issue in its proper perspective,” recommends AANR Executive Director Erich Schuttauf. “A trained security professional in a remote monitoring station takes a few seconds discreetly screening passengers to be sure they’re only bringing what nature gave them aboard. In exchange for safer skies, AANR believes it’s completely worth it. But you don’t have to be a nudist to agree these measures are based on common sense.”
Adds Schuttauf, “Polls regularly show that about one in five North Americans have skinny-dipped in mixed company already. So if travelers just think of the screen as a virtual skinny-dip, something regarded as American as apple pie since before Norman Rockwell, everyone wins in the name of better air travel security. And as an added bonus, you can add the experience to your ‘bucket list’ as a virtual dipping of one’s toe into taking a Nakation - that’s a nudist vacation!”
The American Association for Nude Recreation is the credible voice of reason on issues relevant to nude recreation and Nakationing in appropriate settings, serving more than 213,000 individuals who enjoy clothes-free and clothing-optional recreation throughout North America. For further information on nude recreation and the association’s affiliated clubs, contact AANR at 1-800-TRY-NUDE or visit the association’s Web site at www.aanr.com.
The above press release was sent out yesterday into the blogosphere and has already been picked up by The Awl blog and Twitter feeds, with other media contacting the AANR office for interviews.
Tags: AANR, American Association for Nude Recreation, body scanners, nudist
After seeing their third “virtual” penis, breasts or vulva, scanner opperators will be yawning at what passes their stations.
Personally, I think we could speed things up, bypass the cost of the scanning equipment, necessary real estate and training and just force all travelers to strip down completely in order to board a plane, train or ship.
Again, after about 15 seconds in a line with 40 other likewise nude people, (assuming the temperature is well regulated) everyone (with the possible exception of some Muslim Extremeists) will be bored or conversing with their neighbor.
Son-cerely,
Nathan Powers
Enjoyed the article.
Castaways Travel solved the security problem in 2003 with the industry’s first commercial nude flight between Miami and Cancun, sponsored by Castaways Travel.
See: http://naked-air.com
James Bailey, Owner
Castaways Travel
Houston, Texas
It sure makes sense to be that much safer in the skies, we would love to travel naked
It’s unfortunate that in our society it seems more acceptable to murder the human body than it is to expose it.
Equating skinny-dipping with a virtual strip search by government security employees is absurd. The same power granted to the government to make people naked is the same power they can use to force people to stay clothed. Civil liberties are eroding in America, and the twisted thinking that declares body scanners as a positive for nudism is not only irrational, it’s dangerous.
This is a breathtakingly stupid position for the AANR to take. Putting aside the question of whether or not these machines actually enhance security, it makes no sense for an organization that claims to advocate for personal freedoms to support this sort of intrusion. The AANR should be treating this as what it is: the latest in a continuing trend whereby our freedoms are gradually taken from us. The AANR, and indeed any person or organization laying claim to the term “American”, should be fighting this tooth and nail.
This is also patently stupid marketing. Skinny dipping is fun, voluntary, healthy and invigorating. Going through TSA checkpoints is a dull, dispiriting, burdensome experience that nobody enjoys. Why would you seek to conflate the two? Are you trying to tell people that by swimming nude with friends and loved ones they can experience all the fun of the airport security line without the need for travel? What are you thinking? And starting it all off by saying “nudists agree” just adds insult to injury. I am a nudist, and I don’t agree.
Though voicing support for Rapiscans may not leap to mind as a core naturist concern, I hope this heralds a strengthened effort at AANR to regularly leverage mainstream news events to promote the naturist perspective on various issues.
For example, it would be great to always expect a naturist press release on health events/issues like breast cancer awareness (this March?), or envionmental events/issues, or on parenting and children when nudity around home is raised (as AANR did last July in the NYT and in October the Walmart case), Not just to note events, but to formally respond. By systematically countering every mediatized attempt (eg. by groups like the Parents Television Council) to equate nudity with indecency, the public will each time be reminded of the distinction. This then sets the stage for more pro-active press releases, for instance at the beginning of summer to build public support for a “no big deal” response to nudity in informal situations (eg. backyards). Finally, without fail, local naturists should be able to expect AANR press releases in support of local initiatives to organize naturist events (eg. bike rides), and other public opportunities (eg. hiking trails, swimming times, picnics).
The thing that bothered me about the “airport scanning” release was that it sounded like proselytizing — forced nudity is good for America. Perhaps instead the strategic theme should be that nudity doesn’t have to be a big deal, that it can be routine in certain circumstances, that many people in fact already are comfortable adding nudity to their routine informal wardrobe. More than anything, we need a friendly public, and that means creating a non-confrontational environment where non-nudists feel free to be cheerfully tolerant.
We need to welcome occasional-nudists and tolerant non-nudists to our naturist community.
This ridiculous statement invoking the American tradition of skinny dipping completely misses the point. This isn’t an issue of nudity. It’s an issue of freedom & privacy vs authoritarian control. Why would AANR advocate for the authoritarians rather than for freedom and privacy? Let me guess: Eric Williamson’s conviction for being nude in his home is based on the same common sense, yes?
I fail to see how a government strip search of innocent people, virtual or physical, can be equated with skinny-sipping. It’s quite a stretch. If anything, full body scanners represent a further erosion of personal liberties. No nudist organization should support any government efforts to undermine a person’s choice to wear, or not to wear, clothing.
I don’t care if someone sees me nude. That said, I keep getting into conversations with people who mention that they also don’t care if some bored agents sees the outline of their bodies - as long as it makes for safer travel. And as such they and the ANNR completely miss the point that nudity is not the damned issue here. The issue is choice and control. The issue is where does this ridiculous game of “do one better” stop? If some sad mule ends up blowing a hole in a plane with the explosives stuffed up her vagina, will they be mandating full cavity searches next? Absurd you say? Good grief, just follow the logic towards the next absurd conclusion in this safety dance; because sadly “nude” full body scans where considered an absurd conclusion just a few decades ago!
Sure, it could be safer if we all walked around nude with see through bags, or better yet, if everyone was sedated and in paper dresses. Hell, we would -really- be safe if once we’re born we live out our lives in a warm vat for 70 years ingesting from one tube and excreting from another. Now that is safety.
Let’s me put it this way there is no way I’d want to force someone -else- to be nude if they do not wish to be. Do you not understand that? Every time someone says, “oh, it’s no big deal, it’s just our bodies ” you degrade yourself -and- your body. You pick away at the efforts of those who truly are trying to protect human dignity, freedom and choice. And for what? To be a cheerleader for nudist recreation? What’s a little government control when you can get your line-less tan?
If the AANR wasn’t so blinded by wanting to push the nudist angle they would see this as the short sighted endorsement that it is. I’m so effin annoyed at this and I used to think that the AANR was sensible.
Everyone has a right to their opinion, mine follows:
I do not believe the scanners violate any personal freedom I enjoy.
If I did think so, shouldn’t I standup for my personal freedom right to refuse x-rays for health diagnoses. After all, the doctors are not performing the x-rays, it is an x-ray technician that is peering INSIDE my body. How much more invasive can we get? How much medical care does anyone think I’d get if I refused to allow the doctor to “scan” my body (whether by x-ray or other invasive means) for dangers to myself or others that may come into contact with me? I believe this is a good analogy, since we will be at least somewhat more safe, if all those on an aircraft can be cleared of hiding dangerous materials under their clothing.
If I believed x-rays of my body are an affront, then so must be the x-rays of my bags and computer equipment. If we don’t all x-rays at all, how long do you think it would take for more terrorists to attack?
There are very few personal freedoms enjoyed by Americans, and they are clearly laid out in the Constitution of the United States… Then they are trampled on by the courts, legislative and executive branches every day.
Demanding my “right” to refuse an x-ray (whether it be for health or security reasons) of myself is the dumbest way, in my opinion, of fighting a good fight. I suggest we pick a better battle then a simple, non-invasive scan. I think we should vote all the bums out and start over.
In a nutshell, AANR is saying that since we are nudists, and comfortable with our bodies, we are all OK with being strip searched by security even though we have done nothing wrong.
This is nudity on the government’s terms. Does anyone believe for one second that since these McSecurity employees are allowed to see naked people all day long that this will suddenly loosen up the public’s gymnophobic attitude towards the human body? If anything, it will likely increase paranoia by equating nudity with terrorism. You think people are anxious now when they go through airport security, then just wait until they are forced to undergo the body scans.
And does anyone think that the technology ends here? They are already developing machines that can see INSIDE THE BODY . Eventually these scanners will become better and portable, allowing police and government officials to see inside homes and cars, to scan crowds of people, or to check out babes. All technology is eventually abused - the inventor of the machine gun actually believed that his invention would save lives, and Einstein regretted his role in developing the atomic bomb.
This isn’t paranoia, it’s historical fact. Allowing the government the power to strip off our clothes is ceding too much liberty. If they have the power to remove our clothes, they also have the power to force us all to cover up.
It’s a mistake for AANR to advocate full body scans. I appreciate the effort to inject some humor into topics about nudity, but in this case it was inappropriate. This makes light of a serious violation of privacy, as well as demeaning the discussion of airport security, public health, and nudism in general.
As a nudist and an AANR member, I feel that nobody should be forced to appear naked. It was wrong for our soldiers to do that to Iraqi prisoners, and it’s wrong for our government to do that to us.
I for one do not appreciate AANR assuming they can speak for me as a nudist and say that all AANR nudists agree that airport body scanning is akin to nudism and that it is virtual skinny-dipping.
It is not virtual skinny-dipping and it is not something I am in favor of.
You know, marketing and public relations is a vital part of growing an organization, but there is no need to endorse the erosion of civil liberties and think that that is effective and successful marketing. I am appalled at the virtual skinny-dipping comments and ashamed that AANR would be as reckless and foolish as to make such ludicrous statements, and to assume that they can speak for all of the AANR members. Anything for some media coverage I guess, right?Don’t say that AANR and all its members are in agreement on this. We are not. Many of us believe that body scanning is yet another forced intrusion and violation and removal of civil liberties in the wake of 9-11. Do you know who stands to profit from body scanning machines in the airline terminals? Do some research folks; it is the likes of Michael Chertoff and his cronies who have vested interests in body scanner machines and their sales and widespread distributions.
If you think that body scanning is going to prevent hijacking and terrorism, I have some polluted sugar cane Everglades land you may be interested in purchasing. Wake up while you still have some liberties left and realize what is really transpiring in this country. Do some research, think, ponder and learn who really orchestrated 9 11 and all the ensuing civil liberties violations. Do not include me in your lockstep comments endorsing forced strip search. It has NOTHING to do with social nudism. The AANR article was inappropriate, idiotic, and dangerous, very dangerous. Genie O’Brien
These scanners use two types of technology: X-rays and microwaves. Neither is safe. X-rays damage your DNA, introducing genetic mutations in your skin, breasts and testicles. This damage accumulates, it does not go away ever. If you are old, in your late seventies, you will die before the effects of these scanners will be obvious, but if you are young, or a child, it will stay with you forever. In 10 to 20 years there will be a spike in skin, breast and testicular cancer. Irradiated testicles will lead to children born with all kinds of genetic mutations. Violation of privacy is nothing comparing to violation of your DNA.
If they were safe, I would have no problem with the scanners and believe it would lead to greater body acceptance in the United States and around the world. We are headed that way one way or another which can only be a good thing from a nudist perspective.
[...] finally the voice of the naked has been heard. In a recent press release, The American Association for Nude Recreation has voiced their support for full-body scanners in [...]
If an airport “security” screening passes for an “appropriate setting” for nudity as AANR advocates, perhaps then it is time to revisit the idea of what constitutes an appropriate setting. I suggest that events like the World Naked Bike Ride would certainly qualify before airport screenings, especially since the naked bike riders are “Willing” to expose themselves in a non-nudist setting for the cause of body acceptance — whereas air travelers are given no such choice. Is “confronting” the textile public with nudity acceptable only if our government does it? Or does AANR’s acceptance open the door for more naked community events to gain respectability within the nudist community?
[...] to “taking a virtual skinny-dip” was prepared for blogs and online editorials. Read it here: http://blog.aanr.com/2010/01/08/nudists-agree-airport-scanning-that-takes-it-off-is-good-for-america... We have already seen interest from several outlets, which are catalogued in Carolyn Hawkins’ [...]
[...] little busy this week from the body scanner release we sent out. You can view the release at http://blog.aanr.com/2010/01/08/nudists-agree-airport-scanning-that-takes-it-off-is-good-for-america... [...]
First, let me say I appreciate that everything AANR has done for us as a new and coming resort.
However, I have to disagree with the response taken by Eric. Americans seem to be under the impression, that taking away our freedoms is protecting us in the end. Once all our freedoms are taken away, they will come after us as nudists. These scanners are an invasion of privacy, and another slash towards removing our cival liberties.
While I understand the light in which the article was written, and understand that the PR was great AANR. However, we are fighting a battle for Body Freedom. This erodes our personal freedom.
“In Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then
they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. The they came for the trade unionist, but I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn’t speak up
because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.”
Yes, I agree that we could fly safer by flying naked! I hope Castaways Travel promotes more of their Naked Airways Flights!
Hey what happen to the freedom of this country,here we have to be Body scanning is wrong&if it needs be done then do the body scanning in other country,s where terrorism is the key problem.Too Body scan us here in America after the t e r r o r is is already here is stupid because it dose,t have any thing to do with security,it has to do with control.And if the American government wants to protect us from terrorism then in force the body scans in Ira/Iran/Franc/England&all those other country,s.That way we well be safe in our owe Country&can fly safe.Now as far as going Naked on the Beach or Nude Resort and running Naked in your front yard or back yard is our right&freedom and there is nothing wrong with it.Because we are just having fun¬ bothering any one.So Nude body scanning is wast of money&are right to be free.A A N R get your act together and support us Nudist¬ the body scan.Love Nudist Billy.
Yes if they want to see if any one is carrying anything on a plane of ship then make the air ports all Nude Travel then they would,t have to body scan.All they would have scan is your lugs and should be no u g ht.Oh yes about your A A NR,I think it should say N R A A.Not the A A N R is back words.It should read Nude Recreation American association.That sounds better.
Well and good, I have nothing to hide. I would even strip naked if that is what they want.