Last week we heard from AANR Government Affairs Team volunteer Shirley Gauthier with report of a story too important not to pass on.

It seems that Shirley and other volunteers from The Willamettans nudist club in Marcola, Oregon, set up a table alongside other participating members of the area chamber of commerce at an annual event held within a local shopping mall.  Within minutes of putting up a tasteful “window shade” type display banner, they were asked to take the banner down.  Ever diplomatic and cordial, Shirley complied but she did ask why. The reason? Its presence had generated a complaint to mall management.

What triggered the complaint? The words American Association for Nude Recreation, as well as the AANR-Northwest logo that appeared along with very discreet pictures, shots of couples pictured from their shoulders up, plus a 40-something woman crouched behind her dog after enjoying a stroll on a nude beach.

But the story doesn’t end there.  As she lowered the banner, Shirley looked directly across the mall corridor from her location into a full-size window promotion for a well-known chain that sells novelty items. The feature items?  A corset “trio” complete with garter belt and skimpy bra–modeled on a poster by a woman wearing the getup and little else while grasping the metal pole on a touring bus. Delightfully surprised men look on, and a girlfriend snaps pictures. Oh…plus a few adult “novelties” in a briefcase are also on display.

Ironic, huh?  

Admittedly, the store is a rent paying tenant, and the chamber of commerce conducting its trade show was a guest.  Hence Shirley’s tactful cooperation (FYI: she did follow up the day’s events with a very well-stated letter to the chamber president.) 

But what does it say about current attitudes toward nudity in this country when a banner in which 40-something adults appear where there’s little more than implied simple nudity and it triggers a complaint within minutes?  Yet crowds pass novelties, lingerie, or T-shirts bearing crass slogans, offered for sale. And they don’t seem to bat an eye.

From time to time, I am asked, “Why do we even need an AANR?” I hope this story provides another answer.  We’ll continue to do what we have done since 1931: advocating for nudity within appropriate settings and educating the public about the wholesome benefits that enjoying nudity offers. 

For those who want something else, it appears they’ll have to visit the local mall.   

By AANR Executive Director Erich Schuttauf from the February 12 AANR Weekly Report.