Posted by Phlash/Adm./Tim/sam/Mail on August 9, 2005, 2:41 am So what do you consider to be deviant exhibitionism? Is walking around nude near where unsuspecting females may see considered flashing or exhibitionism? Must one be wearing an erection? For those of you seeing a therapist, some food for thought—“therapist” can be broken down into two terms: THE and RAPIST. What is that doing to you subliminally? _________________________ First, we could start with Encyclopædia Britannica’s definition: “Exhibitionism: derivation of sexual gratification through compulsive display of one’s genitals....” It goes on to explain: “...sexual display is almost universal as a prelude to sexual activity... it is regarded as deviant behavior only when it takes place outside the context of intimate sexual relations.” You ask: “Is walking around nude near where unsuspecting females may see considered flashing or exhibitionism?” It could depend on a number of factors: what part of the country the act may take place in, how the local laws are about it, whether or not the females present choose to perceive it as such and notify the authorities, the nature of the place itself, what the individual’s intent is, whether or not it is a compulsive behavior to him (although in many cases his intent and the question of compulsive behavior could be disguised).... Usually what it all boils down to is how society perceives it, and the core issue always is when this compulsive behavior comes to cause a conflict with the public. And like the laws on pornography and bars where nudity and partial nudity take place, how things are perceived and interpreted can be variable and can depend on what the community standards are at the time. Once in the 1700s in a Puritan community, a man who kissed his wife in public after being separated from her for six months was arrested for “lewd conduct” and jailed—though in today’s legal definitions, “lewd conduct” means nothing less than exposing the genitals or female breasts in public. In some localities it also includes the buttocks, but that often causes contradictions when, first, young women lie out in the sun in those communities wearing thongs or string-bikinis that reveal the buttocks, and the community accepts it, and then when someone exposes his buttocks to be repulsive to someone else and the victim presses charges and the perpetrator asks in court, if it’s illegal for him, why are the young women allowed to expose theirs in public? I heard of a case in Berkeley, California, where a university student was attending his classes completely naked for about a week until the authorities finally cracked down on him, and all they did was tell him he couldn’t continue. No arrest, nothing. I also read in the paper of a case in another part of the country where a man was sentenced to two years in prison for exposing himself, after the woman photographed him in the act. That’s probably the stiffest sentence I’ve ever heard of for it. “Community standards” are different from place to place and often change over time. That’s why the laws are made saying only that much, so that they don’t have to keep being changed. So the issue is variable. It can depend on a number of different factors. “Must one have an erection?” you ask. No, many exhibitionists have said that they have been in the habit of exposing themselves without an erection to members of the opposite sex, although masturbation may take place later from the memory of it, which, of course, would require an erection at the time of masturbation. _________________________ “Walking around nude where unsuspecting females may see” in some places—most places, I think—could be the very thing that triggers the law. If they’re expecting it and accepting it, then it often amounts to being nothing more than an act between consenting adults. It’s when it happens when they’re NOT expecting it that it may trigger fear or anger—and the law. I suppose if you lived in Berkeley, you could always be expecting just about anything to happen, but then, Berkeley isn’t your typical town in America. Better off to play it safe. Make sure first that they understand... AND consent to it. _________________________ Ironically I have been contacted by the law in Berkeley for masturbating in my car. Seems that it’s over their line. They have a very competent sex crimes unit. Maybe it’s just that they don’t like meat there? _________________________ On Sunday I saw a naked guy on the streets of Berkeley. Not “the” naked guy. Just “a” naked guy. It was no big deal—that is, normally I wouldn’t mention it, except that yesterday I saw a naked woman, again on the streets of Berkeley. That’s more often than I’m used to. The woman wasn’t quite naked. She was wearing a hat. The guy wasn’t wearing anything, not so much as a button. Except maybe a belly button. I mean, I didn’t check. My eyes were elsewhere. I don’t want to give you the impression that I’m blasé about naked people. I live in Berkeley, but I’m really not that sophisticated, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. When I see a naked person, I tend to lose it for a couple of seconds. My eyes get wide. My jaw sags a bit. But I don’t pay that much attention to them after that. After that, I start watching the other people for their reactions. The naked woman didn’t get that much of a reaction. I was in Taquería Cancún, which is off on a side street. She was walking along the street. The only other person on the street was someone walking next to her (obscured—I couldn’t tell if the other person was naked, a clothed friend, or an indiscreet gawker). And everyone else in the restaurant was of course paying attention to their burritos. This was Cancún, where the burritos are very worthy of attention. I was still waiting for mine to be prepared. If I’d already received my burrito, I would have had eyes for nothing else. The naked guy, or rather the “a” naked guy, was on Telegraph Avenue. And thus I was able to get rather more crowd reaction. And that’s where I learned the proper protocol for dealing with naked guys. For women, try not to giggle and fail. At least I have the consolation of knowing that, other than the naked people themselves, most Telegraph Avvers don’t seem much more sophisticated than I am. The main piece of protocol I wonder about is what happens when two naked people who don’t know each other pass on the street. On a nude beach, they’d both be on “home turf.” But I wonder if there would be more of a sense of camaraderie on the street. A grin exchanged, along with the unvoiced messages, “Lots of people are staring at me.” “Me, too.”
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Message modified by board administrator September 16, 2005, 5:57 am
Define Deviant Exhibitionism
Posted by The Phlash on December 16, 2000, 4:36 pm
Definition can be variable
Posted by David Parker on December 18, 2000, 5:20 pm
“Suspecting” or “unsuspecting” can be the key
Posted by Tim on December 20, 2000, 7:49 pm
Posted by sam i am on March 29, 2001, 8:36 pm
Stranger Encounters: Naked ’94
Posted by Excerpt from mail sent in 1994 on October 15, 2003, 3:40 pm
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