“海滩裸晒风波”只是天性使然

Nude sunbathers in tropical Hainan have attracted legions of gawkers and now a crackdown. It's better they are kept from public sight, but the public should be ready for the winds of change.

While the rest of China is shrouded in winter cold, the southern tip of Hainan Island is bathed in summer heat. That's why people from the bleak north flock to cities like Sanya. A few of the visitors got so carried away by the welcoming sun that they started skinny-dipping or lying on the beach in their birthday suits.

And that has riled local authorities. First, the Party secretary of Hainan province issued a warning that nude bathing is against decorum and those who insist on violating the rules would be rounded up. To back up his words with deeds, armed police have been sent along the suspect beaches in Sanya, to check that people are not overexposed.

This seems to be overkill - even if they are dealing with dedicated exhibitionists who would die for their right to be naked. I wonder what kind of weapon they are going to wield against the armed police if they put up a fight.

However, if you take the perspective of the morality police, these people could be worse than rioters. They disturb social order by exposing private body parts normally concealed from the public eye and, by extension, hint at lascivious acts that corrupt the morals of society.

Beach brouhaha is only natural

Public nudity is a strange and uncomfortable notion in contemporary China. It is caught in a limbo between the past and the future. In the old days, it was more accepted, sometimes out of necessity. When few households had pipes for hot water, people washed themselves in public bathhouses, which turned into venues for social gathering, taking on some of the functions of teahouses. The young generation growing up now with middle-class domestic facilities cannot imagine undressing in front of a big crowd - albeit of the same gender - and nowadays the connotation of the public bathhouse is changing from cleansing one's body to all kinds of sex-related activities.

In rural areas, it was commonplace for adults and children, usually male though, to strip off completely and bathe in the local river. They would not go nude sunbathing as getting tanned was not in vogue in an agrarian society. In some places, though, even women would not go to great lengths to cover themselves while bathing.

Generally speaking, the more economic adversity at a time or place, the more relaxed the dress code, even down to the absence of a single shred around one's body. It is only in prosperity that clothing, or the lack thereof, takes on the meaning of expressing oneself and one's desires.

Fast forward to when China will be enjoying the living standards of Western countries. I believe people will not take another look when they bump into a band of nudists. Would it make someone uncomfortable? Sure. Would it incite a flight of fancy toward Don Juan-style sexcapades? Sure, if the object is the stuff of your dreams. But overall, they would be no weirder than a group of grannies dancing their hearts out in a park.

In the late 1970s when China was opening up and social dance was reintroduced, there were murmurs that it would cause the collapse of social mores.

"People not in relationships holding each other and dancing? Wouldn't that lead to illicit affairs? What would the woman's husband or boyfriend say? It must be an insult to him."

Well, I did not make this up. Someone actually asked me this when I returned from a city to the small town where people had just heard of such outrageous things as men and women engaged in dance with no intention of tying the knot.

Let's face it: The extent to which we cover our bodies with clothing varies with time and place and culture. In most Muslim countries, a woman would be considered immodest if she did not cover her hair. In the West, some evening gowns show all the cleavage and all the back. I remember when the first batch of Western films were shown in China and townsfolk were joking that men in those movies left their lower body naked while women covered up only their lower body. (They were referring to tights in costume dramas and gowns in party scenes.)

It took a long time for the bikini to be accepted in China. I'm sure there are still people who associate it with immoral behavior. And the first time a male dancer stripped to his waist in a performance, it caused a big stir.

"We did not tell the producer or stage manager, or they would never have approved of it," the choreographer revealed to me later.

In contemporary China, it is indeed inappropriate to sunbathe or swim in the nude in public places.

First of all, many of these beaches are frequented by parents with children in tow. Even many adults might find such a sight unsettling, for moral or other reasons. From online responses, it seems these people are not in a minority. So, those with the urge to go au natural should refrain from doing so while visiting these crowded and tourist-friendly locales.

However, China's coastline is very long and there must be beaches tucked away from public prowling.

Ideally, a few of these places could be designated for naturalists so that people with an aversion to the sight may not ramble into the areas by mistake. Given the social attitude of the day, this may serve to call attention to naturalists rather than keeping haters of public nudity at bay.

So, the best approach might be to keep nudist places out of sight and not publicize them too widely.

As a matter of fact, nudist locales have long existed in China. The Sun Island Park in Harbin has one, which was all over the news years ago. When I visited this northeastern city, my host pointed it out to me. It's actually quite close to the traffic in this vast expanse of nature, but it is hidden inside a thick grove, which made me pry into the minds of the naturalists: Yes it's hidden, yet it's dangerously close to being discovered. There seems to be a sense of flirting with danger.

In a similar vein, naturalists have to walk a fine line between respecting public moral standards and exercising their rights to this still decidedly minority hobby. If they push too hard, letting it all hang out in hot destinations like Sanya, a backlash is certain. Even the most liberal-minded authorities will have to react when there are complaints.

On the part of those filing complaints or grumbling online about this form of what they deem "visual trash", they have to ask themselves whether they are totally against nudity or only against nudity by people who are not physically attractive.

It is quite common for photos of a scantily clad supermodel type to be followed by a long chain of oohs and aahs, while images of not-so-beautiful people showing just a little more skin, as in the recent news photos from Sanya, would elicit booms of righteous denunciation. These people should never go near a nudist colony because nudists are mostly real people, not Megan Fox types.

Most nudists are not out to challenge the status quo. They are not making political statements. And there is really nothing sexual in the activity, as far as I know. They should be left alone, and before society agrees on it, they should also make it convenient for themselves to be left alone.

海南的裸体日光浴一度吸引了大量目光，现在却引来了严格的管制。如果这些日光浴游客能够远离公众视线，那自然最好，但是公众也应当做好准备，来应对未来可能的变化。

在中国其他地区正笼罩在寒冬中时，海南岛的最南端仍旧沐浴在夏日的阳光中，这也是人们从北方涌向三亚等城市的原因。暖阳使一些游客忘乎所以，他们开始裸泳或者全裸躺着沙滩上。

这些行为激怒了当地政府。首先，海南省省委书记发出警告，裸泳有伤风化，违反者将被拘留教育。当地武警以实际行动做出响应，在三亚的部分沙滩上巡逻，检查人们是否有过度暴露的行为。

即使他们面对的是暴露狂，这样的规定似乎也过头了，他们可能会因为自己裸体的权利而死。我们也不知道武警在面对冲突时会采用什么武器。

然而如果站在道德警察的角度来看，这些人会比暴徒还糟糕。他们暴露身体的私密部位，扰乱社会秩序，甚至可能引起社会道德败坏。

“海滩风波”只是天性使然。

在公共场合裸体在当代中国人眼中是一个奇怪又别扭的概念。它夹在过去和未来之间。过去，人们对公共场合裸体的接受程度更高，有时候人们别无选择，只有少数家庭有热水管，人们只能在公共浴室洗澡，这里也变成社交聚会场所，具备了茶馆的部分功能。而从小生活在社会中层水平的年轻一代，即使在一群性别与自己相同的人面前，也不好意思脱掉衣服。而且，当今公共澡堂的内涵已经不仅仅是清洁自己的身体，而是各种与性有关的活动。

在农村地区，无论大人和小孩都可以无所顾忌地脱光衣服，然后跳进河里洗澡，当然他们大多是男性。在农业社会，他们不会选择裸体日光浴，并不认为把自己晒黑是一种时尚。然而在部分地区，即使是女人，也不会在洗澡时想方设法把自己遮住。

一般来说，在经济不景气的地区或时期中，人们对着装的要求更低，甚至低至全身连一片碎布也没有。只有在经济繁荣的时候，穿衣服，或不穿衣服，才能表达个人的情感和意愿。

在中国的经济持续快速发展，人们的生活达到西方的生活水平时，人们在碰到一群裸体主义者时便不会再抱以异样的眼神。这会不会让人觉得不舒服？当然。会不会引起“唐璜式乱性”的风潮？如果正好是你心仪的对象，答案是肯定的。但整体来说，这些人会和一组老人在公园里热舞一样奇怪。

20世纪70年代末，中国实行改革开放，交谊舞再次进入人们的生活，当时便有言论称这会导致社会道德观念的崩溃。

“彼此不认识的人们互相拥抱、跳舞吗？这难道不会引起地下情？女人的丈夫或男朋友会怎么想？这对他完全是一种侮辱。”

这可不是我编造的。而是在我从一个城市回来，去往一个小镇的时候，有人对我提出的问题。这里的人刚刚听说男女在无意结婚的情况下可以一起跳舞这样荒诞的事。

让我们直面这一事实：我们用衣物覆盖身体的范围与时间、地点和文化相关。在多数穆斯林国家中，如果一位女性没有把她的头发遮起来，人们就会认为她不正派。而在西方国家中，一些晚礼服会露出女性的胸部和所有背部。我记得第一批西方电影在中国播出后，市民们开玩笑地说，那些电影中的男人下半身都是赤裸的，而女人则只遮住了下半身（他们指的是演员们在剧中穿的紧身衣以及聚会中的礼服。）

中国群众在很长时间后才接受了比基尼。但还有部分人认为它和不道德的行为有关。在首次有男演员在演出中脱掉上衣时，引起了巨大的轰动。

“我们没有告诉制片人或舞台监督，不然他们不会允许这种情况发生。“编导透露说。

在当代中国，全裸日光浴或在公共场合裸泳确实是不太合适。

首先，这些海滩经常有父母带着孩子在玩耍。甚至很多成年人出于道德或其他原因也认为这些场景令人非常不安。从网络上人们的反应可以看出，这些人似乎并不在少数。所以，那些很想以初始状态示人的人们应该在人潮拥挤的旅游胜地避免这样的做法。

然而，中国的海岸线很长，必然有部分海滩远离尘嚣。

如果这些地方能够指定为那些自然主义者开放，这便是最理想的情况，喜好不同的人就不会出现在错误的地方。根据当下的社会态度，这可能有助于增加社会对自然主义者的关注，而不是将防止人们仇视在公共场合的裸露行为。

所以，最好的办法或许是使这些允许裸露的场所远离公众的视线，而不是进行大肆宣传。

事实上，允许裸露的场所在中国长期存在。在哈尔滨太阳岛公园就有一处，数年前曾频繁出现在资讯中。当我来到这个东北城市时，我的导游就给我指出它的所在地。实际上这一地点距离城市并不遥远，但隐藏在浓密的丛林中，这让我能够窥探自然主义者的思想：没错，它很隐蔽，但它也很危险，因为很容易被发现。似乎有一种与风险作乐的感觉。

同时，自然主义者必须在尊重公众道德标准和保持这一仍是少数人的爱好之间如履薄冰。如果太放纵，让这些裸露主义者在三亚等旅游胜地享受生活，必然会引起公众的强烈反对。即使是最开明的政府也不得不在群众抱怨时及时应对。

在人们投诉或在网络上抱怨这种他们认为是“视觉垃圾”的时候，他们必须问问自己，是不是完全反对这种裸露行为，还是只是抱怨那些做出裸露行为的人的外表并不迷人。

衣着暴露的超模总是能够使人们赞叹不已，人们的这一思维定势使他们在看到并不美丽的人只多露出一点皮肤时，就开始了正义的谴责。这些人应该远离那些热爱裸露的人们，因为他们大多数都是普通人，不是梅根·福克斯。

大多数的裸体主义者并没有挑战现实。他们没有做正式声明。据我所知，这些裸露行为中与性毫不相关。在社会接受之前，他们应该远离人群的视线，同时，他们也应该寻找合适的方法使自己不被人们关注。