You’d think news reportage about gardening would be innocuous. Not so for the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald of England, which found itself redder than a geranium.
As reported in the winter 2008 edition of The American Editor, the English newspaper decided to cover, or perhaps uncover would be more apt, an event billed as naked gardening day.
The story was easy. The photos were not. So the newspaper’s artist superimposed fake flowerpots over certain body parts that might offend.
All was well until the spread was published and angry callers reported a certain erogenous flower bud had escaped full coverage by a flowerpot.
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“The result was an unexpected gift for the delectation of our readers in a very full and very pink colour,” said editor Gary Lawrence. He later added, “why anyone would want to garden in the nude is beyond me.”
Earlier this month a group of cyclists in Eugene, Oregon, staged a naked bike ride. The purposes, according to Associated Press, were to protest global oil dependency and celebrate cycling and the human body.
The crowd-pleasing rides are held in a number of Oregon communities every year, according to AP, but it was a first for Eugene. Unfortunately, the approximately 100 cycling jaybirds failed to mention their plan to the local constabulary. After a bit of wrestling and a taser threat, the police relented and let the event reach a goose-bumpy conclusion.
Well, if one were inclined to take full frontal enjoyment of nature and physical fitness, gardening and cycling might be suitable choices.
But just when you thought flying coach couldn’t get any worse, a German airline has begun to offer nude flights. Passengers arrive clothed, disrobe when aboard and then dress again before deplaning. Now everyone will be able to see each other’s excess baggage while they stow their carry-on luggage.
Body image must have something to do with decisions about participation in such events. As the late actress Shelley Winters once said, “I think on-stage nudity is disgusting, shameful and damaging to all things American. But if I were 22 with a great body, it would be artistic, tasteful, patriotic and a progressive religious experience.”
Before anyone decides to take up naked farming, let’s just remember there are reasons people invented clothes.
Fencing.
Steer wrestling.
Welding.
Unplugging the combine.
And besides, we use a lot of photographs in the Producer, and there might not be enough flowerpots to cover it all.
