“海灘裸曬風波”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.海南的裸體日光浴一度吸引了大量目光，現在卻引來了嚴格的管制。如果這些日光浴遊客能夠遠離公衆視線，那自然最好，但是公衆也應當做好準備，來應對未來可能的變化。

在中國其他地區正籠罩在寒冬中時，海南島的最南端仍舊沐浴在夏日的陽光中，這也是人們從北方涌向三亞等城市的原因。暖陽使一些遊客忘乎所以，他們開始裸泳或者全裸躺着沙灘上。

這些行爲激怒了當地政府。首先，海南省省委書記發出警告，裸泳有傷風化，違反者將被拘留教育。當地武警以實際行動做出響應，在三亞的部分沙灘上巡邏，檢查人們是否有過度暴露的行爲。

即使他們面對的是暴露狂，這樣的規定似乎也過頭了，他們可能會因爲自己裸體的權利而死。我們也不知道武警在面對衝突時會採用什麼武器。

然而如果站在道德警察的角度來看，這些人會比暴徒還糟糕。他們暴露身體的私密部位，擾亂社會秩序，甚至可能引起社會道德敗壞。

“海灘風波”只是天性使然。

在公共場合裸體在當代中國人眼中是一個奇怪又彆扭的概念。它夾在過去和未來之間。過去，人們對公共場合裸體的接受程度更高，有時候人們別無選擇，只有少數家庭有熱水管，人們只能在公共浴室洗澡，這裏也變成社交聚會場所，具備了茶館的部分功能。而從小生活在社會中層水平的年輕一代，即使在一羣性別與自己相同的人面前，也不好意思脫掉衣服。而且，當今公共澡堂的內涵已經不僅僅是清潔自己的身體，而是各種與性有關的活動。

在農村地區，無論大人和小孩都可以無所顧忌地脫光衣服，然後跳進河裏洗澡，當然他們大多是男性。在農業社會，他們不會選擇裸體日光浴，並不認爲把自己曬黑是一種時尚。然而在部分地區，即使是女人，也不會在洗澡時想方設法把自己遮住。

一般來說，在經濟不景氣的地區或時期中，人們對着裝的要求更低，甚至低至全身連一片碎布也沒有。只有在經濟繁榮的時候，穿衣服，或不穿衣服，才能表達個人的情感和意願。

在中國的經濟持續快速發展，人們的生活達到西方的生活水平時，人們在碰到一羣裸體主義者時便不會再抱以異樣的眼神。這會不會讓人覺得不舒服？當然。會不會引起“唐璜式亂性”的風潮？如果正好是你心儀的對象，答案是肯定的。但整體來說，這些人會和一組老人在公園裏熱舞一樣奇怪。

20世紀70年代末，中國實行改革開放，交誼舞再次進入人們的生活，當時便有言論稱這會導致社會道德觀念的崩潰。

“彼此不認識的人們互相擁抱、跳舞嗎？這難道不會引起地下情？女人的丈夫或男朋友會怎麼想？這對他完全是一種侮辱。”

這可不是我編造的。而是在我從一個城市回來，去往一個小鎮的時候，有人對我提出的問題。這裏的人剛剛聽說男女在無意結婚的情況下可以一起跳舞這樣荒誕的事。

讓我們直面這一事實：我們用衣物覆蓋身體的範圍與時間、地點和文化相關。在多數穆斯林國家中，如果一位女性沒有把她的頭髮遮起來，人們就會認爲她不正派。而在西方國家中，一些晚禮服會露出女性的胸部和所有背部。我記得第一批西方電影在中國播出後，市民們開玩笑地說，那些電影中的男人下半身都是赤裸的，而女人則只遮住了下半身（他們指的是演員們在劇中穿的緊身衣以及聚會中的禮服。）

中國羣衆在很長時間後才接受了比基尼。但還有部分人認爲它和不道德的行爲有關。在首次有男演員在演出中脫掉上衣時，引起了巨大的轟動。

“我們沒有告訴製片人或舞臺監督，不然他們不會允許這種情況發生。“編導透露說。

在當代中國，全裸日光浴或在公共場合裸泳確實是不太合適。

首先，這些海灘經常有父母帶着孩子在玩耍。甚至很多成年人出於道德或其他原因也認爲這些場景令人非常不安。從網絡上人們的反應可以看出，這些人似乎並不在少數。所以，那些很想以初始狀態示人的人們應該在人潮擁擠的旅遊勝地避免這樣的做法。

然而，中國的海岸線很長，必然有部分海灘遠離塵囂。

如果這些地方能夠指定爲那些自然主義者開放，這便是最理想的情況，喜好不同的人就不會出現在錯誤的地方。根據當下的社會態度，這可能有助於增加社會對自然主義者的關注，而不是將防止人們仇視在公共場合的裸露行爲。

所以，最好的辦法或許是使這些允許裸露的場所遠離公衆的視線，而不是進行大肆宣傳。

事實上，允許裸露的場所在中國長期存在。在哈爾濱太陽島公園就有一處，數年前曾頻繁出現在新聞中。當我來到這個東北城市時，我的導遊就給我指出它的所在地。實際上這一地點距離城市並不遙遠，但隱藏在濃密的叢林中，這讓我能夠窺探自然主義者的思想：沒錯，它很隱蔽，但它也很危險，因爲很容易被發現。似乎有一種與風險作樂的感覺。

同時，自然主義者必須在尊重公衆道德標準和保持這一仍是少數人的愛好之間如履薄冰。如果太放縱，讓這些裸露主義者在三亞等旅遊勝地享受生活，必然會引起公衆的強烈反對。即使是最開明的政府也不得不在羣衆抱怨時及時應對。

在人們投訴或在網絡上抱怨這種他們認爲是“視覺垃圾”的時候，他們必須問問自己，是不是完全反對這種裸露行爲，還是隻是抱怨那些做出裸露行爲的人的外表並不迷人。

衣着暴露的超模總是能夠使人們讚歎不已，人們的這一思維定勢使他們在看到並不美麗的人只多露出一點皮膚時，就開始了正義的譴責。這些人應該遠離那些熱愛裸露的人們，因爲他們大多數都是普通人，不是梅根·福克斯。

大多數的裸體主義者並沒有挑戰現實。他們沒有做正式聲明。據我所知，這些裸露行爲中與性毫不相關。在社會接受之前，他們應該遠離人羣的視線，同時，他們也應該尋找合適的方法使自己不被人們關注。