Periodicals > Journal of Australian Studies > Volume 21, Issue 53
| Name: | Nudes in the Sand and Perverts in the Dunes |
| Authors: | Booth, Douglas |
| Indexed Date: | 9 Sep. 2024 |
| Web Link: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14443059709387326 |
| Index Status: | Complete |
| Original Language: | English |
| Genre: | Non-Fiction |
| Citation: | Booth, Douglas. “Nudes in the Sand and Perverts in the Dunes.” Journal of Australian Studies, Volume 21, Issue 53, May 2009, pp. 170-182, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14443059709387326 |
Summary
Nude or "free" beaches in New South Wales were allowed by the Labor government in 1976, only to be banned by the Liberal government in 1993. The political and social struggle over the display of the body at these beaches illustrates the tension between pleasure and discipline and the public's discomfort with total nudity, especially exposure of the genitals. Despite the social transformation and commercialization of the nude body, the persistent resistance to public nudity suggests that society holds on to traditional beliefs about the display of the body.