Canadian petition in support of public nudity

Seeks to repeal Section 174 of the Criminal Code

Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada. (Photo credit: Michel Rathwell from Cornwall, Ont.)

An e-petition has been put up on the House of Commons website calling for:

Whereas:

• Nudity is not intrinsically sexual, indecent, or obscene;

• The existing prohibition on public nudity harms society by reinforcing the notion that the human body is inherently shameful;

• Nudism is known to have significant benefits to physical and mental health;

• Non-sexual nudity is not harmful to children or youth;

• Clothing, and the process of washing it, is known to cause significant water pollution in the form of microfibres;

• The existing prohibition on public nudity is unduly Anglocentric for a nation composed of citizens of many ethnic origins who value and respect cultural and racial diversity; and

• Public nudity per se was not historically an offence at common law, nor under the Criminal Code until 1954.

We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to repeal Section 174 of the Criminal Code and insert language into the Criminal Code specifying that public nudity, in and of itself, is not indecent, obscene, or a nuisance.

Tap here to sign it.