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Nude athletes and fights to the death: what really happened at the ancient Olympics

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/konstantine-panegyres-1528527">Konstantine Panegyres</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a></em></p> <p>The first recorded victor at the Olympics was <a href="https://anastrophe.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/perseus/citequery3.pl?dbname=GreekNov21&amp;getid=1&amp;query=Paus.%205.8.8#:%7E:text=This%20I%20can%20prove%3B%20for%20when%20the%20unbroken%20tradition%20of%20the%20Olympiads%20began%20there%20was%20first%20the%20foot%2Drace%2C%20and%20Coroebus%20an%20Elean%20was%20victor.%20There%20is%20no%20statue%20of%20Coroebus%20at%20Olympia%2C%20but%20his%20grave%20is%20on%20the%20borders%20of%20Elis.">Coroebus of Elis</a>. A cook by profession, Coroebus won the event called the “stadion” – a footrace of just under 200 metres, run in a straight line.</p> <p>Coroebus was victorious in the year 776 BC, but this was probably not the year of the first Olympic games.</p> <p>A few ancient writers, such as the historian <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/acl3129.0001.001/320">Aristodemus of Elis</a> (who lived in the 2nd century AD or earlier), <a href="https://www.attalus.org/translate/eusebius2.html#:%7E:text=Aristodemus%20of%20Elis,in%20between%20them.">believed</a> there had been as many as 27 Olympic contests prior to 776 BC, but the results had never been recorded because people before that time did not care about recording the names of the winners.</p> <p>The games were held every four years at <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Olympia-ancient-site-Greece">Olympia</a>, a site in Western Greece that had a famous temple to the god <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zeus">Zeus</a>.</p> <p>The games started in mid-August and were part of a religious festival dedicated to Zeus.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VdHHus8IgYA?wmode=transparent&amp;start=25" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">The Olympics began as part of a religious festival honouring the Greek god Zeus.</span></figcaption></figure> <h2>Competing for glory</h2> <p>In the early days of the Olympics, there was only one event (the “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/stade-footrace#:%7E:text=ancient%20Olympic%20Games&amp;text=The%20race%2C%20known%20as%20the,the%20diaulos%2C%20roughly%20similar%20to%E2%80%A6">stadion</a>”) and one victor.</p> <p>Over the centuries, other events were added, like chariot races, wrestling, long-distance running and boxing. The Roman emperor <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nero-Roman-emperor">Nero</a> (37-68 AD) even “introduced a musical competition at Olympia”, as the biographer <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780198606413.001.0001/acref-9780198606413-e-6117">Suetonius</a> (1st/2nd century AD) <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL038/1914/volume.xml">informs</a> us.</p> <p>Victors at Olympia won a wreath of wild olive. Unlike today, there were no prizes for second or third.</p> <p>The athlete <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DI%3Aentry+group%3D2%3Aentry%3Diccus-bio-1">Iccus of Tarentum</a>, who lived in the 5th century BC and won victory in the pentathlon at the Olympics of 476 BC, apparently <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL448/1959/volume.xml">said</a> that for him “the prizes meant glory, admiration in his lifetime, and after death an honoured name”.</p> <p>Mostly men competed for the prizes but some women took part.</p> <p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43610326">Cynisca</a>, daughter of King <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Archidamus-II">Archidamus II of Sparta</a>, was the first woman to achieve an Olympic victory. She got the prize because the horses she trained won the chariot racing event in the year 396 BC, as the traveller <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pausanias-Greek-geographer">Pausanias</a> (2nd century AD) <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL188/1926/volume.xml">writes</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>Cynisca was exceedingly ambitious to succeed at the Olympic games and was the first woman to breed horses and the first to win an Olympic victory. After Cynisca, other women have won Olympic victories but none of them was more distinguished for their victories than her.</p> </blockquote> <p>But competing in the games could be dangerous.</p> <p><a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100454522">Lucius Annaeus Seneca</a> (c. 50 BC-c. 40 AD) <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL463/1974/volume.xml">describes</a> how a father lost both sons in the “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/pankration">pancration</a>”, a type of combat sport that was a violent mixture of boxing and wrestling:</p> <blockquote> <p>A man trained his two sons as pancratists, and presented them to compete at the Olympic games. They were paired off to fight each other. The youths were both killed together and had divine honours decreed to them.</p> </blockquote> <h2>Going to the games</h2> <p>People travelled far to see the athletes competing in the famous games.</p> <p>The rhetorician <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780198606413.001.0001/acref-9780198606413-e-4094">Menander</a> (3rd/4th century AD) <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL539/2019/volume.xml">said</a> of the Olympic games: “the journey there is very difficult but nevertheless people take the risk”.</p> <p>In 44 BC, the Roman statesman <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cicero">Cicero</a> (106-43 BC) <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=BzJsGtpNTwMC&amp;pg=PA125&amp;dq=%22A+winter+voyage+is+disagreeable,+and+that+is+why+I+asked+you%22&amp;hl=en&amp;newbks=1&amp;newbks_redir=0&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjd5ca9m62HAxXKSWwGHf13DPEQ6AF6BAgKEAI#v=onepage&amp;q=%22A%20winter%20voyage%20is%20disagreeable%2C%20and%20that%20is%20why%20I%20asked%20you%22&amp;f=false">wrote</a> a letter to his friend Atticus about planning a trip to Greece to see the games:</p> <blockquote> <p>I should like to know the date of the Olympic games […] of course, as you say, the plan of my trip will depend on chance.</p> </blockquote> <p>Cicero never made it to the Olympics – he was interrupted by other business. If he had gone, the trip would have involved a voyage by sea from Italy to Greece, then a carriage ride to Olympia.</p> <p>Once at Olympia, travellers stayed at lodging houses with other travellers. There they mixed with strangers and made new friends.</p> <p>There is a famous story about what happened when the philosopher <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Plato">Plato</a> (428/427-348/347 BC) stayed at Olympia for the games.</p> <p>Plato lived there with others who did not realise he was the celebrated philosopher and he made a good impression on them, as the Roman writer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aelian#:%7E:text=Aelian%20(born%20c.,%22Honey%2Dtongued%22).">Claudius Aelian</a> (2nd/3rd century AD) <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL486/1997/volume.xml">recalled</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>The strangers were delighted by their chance encounter […] he had behaved towards them with modesty and simplicity and had proved himself able to win the confidence of anyone in his company.</p> </blockquote> <p>Later on, Plato invited his new friends to Athens and they were amazed to find out he was in fact the famous philosopher who was the student of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Socrates">Socrates</a>.</p> <p>It’s unclear how many people actually visited the ancient games each time they were held, although some modern scholars <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/ancient-olympic-games/spectators">think</a> the number could have been as high as 50,000 in some years.</p> <h2>Watching the games</h2> <p>The Greek writer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chariton-Greek-author">Chariton</a> (1st century AD) in his novel Callirhoe <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL481/1995/volume.xml">wrote</a> how athletes – who had often also made a long journey to get to the games – arrived at Olympia “with an escort of their supporters”.</p> <p>Athletes competed naked, and women were usually not permitted to watch.</p> <p>But there were some exceptions. For example a woman called Pherenice, who lived in the 4th century BC, was permitted to attend the Olympics as a spectator. As Claudius Aelian <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL486/1997/volume.xml">explains</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>Pherenice brought her son to the Olympic festival to compete. The presiding officials refused to admit her as a spectator but she spoke in public and justified her request by pointing out that her father and three brothers were Olympic victors, and she was bringing a son who was a competitor. She won over the assembly and she attended the Olympic festival.</p> </blockquote> <p>As the contest was held in the middle of summer, it was usually extremely hot. According to Claudius Aelian, some people <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL486/1997/volume.xml">thought</a> watching the Olympics under “the baking heat of the sun” was a “much more severe penalty” than having to do manual labour such as grinding grain.</p> <p>The site at Olympia also had problems with freshwater supply. According to the writer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lucian">Lucian of Samosata</a> (2nd century AD), visitors to the games sometimes <a href="https://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/lucian/peregrinus.htm#:%7E:text=Coming%20at%20last,that%20same%20water!">died of thirst</a>. This problem was fixed when <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Herodes-Atticus">Herodes Atticus</a> built an <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Olympia%2C+Nymphaeum&amp;object=Building">aqueduct</a> to the site in the middle of the 2nd century AD.</p> <p>The atmosphere of the crowd was electric.</p> <p>The Athenian general and politician <a href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Themistocles*.html">Themistocles</a> (6th/5th century BC) apparently <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL486/1997/volume.xml">said</a> the most enjoyable moment of his life was “to see the public at Olympia turning to look at me as I entered the stadium”.</p> <p>They praised him when he visited the games at Olympia because of his recent victory against the Persians at the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Salamis">battle of Salamis</a> (480 BC).</p> <p>When the games were over, winning athletes returned home to a hero’s welcome.</p> <p>According to Claudius Aelian, when the athlete <a href="https://ia801308.us.archive.org/18/items/PWRE09-10/Pauly-Wissowa_V1_1151.png">Dioxippus</a> (4th century BC) <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL486/1997/volume.xml">returned to Athens</a> after being victorious in the pancration at Olympia, “a crowd collected from all directions” in the city to celebrate him.</p> <h2>The end of the ancient games</h2> <p>The Roman historian <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803115406219">Velleius Paterculus</a> (born 20/19 BC) <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL152/1924/volume.xml">called</a> the Olympic games “the most celebrated of all contests in sports”.</p> <p>Current research <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/end-of-greek-athletics-in-late-antiquity/DF60B2B859B4F1A7FE7549B17B61E9A1">suggests</a> the ancient games probably ended in the reign of the Roman emperor Theodosius II (reigned 408-450 AD).</p> <p>There may have been a number of reasons for the demise but some ancient sources specifically <a href="http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/sourceEN/D219EN.html#:%7E:text=Scholia%20in%20Lucianum%2041.9.42%2D46%3A%0AThe%20Olympic%20games%20%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BD%20existed%20for%20a%20long%20time%20until%20Theodosius%20the%20younger%2C%20who%20was%20the%20son%20of%20Arcadius.%20After%20the%20temple%20of%20Olympian%20Zeus%20had%20been%20burnt%20down%2C%20the%20festival%20of%20the%20Eleans%20and%20Olympic%20contest%20were%20abandoned.">say</a> it was caused by a fire that destroyed the temple of Zeus at Olympia during Theodosius II’s reign:</p> <blockquote> <p>After the temple of Olympian Zeus had been burnt down, the festival of the Eleans and the Olympic contest were abandoned.</p> </blockquote> <p>The Olympics were not revived again until 1896, the year of the first <a href="https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/athens-1896">modern Olympics</a>.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/234912/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/konstantine-panegyres-1528527">Konstantine Panegyres</a>, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a></em></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/nude-athletes-and-fights-to-the-death-what-really-happened-at-the-ancient-olympics-234912">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

International Travel

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Lisa Rinna’s totally nude update at 60

<p dir="ltr">Lisa Rinna wasn't afraid to flaunt her birthday suit in her latest Instagram update.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 60-year-old<em> Days of Our Lives</em> star bared it all in an homage to Catherine O'Hara’s iconic character Moira Rose on <em>Schitt’s Creek</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Moira Rose says you should take as many naked pics of yourself while you still can and celebrate it,” Rinna captioned the photo posted on her Instagram stories.</p> <p dir="ltr">“OK Moira,” she added with a selfie of herself posing proudly in her birthday suit with brown hearts barely censoring her private parts.</p> <p dir="ltr">She also added a “happy Sunday” GIF in the bottom corner of her photo.</p> <p dir="ltr">She continues to make waves as she shared a more recent update of her posing in a latex outfit as part of her new Rinna Beauty campaign.</p> <p dir="ltr">“A little Latex hand modelling ,” she captioned the video as she confidently posed for the cameras.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvJIbAAxqK3/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvJIbAAxqK3/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by L I S A R I N N A (@lisarinna)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Fans took to the comments to praise the Melrose Place actress, with many of them commenting multiple fire emojis.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Glamorous!!! ♥️♦️” wrote one fan.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Iconic,” commented another.</p> <p dir="ltr">“How is it you look the same as you did on Days and Melrose Place?! You are still stunning and fabulous 🔥💜” commented a third.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p> <p dir="ltr"> </p>

Beauty & Style

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Tourist jailed over nude stunt at Bali temple

<p>A German tourist could face time in jail after stripping naked and crashing a sacred dance performance at a temple in Bali. </p> <p>The backpacker, identified by police as 28-year-old Darja Tuschinski, casually strolled up to the stage with no clothes on while the dancers remained professional and calm. </p> <p>In the now-viral clip filmed earlier this week, the backpacker was filmed climbing the stairs and attempting to open a door into the temple, as a local man attempted to stop her. </p> <p>After barging the door open, she was then filmed then walking down and kneeling in front of the stage, where she appeared to pray in front of horrified onlookers. </p> <p>“The female foreigner went naked on the stage of Saraswati Ubud Temple owned by Tjokorda Ngurah Suyadnya AKA Cok Wah,” Bali Police spokesman Stefanus Satake Bayu Setianto told local media outlet <em><a title="coconuts.co" href="https://coconuts.co/bali/news/naked-german-woman-crashes-balinese-dance-show-at-ubud-temple/">Coconuts Bali</a></em>.</p> <p>The bizarre stunt sparked backlash online, with one local writing, “Why weren’t you immediately given clothes and secured first? There was someone who was performing the Balinese dance … We don’t need crazy caucasians, do we?”</p> <p>Another wrote, “Sad to see the behaviour of this one person.” </p> <p>A third pointed out the cultural clash, writing, “Caucasians who go to Asia usually feel the most spiritual freedom (and) enlightenment … But (their) life and mindset are not in accordance with traditional Asian spiritual and spiritual values, especially in Bali.”</p> <p>Local council chief Wayan Widana told another local media outlet, <em><a title="radarbali.jawapos.com" href="https://radarbali.jawapos.com/pariwisata/24/05/2023/dewa-ratu-viral-wanita-jerman-bugil-di-pentas-tari-polda-bali-telisik-begini-kata-camat-ubud/">Radar Bali</a></em>, that Tuschinski was known to suffer mental health issues and had been “brought to the Bangli Mental Institution.”</p> <p>In recent months, Indonesian officials have expressed their frustrations with unruly tourists.</p> <p>Ravindra Singh Shekhawat, who is the general manager for Bali operations at Melbourne-based tour company Intrepid Travel, told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/crazy-caucasians-bali-community-slams-german-tourists-naked-act/news-story/035939942bb25f7e127ee419131031fb" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>news.com.au</em></a> earlier this year, “Recently there has been an increase in tourists not following the local laws and respecting local culture and traditions, including instances of tourists getting into heated arguments with local police for not wearing helmets or breaking traffic laws.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Twitter</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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X-rated encounter leaves Ally Langdon speechless

<p dir="ltr">A guest on the T<em>oday Show</em> has left host Allison Langdon and fill-in co-host David Campbell in shock after appearing on the air while in the nude.</p> <p dir="ltr">Langdon and Campbell were interviewing Jimmy Niggles on his latest campaign to raise funds for skin cancer and were greeted with a nude Niggles holding a sign over his genital area that read, “Strip off for skin cancer”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We're down here on Bondi Beach with some very special news. It's very revealing news. It's very exciting  for the whole country,” Niggles explained.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-154ea817-7fff-b407-20a9-8635ade84e07"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“Spencer Tunick, who is an incredible internationally renowned artist is coming Down Under yet again. And for those who don't know he specialises in large scale nude installation photography.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CkHYIVzBHMU/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CkHYIVzBHMU/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by thetodayshow (@thetodayshow)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">But the real shock came moments later, when Niggles and his two companions - wearing ‘Strip off for skin cancer’ budgie smugglers - turned away from the camera and ran towards the beach and a family walking along nearby, exposing his bare buttocks and a glimpse of his hand covering his genitals in the process.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Oh my, I can't look at this,” Langdon said before covering her face with paper.</p> <p dir="ltr">Composing himself, Campbell picked up where they left off with a message for viewers, “That was for a good cause… all for a good cause.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“He went straight for that family too which was a shame.”</p> <p dir="ltr">During the interview, Niggles said he aims to gather 2,000 naked people together for a photo to “shine a massive spotlight on skin cancer in Australia”.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-2b51cb65-7fff-eb92-85c1-1aac75a14fcc"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“We're aiming to get 2,000 people to represent 2,000 people that die from skin cancer every year. Each one of those will represent someone,” he said.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CN7RJzHjnwj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CN7RJzHjnwj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Jimmy Niggles Esq. (@jimmyniggles)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Even though most skin cancers are successfully treated, melanoma is still one of Australia’s biggest killers, with one Australian dying every five hours.</p> <p dir="ltr">Niggles has been raising awareness and encouraging Aussies to get their skin checked for the last decade, when he started the charity Beard Season following the death of his friend in 2010 after a cancerous spot was found too late.</p> <p dir="ltr">In April this year, Niggles shaved off his beard - which he had been growing for 11 months - and raised $1,013,970 for the charity.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-d081ee5e-7fff-d384-7d23-1ff545c073d7"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Nine</em></p>

Body

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Chloé: how a 19th-century French nude ended up in a Melbourne pub – and became an icon for Australian soldiers

<p>Chloé, the French nude by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Joseph_Lefebvre">Jules Joseph Lefebvre</a>, is an Australian cultural icon. </p> <p>Chloé made its debut at the 1875 Paris Salon and won medals at the 1879 Sydney and 1880 Melbourne international exhibitions. In December 1880, Thomas Fitzgerald, a Melbourne surgeon, bought Chloé for his private collection. </p> <p>Two years later, when Fitzgerald loaned Chloé to the National Gallery of Victoria, a furious debate erupted in the press. Public opinion was <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/224814361">sharply divided</a> over the propriety of displaying a French nude painting on the Sabbath.</p> <p>Chloé spent the next three years at the Adelaide Picture Gallery, before Fitzgerald <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/94392855">removed her</a> from the public gaze.</p> <p>After the surgeon’s death in 1908, Henry Figsby Young bought Chloé for £800 and hung the famous nude in the saloon bar of Young and Jackson Hotel, opposite Flinders Street Station in Melbourne. </p> <p>Enjoying a drink with Chloé at the hotel has been a good luck ritual for Australian soldiers since the first world war. </p> <h2>Longing for her lover</h2> <p>According to the 1875 Paris Salon catalogue, Chloé depicts the water nymph in “Mnasyle et Chloé” by 18th century poet martyr <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Ch%C3%A9nier">André Chénier</a>. Toes dipped in a puddling stream, longing and heartache etched on her lovely features, she listens for the voice of her lover. </p> <p>Chloé was created in the winter of 1874-75. France was still rebuilding after its defeat in the <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/the-franco-prussian-war-150-years-on">Franco Prussian War</a> and the Versailles government’s brutal repression of the revolutionary <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWrnGZ_975I">Paris Commune</a>. </p> <p>Newspapers in France and around the world described women who supported the Commune as lethal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A9troleuses">pétroleuses</a>, or petrol carriers. The women were often blamed for destructive acts of arson carried out by Versailles troops during <a href="https://www.historytoday.com/miscellanies/paris-communes-bloody-week">The Bloody Week</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://index-journal.org/issues/identity/evanescence-of-an-artist-s-model-by-katrina-kell">Jules Lefebvre claimed</a> his working class model for Chloé was involved with former Communards. She may have fought alongside other girls and women, and witnessed the widespread bloodshed that stained the streets of Paris red in 1871. </p> <p>This volatile chapter in French history has been absent from <a href="https://index-journal.org/issues/identity/evanescence-of-an-artist-s-model-by-katrina-kell">Chloé mythologies</a>. But Chloé was painted in the wake of war and revolution and of women’s inspiring activism, as women challenged the class and gender barriers that had limited their opportunities.</p> <h2>Chloé and the Australian soldier</h2> <p>The ritual of having a drink with Chloé at Young and Jackson Hotel, opposite <a href="https://heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/get-involved/tours/melbourne-at-war-hidden-histories-1914-18-audio-tour/melbourne-at-war-stop-2a/">Melbourne’s busiest railway station</a>, began after <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89096318">Private A. P. Hill</a>, who was killed in action, put a message in a bottle and tossed it overboard. </p> <p>When the bottle was found in New Zealand in January 1918, his message read, "To the finder of this bottle. Take it to Young and Jackson’s, fill it, and keep it till we return from the war."</p> <p>The <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article148561880">hotel and Chloé</a> proved irresistible for returning soldiers.</p> <p>By the start of the second world war, Chloé and Young and Jackson’s were so enmeshed in military mythology they were included in the 2/21st Australian Infantry Battalion’s <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11305333">official march song</a>: "Good-by Young and Jackson’s, Farewell Chloé too, It’s a long way to Bonegilla, But we’ll get there on stew."</p> <p>Tragically, on February 2 1942, the B and C Companies of the 2/21st Australian Infantry Battalion were massacred by Japanese forces at Laha Airfield on the Indonesian island of Ambon. Those who weren’t killed became prisoners of war. </p> <p>After Japan’s surrender in 1945, the Australian prisoners’ hopes for liberation were frustrated when Japanese officers refused to give them radio access. </p> <p>When they finally got a radio transmitter their SOS message was received on the neighbouring island of Morotai. The men were asked questions to prove they were “dinki-di Aussies”. </p> <p>One of the first questions Melbourne soldier John Van Nooten <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23494802-ambon">was asked was</a> “how would you like to see Chloé again?” </p> <p>When Van Nooten replied “Lead me to her”, the operator asked “where is she?” </p> <p>Van Nooten responded with Young and Jackson’s, finally convincing the operator he was Australian.</p> <h2>A soldier’s consolation</h2> <p>In his 1945 article <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/38559150">Seein’ Chloé</a>, West Australian journalist Peter Graeme claimed, "Chloé is to Melbourne what the Bridge is to Sydney. From the soldier’s point of view of course. All over Australia you meet men who have seen her […] Chloé belongs to the Australian soldier."</p> <p>Graeme recalled meeting a soldier at Young and Jackson’s who drained three drinks in front of Chloé. When he asked the soldier why he drank the beers in quick succession, the soldier said he was honouring a promise he and two mates had made to Chloé. </p> <p>The three of them had pledged to have a drink with her when they returned to Melbourne. His two friends never returned, buried at Scarlet Beach in New Guinea.</p> <p>As Graeme concluded in his poignant tale, Chloé may have been, "the symbol of the feminine side of his life. That part which he puts away from him, except in his inarticulate dreams."</p> <p>The soldier’s grief for the mates he lost, and the comfort drinking with the painting gave him, seems to resonate with the longing in Chloé’s melancholy expression, and the war-torn history behind this celebrated Melbourne icon.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://theconversation.com/chloe-how-a-19th-century-french-nude-ended-up-in-a-melbourne-pub-and-became-an-icon-for-australian-soldiers-180032" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation. </a></em></p>

Art

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Duchess Meghan cradles baby bump wearing $800 heels in chic nude outfit

<p>The Duchess of Sussex has made her first official visit as a royal patron to the National Theatre in London.</p> <p>Meghan, who is six months pregnant, opted for a pair of $800 Aquazzura heels, the same style she wore during her and Prince Harry’s official engagement announcement in November 2017.</p> <p><img style="width: 276.0540970564837px; height: 500px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7823114/mm1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/5676f188d33b40278ecfb694e00e96c6" /></p> <p>The 37-year-old was seen waving to onlookers as she cradled her baby bump and made her way into the theatre, on London’s South Bank.</p> <p>Welcoming her was Rufus Norris, the director of the National Theatre, who met with the Duchess privately in December before the patronage announcement was made earlier this month.</p> <p>The soon to be mother-of-one took part in a workshop with those who were responsible for the <em>Pericles</em> production, which was the first Public Acts production in 2018 at the National Theatre.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BtQ6rk8lvXg/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BtQ6rk8lvXg/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal)</a> on Jan 30, 2019 at 7:49am PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The show was deemed a massive success, as the performance attracted over 200 people from all across London with Emily Lim directing the Shakespeare classic and six professional actors credited for an excellent act.</p> <p>The former actress then took the time to meet with apprentices and technicians from different departments, such as metalwork, painting and carpentry.</p> <p>According to Kensington Palace, the Duchess hopes to bring people together from diverse backgrounds and cultures with the help of art and will meet with the teams of the National Theatre to understand the work that goes behind each production.</p> <p>The National Theatre holds a special place in Meghan’s heart, as the royal was an actress for 10 years before marrying Prince Harry last year. Starring in the hit US show <em>Suits</em>, the Duchess graduated with a double major in theatre and international relations from Northwestern University.</p> <p>She has also previously volunteered at a performing arts after-school program for children who are enrolled in underprivileged schools.</p>

News

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Jennifer Aniston’s strange nude habit

<p>Ellen DeGeneres is known for squeezing little random facts out of celebrities on her talk show whilst playing hilarious games.</p> <p>And there was no exception for Jennifer Aniston, as she revealed a naked habit to the host.</p> <p>The 49-year-old former <em>Friends</em> star was on the show to promote her new movie, <em>Dumplin’</em>, and participated in a game called “Burning Questions”. In this game the host asks a personal question and the other has to reply with the first thing that comes to mind.</p> <p>The surprises started when DeGeneres asked what was the strangest thing they both did to make money, to which Aniston replied that she cut people’s hair in ninth grade for $10 per person. Ellen shared that she casually sold vacuum cleaners.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7822503/1-jen-ellen-embed.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/3e545085e51a4492aff36c5b90ecc8b9" /></p> <p>But the shocking naked revelation came when DeGeneres asked Aniston, “Besides making love, showering or swimming, what is something you enjoy doing naked?” and without hesitation the star responded that she loves watching TV in the nude.</p> <p>“You watch TV naked?” DeGeneres asked in shock.</p> <p>Aniston responded, “Yeah, is that weird? At night you get in bed and you watch TV.”</p> <p>The two women have been close friends for many years and their humour and honesty extends far beyond normal talk-show discussions, although it seems, they never fail to surprise one another!</p> <p>What is something you do that other people find strange but you think is normal? Let us know in the comments below.</p> <p> </p>

Movies

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Naked neighbour refuses to close curtains or cover up

<p>If you live in an urban area, chances are you’ve seen much more of your neighbours than you’d probably like to. Well, one couple has had enough, and are asking the internet for advice after multiple requests for their naked neighbour to close the blinds or get dressed have been ignored.</p> <p>User “Sparklyshoes16” took to the online forum Mumsnet to ask fellow members, “Am I being unreasonable to think she should know better and at least close her curtains when getting dressed?”</p> <p>She explained that her neighbour was in the nude constantly – even during the day – and that other neighbours had also noticed and asked her to stop – but naked Nancy simply refuses.</p> <p><img width="600" height="247" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7264726/neighbour_600x247.jpg" alt="Neighbour"/></p> <p>Perhaps surprisingly, the Mumsnet community mostly sided with the exhibitionist neighbour.</p> <p>“Have you considered not looking?” suggested user BertrandRussell. Another agreed, telling the nosy couple to “stop peeping at her”.</p> <p>Others pointed out that the neighbour wasn’t doing anything illegal – under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, it is not an offence to be naked in public in England and Wales. After all, she wasn’t exactly starkers in the street, right?</p> <p>“If you don’t like it, don’t look,” wrote user Originalfoolgirl. “I doubt the window is so close you can’t look elsewhere. It’s her house, if she wants to be naked in it, that’s her prerogative.”</p> <p>Tell us in the comments below, what’s your take? Have you ever accidentally copped an eyeful of one of your neighbours?</p>

Home & Garden

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The surprising reasons “nude” tourism is becoming so popular

<p><em><strong>Freya Higgins-Desbiolles is Senior Lecturer in Tourism at the University of South Australia.</strong></em></p> <p>In my American youth, there was a rude phrase describing kids acting up: “showing your butt”. It seems some tourists are now taking this literally.</p> <p>Recently, tourists have been stripping down and photographing themselves at the world’s iconic locations to the bewilderment of some and the disgust of others. Social media is abuzz as tourists get snaps of their uncovered backsides at national parks, on top of mountains, and at World Heritage sites.</p> <p>The desire to reveal one’s naked glory is not a new thing, as streakers at sporting events and the devotees of nude beaches and nudist camps demonstrate. But this trend of “naked tourism” reveals something more than just bare bottoms – and it may call for some active interventions.</p> <p><strong>Exposing the reasons for baring it all</strong></p> <p>In 2010, a French-born exotic dancer filmed herself stripping on the sacred monolith Uluru in central Australia. Some labelled this a “publicity grab”.</p> <p>In early 2015, three young Frenchmen were charged with public exposure and pornography, given suspended sentences, fined, deported and banned from visiting Cambodia for four years after stripping down at Angkor Wat.</p> <p>Lest we think this is a French thing, North Americans and Australians have bared their backsides at Machu Picchu in Peru. This led CNN to warn tourists to “watch out for bare butts”.</p> <p>In the selfie era, attention-seeking and shock value are clear individual motivations. But perhaps there is more to it.</p> <p>Social media is certainly encouraging the practice. A good example of this is the Naked At Monuments Facebook page, which describes its purpose as “we get naked around the world”. There is also the My Naked Trip blog. Together, these indicate naked tourism may be an emerging trend rather than an oddity.</p> <p><strong>Insulting the host community</strong></p> <p>Some travellers may forget that where they travel is not their home, and that cultural sensitivities may differ greatly.</p> <p>While some cultures view revealing the body and its parts as an act of appreciation, others have quite different views. When tourists insist on imposing their values against their hosts’ wishes, profound emotions can be sparked. These may included anger, dismay and hurt.</p> <p>In response to the stripping performance on Uluru, Aboriginal performer Jimmy Little communicated the hurt such a disrespectful act can inflict:</p> <p><em>We are a proud race like every race in the world. We have sacred sites and we have deep beliefs that if people cross that line, they’re really almost spitting in your face, or slapping you in the face and saying ‘I can live my life the way I want to’.</em></p> <p>In the Angkor Wat case, local authorities acted with some anger at the insult to the ancient, sacred temple complex. A spokeswoman for the Apsara Authority, the agency that manages Angkor Wat, said:</p> <p><em>The temple is a worship site and their behaviour is inappropriate. They were nude.</em></p> <p><strong>How to (ad)dress this issue</strong></p> <p>The first line of defence is regulations with penalties that are enforced.</p> <p>In the Angkor Wat case, the governing authorities enforced strong penalties on the young men for their actions. But for countries dependent on tourism, it takes considerable will to go down this path. The ongoing tolerance of bikinis on beaches in Muslim countries – albeit sometimes on restricted sites such as gated resorts or islands – attests to this.</p> <p>Tourism between cultures is a moral space as much as it is a commercial one. The question is: in a time of creeping commercialism, individualism and me-oriented cultures, how can we ensure the cross-cultural encounters of tourism are respectful of the host’s cultures and values?</p> <p>Codes of conduct are one tool for consumer education of travellers. The authority governing Angkor Wat responded to the naked tourists by updating visitor protocols in multiple languages.</p> <p>Few know a Global Code of Ethics for Tourism exists. It claims:</p> <p><em>Tourists have the responsibility to acquaint themselves, even before their departure, with the characteristics of the countries they are preparing to visit.</em></p> <p>Tourism is based on hospitality, and this requires respect for hosts. They want visitors to voluntarily display respect.</p> <p>Climbing Uluru is a great example of this. The Anangu traditional owners do not want visitors to climb this sacred place, but still do not ban it outright. One reason is deeply spiritual: the Anangu want visitors to respect their values and choose not to climb.</p> <p>Such an approach has much to teach us about the meaning of travel between cultures. While today’s tourists travel freely to enjoy the world’s treasures, it does not mean such travel should be completely uninhibited.</p> <p>Different cultures hold different values, and the joy of travel should come from engaging with these differences and learning from them. Responsible tourism built on respect ensures a warm welcome.</p> <p><em>Written by Freya Higgins-Desbiolles. First appeared on <a href="http://www.theconversation.com" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Conversation</span></strong></a>.</em><img width="1" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/77102/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation"/></p>

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Nude cruises are a thing

<p>In researching a book on nudism a travel writer has gone on a nude cruise, describing the somewhat awkward experience in a detailed account with all flaps of loose skin included.</p><p>For his book, <a href="http://www.booktopia.com.au/naked-at-lunch-mark-haskell-smith/prod9781863957342.html" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Naked at Lunch Adventures of a Reluctant Nudist</span></strong></a>, Mark Haskell Smith booked a cruise called The Big Nude Boat, which is essential a luxury cruise liner that caters for nudists.</p><p>In his account Mr Haskell Smith explains the only real difference between a normal cruise and a naked one is the lack of clothing, saying, “They were everywhere. On the decks, in the shops, playing ping-pong, guzzling cocktails by the pool and grazing the all-you-can-eat buffets. It wasn’t unusual to get on an elevator and find yourself squeezing in with six or seven totally naked people.”</p><p><img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/10495/naked-cruising_497x280.jpg" alt="Naked Cruising" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></p><p><em>Mr Haskell Smith at work on his cruise</em></p><p><em>Image credit: Twitter / NY Times</em></p><p>Mr Haskell Smith also notes that while it may sound on paper like quite a debaucherous trip, nude cruises are actually predominantly populated by people who enjoy the liberation of having their clothes off and strive to generate a “non-sexual environment”. And thanks to people courteously sitting on towels at all times the naked cruise was thankfully a skid mark-free zone.</p><p>Mr Haskell Smith says, “While I can’t say I’m planning to go on any cruises in the near future, I did enjoy my first seagoing adventure. There was no plague or pirates, no rogue waves or freak Caribbean icebergs, nothing to cause alarm other than a few random erections.”</p>

Cruising

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Nude cruises are a thing

<p>In researching a book on nudism a travel writer has gone on a nude cruise, describing the somewhat awkward experience in a detailed account with all flaps of loose skin included.</p><p>For his book, <a href="http://www.booktopia.com.au/naked-at-lunch-mark-haskell-smith/prod9781863957342.html" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Naked at Lunch Adventures of a Reluctant Nudist</span></strong></a>, Mark Haskell Smith booked a cruise called The Big Nude Boat, which is essential a luxury cruise liner that caters for nudists.</p><p>In his account Mr Haskell Smith explains the only real difference between a normal cruise and a naked one is the lack of clothing, saying, “They were everywhere. On the decks, in the shops, playing ping-pong, guzzling cocktails by the pool and grazing the all-you-can-eat buffets. It wasn’t unusual to get on an elevator and find yourself squeezing in with six or seven totally naked people.”</p><p><img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/10495/naked-cruising_497x280.jpg" alt="Naked Cruising" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></p><p><em>Mr Haskell Smith at work on his cruise</em></p><p><em>Image credit: Twitter / NY Times</em></p><p>Mr Haskell Smith also notes that while it may sound on paper like quite a debaucherous trip, nude cruises are actually predominantly populated by people who enjoy the liberation of having their clothes off and strive to generate a “non-sexual environment”. And thanks to people courteously sitting on towels at all times the naked cruise was thankfully a skid mark-free zone.</p><p>Mr Haskell Smith says, “While I can’t say I’m planning to go on any cruises in the near future, I did enjoy my first seagoing adventure. There was no plague or pirates, no rogue waves or freak Caribbean icebergs, nothing to cause alarm other than a few random erections.”</p><p><strong>Related links:</strong></p><p><a href="/travel/cruising/2015/10/eating-at-cruise-ship-buffets-mindfully/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>The six stages of cruise ship eating</strong></em></span></a></p><p><a href="/travel/cruising/2015/10/how-to-stretch-your-budget-on-a-cruise/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>8 ways to stretch your cruise budget</strong></em></span></a></p><p><a href="/travel/cruising/2015/10/best-cruise-line-announced/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Best Cruise Line for 2015 announced</strong></em></span></a></p>

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Hundreds of nude swimmers celebrate winter solstice with a dip in river

<p>To celebrate the winter solstice, hundreds of nude swimmers took a dip in the cold Tasmanian waters, temperatures and wandering eyes be damned.</p> <p>Seven-hundred-and-sixty-two skinny dippers bared all in the Hobart's River Derwentto for the event took place on the 10th and final day of the Museum of Old and New Art’s Dark Mofo festival. The third time the swim has taken place, participation has more than tripled since its first run when just 230 swimmers disrobed.</p> <p>Disregarding the morning’s frigid temperature of 1°C and a water temperature of 11°C, the swimmers wore only caps baring the phrase, “Crack of Dawn” in celebration of the shortest day of the year.</p> <p>Participator Ben Coxen summed the event up nicely following his dip below Mount Wellington, stating, “It’s a good chance to get naked.”  </p> <p><em>Image Source: Rosie Hastie/MONA</em></p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Related links:</span></strong></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/news/news/2015/06/skydiver-mid-air-rescue/">Skydiver saves his teammate’s life when his parachute failed to open</a></span></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/news/news/2015/06/aussie-cat-found-in-ireland/">Aussie cat found in Ireland – but how did it get there?</a></span></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/news/news/2015/06/helen-mirren-on-ageism/">Helen Mirren says ageism in Hollywood is “f***ing outrageous”</a></span></em></strong></p>

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