World Naked Bike Ride
The World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) is an international bicycle protest with mostly mostly naked participants. Since 2001 it has been taking place every year in June ( World Naked Bike Ride Month , also Pride Month ) in numerous cities around the world (in the southern hemisphere due to the shifted seasons in February and March), often in connection with " Critical Mass " -Bike tours on the last Friday of the month. The biggest "ride" takes place in London ; the founding city is Saragossa in Spain .
While at the beginning it was mainly about the issue of more bike-friendly cities, the goals have expanded significantly over the years; meanwhile it is about generally more humane urban planning and a renouncement of fossil fuels like coal, oil, etc. The nudity, which initially served mainly to attract attention, has meanwhile become a symbol for freedom and for a more relaxed approach to nudity.
aims
The goals of the World Naked Bike Rides are described on the international homepage as follows:
"We face automobile traffic with our naked bodies as the best way of defending our dignity and exposing the unique dangers faced by cyclists and pedestrians as well as the negative consequences we all face due to dependence on oil, and other forms of non-renewable energy . "
“We confront car traffic with our naked bodies as the best way to defend our dignity and to reveal the special dangers to which cyclists and pedestrians are exposed. We also point out the negative consequences we are all subject to as a result of our dependence on oil and other non-renewable energies. "
In addition to addressing the vulnerability to motorized traffic and promoting renewable, sustainable energy, the individuality and diversity of human bodies should also be celebrated and a positive attitude towards the naked body promoted. This leads to parallels with the nudist movement and initiatives that advocate the right to nudity such as Clothes Free International :
"WNBR's global vision of promoting renewable, sustainable energy and asserting our body-positive beliefs with creative and empowering international bike rides!"
"WNBR's global vision of promoting renewable, sustainable energy and enforcing body-positive beliefs with creative and uplifting international bike rides."
The political accent of the event is complemented by the fun character: some participants decorate their bicycles with flowers, balloons, colorful flags, pennants, windmills, etc. Some participants also put on flower wreaths, use funny headgear or paint their bodies with flower motifs or political messages. The use of mobile music systems or musical instruments, whistles, horns, rattles etc. can also be found in some cases, and an official slogan is “ride loud and be proud”.
Value is placed on freedom and optionality: cycling is not compulsory, and other non-motorized participants such as inline skaters, roller skaters, skateboarders, pedestrians or participants on scooters are also welcome. In addition, the participants are encouraged to ride naked, but this is also optional, some participants also participate in underwear. The motto is "bare as you dare" ("as naked as you dare").
The message is to be able to move freely and unrestrictedly in clean air without traffic jams, without restricting the rights of others, and thus contribute to a positive, urban lifestyle. The cities should change from a car-centered urban planning to a people-centered design, whereby the bicycle should be advertised and promoted as an attractive urban means of transport: "Stop indecent exposure to vehicle emissions!" In response to criticism that the campaigns would hinder traffic and thus contribute to traffic jams themselves, the participants respond that they too are part of traffic and that the needs of non-motorized traffic are given far too little attention.
Many naked bike rides are accompanied by festivals where bands and DJs perform, art installations are exhibited, political discussions take place and where food and drinks are offered or prepared by yourself.
The events are usually organized via the Internet, e.g. B. via websites, blogs, social media, discussion groups, online journals or via mobile messengers. In some cases, advertisements are also placed in local media or notices are posted on notice boards.
International situation
While the World Naked Bike Ride in 2004 took place in 28 cities in ten countries on four continents, by 2010 the activities had grown to 74 cities in 17 countries.
In some places, efforts to also carry out naked bike rides collide with local laws regulating nudity in public spaces. In Germany, for example, public nudity (without sexual reference) is not prohibited under criminal law, but is occasionally fined as an administrative offense for harassment of the general public under Section 118 of the OWiG . In practice, a dismissal is usually pronounced, but prosecution as an administrative offense rarely occurs.
In 2005, for example, a “nude bike campaign” was prohibited by the Karlsruhe Administrative Court . The reason given by the court was that the plans to “show yourself naked on public streets” contradict the “generally recognized rules of the unwritten social order” (judgment of June 7, 2005; AZ: 6 K 1058/05).
In Leipzig, the public order office had banned a World Naked Bike Ride campaign planned for June 8, 2014 . The administrative court rejected an urgent application against the ban.
A naked bike ride has been taking place in Graz for several years as part of the Critical Mass bike ride, i.e. on the last Friday in June. It is intended to draw attention to the vulnerability of cyclists. The motto here is: "as bare as you dare".
Cologne Naked Bike Ride
On July 12, 2019, the first Cologne Naked Bike Ride with 60 participants took place in Cologne . Unlike in other countries, German authorities prohibit cycling completely naked.
See also
- Flash mob
- Nudism (FKK)
- Nudity
- Bicycle traffic
Web links
- World Naked Bike Ride website
- Naked Cyclists Take to the Streets: Photo gallery at Spiegel Online
- Naked cyclists in England city runabouts on Spiegel Online on June 11, 2012
Individual evidence
- ^ Critical Mass in Austria. Accessed June 8, 2019 (German).
- ↑ a b c d worldnakedbikeride.org
- ↑ Clothes Free International (accessed on: March 10, 2019)
- ↑ Naked Bikers Take On Global Car Culture - Der Spiegel
- ↑ precise introduction to what it is about
- ↑ Der Westen.de: Sunderner skates naked in the bird sanctuary. In: derwesten.de. January 30, 2009, accessed January 4, 2015 .
- ↑ a b nudism: when and where you can be naked - German lawyer information
- ↑ Canceled event: Ordnungsamt prohibits nude cycling in Leipzig - Der Spiegel
- ↑ http://www.criticalmass.at June 24. - Critical Mass GRAZ goes Naked !! June 22, 2016, accessed June 24, 2016.
- ↑ "Naked Bike Ride" Cologne residents cycle over the rings in underpants In: Kölnische Rundschau , July 12, 2019.