AFP: San Francisco tests its limits on public nudism
SAN FRANCISCO — "No shoes, no shirt, no service" is a sign you see in a lot of US stores. In San Francisco, restaurateurs might soon have to add "no pants" to the list, as a row flares over nudism in the vibrant heart of the city's gay community.
On a sunny September day, Woody Miller strolls through the district, known as Castro. He's tall and fit, with a long grey beard and heavy silver nose ring -- and wearing nothing more than sneakers, a baseball cap and a watch.
"I go naked on a nice day because I like the feel of the sun and the air on my skin," says Miller, 55, who is one of the city's growing number of public nudists, popularly known as Naked Guys.
"There's nothing obscene about the human body," he adds. "The belief that there is is something that's taught. It's just another form of prejudice."
Home to the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s, the Castro -- where sex shops coexist with trendy cafes and bars -- is still one of the most free-thinking neighborhoods in this famously liberal city.
But even the Castro has its limits, says Scott Wiener, a 14-year resident of the neighborhood and its newly elected Democratic member of the San Francisco city council.
He is proposing legislation that would require nudists in San Francisco to cover public benches or seats before sitting down on them, and to cover themselves altogether before entering a restaurant.
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