afterthoughts BY KAT HRY N D RURY WAGNER

executive editor

Naked Ambition
A documentary on hippies reminds me why Hawai‘i could use a few nude beaches.

CAUGHT A RECENT SCREENING of the fantastic, locally made But not to all of us, and the film raised another question in my
documentary Taylor Camp, about the 1970s counter- mind: How is it that Hawai‘i has no legal clothing-optional beach-
culture community on Kaua‘i’s North Shore. The film was es? Sure, there are well-known spots popular for nude swimming
warmly received by the crowd at the Hawai‘i Theatre, and and sunbathing, but to do so, one risks being arrested.
during a Q&A with the producer, John Wehrheim, an audi- Why not have a few spots that are designated as clothing-op-
ence member asked about the plans for distribution. tional? Southern California has part of San Onofre State Beach
Thinking of the movie’s appeal to baby boomers—a Viet- devoted to the option, while at Black’s Beach, near San Diego,
nam-era subject matter, stunning black-and-white archival people can surf in the buff, if they wish to. Florida’s Miami-Dade
photos, and a stirring score com- County has Haulover Beach
prised of folk and rock songs—I Park. Even mild-mannered
whispered to my husband, “PBS!” Canada has Wreck Beach—five
The film would make a perfect miles of government-approved,
episode for the show American clothing-optional shore—in Van-
Experience, for example. But as couver. If any of the millions of
soon as the words were out, I re- visitors who go to these beaches
alized how foolish I was. Taylor each year were scarred by their
Camp is chockful of nudity. experience, I couldn’t find any
Taylor Camp was a clothing- documentation.
optional place, so many photos “Well, I don’t want to be
featured in the documentary naked!” some might protest.

photo: “teri and emma, limahuli, 1977.” photo by john wehrheim. image appears courtesy of the artist.
depict people enjoying beaches Fine.
and waterfalls, even a game of “And I don’t want to look at
volleyball, au naturel. The pic- naked people!”
tures were taken by Wehrheim, No problem.
a professional photographer who Here’s how it could work:
spent the 1970s working on signage. If you walk along New
Kaua‘i. He had decided Taylor York’s Fire Island, for example,
Camp was a worthy subject, you’ll come to signs alerting
making images of its architec- you that you are about to enter
ture, lifestyle and people. a clothing-optional area. If you
So here are these artfully walk some more, you’ll find a
composed photos of beautiful, sign that tells you clothing is now
healthy bodies, yet in our current again mandatory. It’s not a big
cultural climate, they are taboo. When I spoke with Wehrheim deal—people just patronize the zone they are comfortable in.
later, he noted that a few of the film festivals the movie had been We live in a state that’s so relaxed about dress code, the offi-
invited to submit to had passed on it after screening it. They were cial shoe is a rubber slipper, board shorts are worn in restaurants
okay with the female nudity, he said, but were concerned about and neckties are viewed with suspicion. Isn’t it odd that you can’t
the images of naked males and nude children. Wehrheim was swim in the altogether without a park ranger ticketing you?
puzzled, as “the film doesn’t have a prurient interest and isn’t the I hope you’ll see Taylor Camp (check the website, taylorcamp-
least bit pornographic.” kauai.com, for updates on screenings). If the joy depicted has you
Why is an image of a naked human so powerfully unsettling? hankering for a skinny dip in the ocean, remember, times have
The best answer I could find came from a radical publica- changed and we’ve come a long way since the hippie era.
tion … USA Today. It wrote, “Probably because many people seem We have better sunscreen.
unable to distinguish nudity from licentiousness.”
True. For some Americans, nudity, regardless of context, sug- For more of Wagner’s writing, see her “Guilty Pleasures” blog at
gests perversion, exploitation, destruction and godlessness. honolulumagazine.com.

88 HONOLULUMAGAZINE.COM July 2010