{"id":11141,"date":"2019-10-09T06:00:48","date_gmt":"2019-10-09T06:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=11141"},"modified":"2019-10-08T15:01:21","modified_gmt":"2019-10-08T15:01:21","slug":"germanys-free-body-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/germanys-free-body-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany’s ‘Free Body Culture’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag! Today the topic is die Nacktheit<\/strong> (nudity) in German culture, which is otherwise known as die Freik\u00f6rperkultur<\/strong> or FKK<\/strong> – \u2018free body culture\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Germany has a fairly relaxed attitude towards nudity and therefore you will see people go nude on beaches and in parks and saunas. There are saunas, for instance, where as a rule people must<\/em> be nackt<\/strong> (naked) to enter.<\/p>\n

Die Freik\u00f6rperkultur<\/strong> in Germany was originally grounded in the belief that the naked body is not shameful (sch\u00e4ndlich<\/strong>), because being naked (nackt<\/strong>) in places like the sauna (die Sauna<\/strong>), the shower (die Dusche<\/strong>), or the beach (der Strand<\/strong>) is necessary and\/or normal – even if those are public places. It has nothing to do with die Sexualit\u00e4t\u00a0<\/strong>(sexuality).<\/p>\n

When people think of nudity in Germany they will most likely think of nudist beaches, first and foremost. \u2018Nudist beach\u2019<\/strong> in German translates to \u2018der FKK-Strand\u2019<\/strong>, by the way. You may also see signs on nudist beaches that say \u2018textilfrei\u2019<\/strong> – \u2018textile free\u2019 – in other words: no clothes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

‘Beach sauna’ sign. Notice the bottom left: ‘FKK-Strand’. Image via Pixabay.<\/p><\/div>\n

But nudist culture in Germany extends a little further than that. It is not actually illegal to be naked in public in Germany- as long as no one files a complaint (however, some places do have Regeln<\/strong> (rules) that nudity is banned there). For example: You can sunbathe naked in your front garden, in full sight of your neighbours and the main road, and as long as no one complains, this is legal and not considered indecent exposure (a real life example: last year in Bavaria I walked past a house where a man was mowing his front lawn naked).<\/p>\n

However, just because it is not illegal, that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s the norm, either! During the Hitzewelle<\/strong> (heatwave) of June 2019, a tweet by Brandenburg Police went viral. It showed a photo of a man riding his moped naked. The tweet read:<\/p>\n

\u201cWeil wir #sprachlos<\/a> sind : Wie w\u00fcrden Sie dieses Bild betiteln?
\nAls kleine Inspirationshilfe – ein #Zitat<\/a> des Herren: \u201eEt is halt warm, wa?\u201c
\nUnd jetzt Sie!#Hitze<\/a> #safetyfirst<\/a> #LebenAmLimit<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

TRANSLATION:<\/strong>
\n“Because we are #speechless: How would you caption this photo?
\nAs a little inspiration \u2013 here is a quote from the gentleman: \u201cIt\u2019s warm today, huh?\u201d
\nAnd now, over to you! #heat #safetyfirst #lifeontheedge”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to The Local<\/strong>, who reported this story,<\/a> most of the replies to the tweet were asking if the man had broken any laws. But the Polizei<\/strong> (police) clarified that no, he had not.<\/p>\n

\n

Weil wir #sprachlos<\/a> sind ?: Wie w\u00fcrden Sie dieses Bild betiteln?<\/p>\n

Als kleine Inspirationshilfe – ein #Zitat<\/a> des Herren: \u201eEt is halt warm, wa?\u201c<\/p>\n

Und jetzt Sie!#Hitze<\/a> #safetyfirst<\/a> #LebenAmLimit<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/BiM27ydDEy<\/a><\/p>\n

— Polizei Brandenburg (@PolizeiBB) June 26, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n