Naked Teens Pushing the Limits of Small Vermont Town

Vermont has no state laws against public nudity, so communities must write their own if they want to prevent it. According to the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, at least eight cities and towns in the state have created anti-nudity ordinances. Although there are a few clothing-optional pools and an annual "Breast Fest" topless parade, for the most part towns don’t have many problems dealing with sporadic displays of skin.

But this summer, the small town of Brattleboro has had groups of teenagers testing the limits of some citizens. A group of teenagers has been disrobing in public near restaurants, bookstores, and galleries, and their publicity of the issue has ignited a debate about whether or not the town of 12,000 residents should consider banning a practice that has been tolerated for decades.

The stripping began several months ago when a young woman decided to sit on a park bench stark naked. Shortly afterward, another woman started taking her shirt off downtown. Police Chief John Martin said, "Brattleboro tends to be a laid-back town and pretty accepting of the unusual, but this is really pushing limits." In May, a music festival promoting nudity and rebelliousness was set up in a downtown parking lot, featuring nude hula hoopers. "It’s clearly to outrage people, it’s clearly rebelliousness," said Martin.

Officials in Brattleboro, about 80 miles west of Boston, are looking into how other communities have responded to flagrant displays of public nudity, but opinions are mixed. Last month several young people took off their clothes in a parking lot surrounded by the backs of restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, and galleries. "It’s just an act of freedom," said Adhi Palar, 19 years old. "We’re just doing so because we can." Palar told reporters that he and the other naked teens "do not consider nakedness to be innately sexual or rude, and it shouldn’t be confined to that."

The owner of one bookstore said that although a parking lot may not be the most ideal place to display nudity, as long as people are polite and don’t block his entrance, he won’t ask them to leave. But others aren’t as calm about the situation. Ozzie Kocaoglu, 43, owns the Sundried Tomato restaurant at the end of the parking lot, which has long been a hangout for teenagers. "It’s a bad image for Brattleboro," said Kocaoglu. But Catherine Kauffman, 57, calls Brattleboro a "don’t-take-away-too-many-of-my-rights kind of town." Kauffman says, "To most people, it’s not a big deal."

Several Vermont towns have shot down anti-nudity proposals, and communities have been divided on the issue. In 2002, the Wilmington select board passed an anti-nudity ordinance in response to complaints about nudity and sexual activity at a local swimming hole. But skinny dipping supporters rejected the ban in a public vote. "There were some ugly moments in the debate with some name calling and lots of good healthy debate about reasonable rights and responsibility under those rights," said Wilmington Town Clerk Susie Haughwout. She added that officials weren't sure how they would have enforced a ban and to what extent, so they let the matter drop.

While Brattleboro officials weigh their options, residents continue to weigh in on the issue. But the controversy is likely to die down soon, as leaves turn brown and the heat of summer turns to the crisp coolness of fall. "As soon as winter comes, there won’t be a story anymore," said Town Clerk Annette Cappy.