Timeline of social nudity

This timeline of social nudity shows the varying degrees of acceptance given to the naked human body by diverse cultures throughout history.

The events listed here demonstrate how various societies have shifted between strict and lax clothing standards, how nudity has played a part in social movements and protest, and how the nude human body is accepted in the public sphere.

Young Spartans Exercising , depicted by Edgar Degas, ( c. 1860 )
The Adamites , a Christian sect that practiced holy nudity, date back to the 2nd century AD
Finnish Sauna (1802)
The Doukhobors , a sect of Russian origin, marching nude in a protest in Langham, Saskatchewan , Canada (1903)
Organised nudism . Postcard of the Zoro Garden Nudist Colony , San Diego, California. (1935)
Nambassa hippie festival, New Zealand (1978)
NakedBerlin Group of nude men among hundreds of tourists at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate (photographed by Team Henning von Berg ) (1999)
NakedSydney photographer Henning von Berg and his group of nude women in front of the Sydney Opera House (2005)
World Naked Bike Ride participants in Toronto (2013)