The Huntington Beach City Council is considering tightening its existing ban on nudity in public places and has narrowed in on those at the beach and other public areas who show too much of their natal cleft—the line between the buttocks—which could potentially restrict thong-wearing.
The council took up the issue May 16 during a meeting but ultimately tabled the discussion for a future meeting, to clear up any “gray areas,” such as whether bikini thongs or “mooning” on city beaches would be included under the new rules.
“I just want to make sure: So, are thongs legal or not legal?” Mayor Tony Strickland asked city staff during the meeting. “A lot of people laugh, but if someone’s on the beach they need to know whether they’re violating or not.”
City Attorney Michael Gates said such would depend on how much backside exposure there was, and the decision would be left to “enforcement in the field” from city employees such as beach lifeguards.
Councilor Dan Kalmick disagreed with the tweak to the city’s municipal code, which already prohibits most forms of public nudity.
“I honestly don’t want to live in a city where it’s illegal to moon someone, so I’m probably going to abstain from this,” he said.
Councilwoman Rhonda Bolton made the motion to discuss the proposed code amendment at a future meeting.
“I would rather have some time to study this and talk to staff about it,” she said.
The proposed change was agendized by the office of the city attorney, who said the changes would just strengthen existing rules—as the city already banned public nudity in 2007 for those over 9 years old.
“Now the amendments ... are just to tighten up some of the language,” Gates said during the meeting.
One Huntington Beach resident argued during public comments the proposed ordinance was exclusionary.
“How does this ... benefit the citizens of Huntington Beach? ... It effectively bans naturist use of facilities for private events,” said Allen Baylis, an attorney and president of Naturists in the OC, a club which promotes social nudity.
He said his organization previously fought against the city when it first outlawed public nudity.
“When the original public nudity ordinance was proposed at the time my organization and others opposed the adoption,” he said.
He said their challenge failed but did succeed in removing the original ordinance’s ban on exposing one’s natal cleft, which he said would prohibit thong bikinis on the beach or “the simple clowning act” of mooning.
He said the new amendments could also have other unintended consequences.
“It would ban nudity in the locker rooms, showers, and toilet stalls in the city facilities. I don’t think that’s necessary or proper,” Baylis said.
The proposed ordinance will be revisited in a yet-to-be-determined upcoming city council meeting, according to city officials.
