Hoopy Froods: Know Where Your Towel Is

It's perfectly legal to be nude on the streets of San Francisco, provided one isn't hassling passersby or behaving lewdly. But the city does want its naturists to make one small, but important change.

While nudists roam free in tolerant San Francisco, one city lawmaker wants to require them to wear clothing in restaurants and to put a towel on public benches before sitting. Supervisor Scott Wiener said he will introduce public nudity legislation requiring nudists to adhere to “basic concepts of public health” at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. The legislation will require nudes in public to place an item such as a towel underneath them when they sit down, and to don clothing before they enter a restaurant. The supervisor said the Castro district, one of the neighborhoods he was elected to represent, has seen an uptick in public nudity.