FOOL'S RULES

I first picked this image because I thought it was cute.

If you read the rules, they all seem pretty standard: no life guard, parents watch your kids, take a shower before entering, etc, etc. Then you get to the line: "Only Fool's Don't Obey Rules." Does anyone else find this hilarious? Maybe they had to grow up in the 80s with the A-Team and Mr. T, "I pity the fool!"

At first glance, I loved the fact that the swimming rules mandated nude swimming, rather than enforcing clothed swimming only. It's a nice turn on all the signs at swimming locations enforcing a strict dress code and forbidding any nudity.

I wish "clothing optional" defaulted to nudity. That is, when people hike to a sandy beach or a mountain hot spring, they just assume they'll strip down to the buff and that anyone else who hikes to that location will do the same. Instead, in our anti-body culture, we assume that anyone who actually gets naked ANYWHERE besides their own private showers at home is completely abnormal and somehow perverted and morally questionable.

It seems odd to me our insistence on swimsuits. I mean, they are not that comfortable and are always cold and clamy coming out of the water. Why would anyone who loves being in nature and all that it stands for--sun and water and being comfortable in our skin, naked as a jay-bird, as any other animal--not want to be nude? Furthermore, I can't understand why we, as American culture, are so embarrassed, offended, and controlling of our bodies.

That's why, I realized, I can't support the rules on this sign, either. Forcing people to be naked is equally as offensive to me as forcing them to stay clothed. Why to we have to make the body a battleground, people?

Maybe I'll start a new campaign: Keep Clothing Optional.