The Toronto iteration of World Naked Bike Ride 2018 took place on Saturday June 10th. I waited for the bicyclists to pass on Yonge Street south of Dundas and once they had whizzed past (giving me only a handful of shots), I thought to myself: why not run ahead and see if I can get a second pass. I cut through the Eaton Centre to Holy Trinity Church, and down James Street to Queen in time to position myself on the corner at Bay. I could see the big Canadian/Cannabis flag rounding the corner from Yonge Street. The whole group assembled at Bay and waited for the light to change. I got my second pass and then the bike riders turned into the Nathan Phillips Square for a break.
Last year, I didn’t shoot any usable photos because I got impatient waiting for the bike riders to pass, assumed I must have missed them, and started walking home. Eventually they passed, but by then I was on the wrong side of the street, shooting into the sun, and wasn’t prepared. This year, by comparison, I got great shots of them passing, but even better shots when they dismounted in Nathan Phillips Square. It gave me a chance to chat and get some good close-ups.
Why do they do it? What is the message? Here’s the statement from the masthead of their classically retro-tacky website:
We face automobile traffic with our naked bodies as the best way of defending our dignity and exposing the unique dangers faced by cyclists and pedestrians as well as the negative consequences we all face due to dependence on oil, and other forms of non-renewable engergy[sic].
Riding naked underscores the vulnerability of cyclists. This vulnerability is twofold. First, and most immediately, cyclists are vulnerable to automobiles. I know this firsthand as I’ve been hit three times. My first two collisions were relatively minor, but the third involved a concussion and visit to the hospital. Second is the long-term vulnerability which fossil fuel-induced climate change poses to all of us (and all terrestrial life, for that matter).
Quite apart from cycling advocacy and environmental concerns, many of the riders seem to conflate the naked ride and Pride Month. Call it naked [P]ride. Even the official website, with its rainbow colour scheme, seems to be in tune with this.
More generally, I’m inclined to view the ride as a celebration of basic human freedoms. I deliberately took shots with hints of Toronto City Hall in the background. It strikes me as important to note that this is a publicly sanctioned event which we celebrate in a free society. In the age of Trump, the startling rise in Ontario of yet another populist leader, nationalism, political fear-mongering, scapegoating, press-bashing, and power grabs by craven oligarchs, it’s important periodically to remind ourselves what it means to live in a free society. It’s likewise important periodically to test the limits of that freedom to make sure those limits haven’t contracted around us while we were asleep.
In connection with the assertion of basic freedoms, I’ve been developing the idea that the presence of photographers freely roaming the streets can be understood as the index of a society’s health. Are the photographers free to shoot as they please (within reasonable limits) or are they forced to document their world by stealth, fearful that at any minute authorities will curtail their efforts or prohibit them outright? As long as people are free to take off their clothes, there need to be photographers close at hand to capture and celebrate that freedom.
I have one final answer to the question why. Celebration of the body. Humans come in every shape and size. Advertising media tend to favour a narrow range of body-types, leaving the vast majority of us who don’t conform to those favoured types feeling diminished. Our rational brains can affirm over and over again that our bodies are wonderful as they are—miraculous, in fact—but we’ve lived our lives internalizing a different message, one that encourages feelings of inadequacy and self-disgust. Our rational brains tell us that this is all just a manipulation to make us spend money. But we’re not very good at listening to our rational brains. An event like this reminds us that it’s okay to enjoy our bodies as they are.
