Indecent exposure
Indecent exposure is the display of parts of the human body without clothing in a manner that is contrary to local custom and law. In most places (other than areas where nudity is acceptable, such as nude beaches) exposure of an adult's genitalia is the most blatant example of this.
What counts as "indecent exposure" varies according to place and time. Exposure of the breasts of an adult woman is considered indecent in some places, and not so in others. Wearing no clothing over the chest or breasts is sometimes referred to as being "topless" or "topfree". In the Victorian era exposure of a woman's legs was considered indecent in much of the west. As late as the 1930s many places in the United States, including public beaches, prohibited men as well as women from bathing topfree. Exposure of the navel of a grown woman was also considered indecent. In some traditional societies, standards of much greater bodily modesty are enforced than in the west; from the viewpoint of westerners, a particularly extreme example is the Burka that was imposed by the Islamic Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
Indecent exposure is a criminal offence in many jurisdictions, and is sometimes regarded as a sex crime. In some jurisdictions, indecent exposure, even without erection, differs from mere public nudity, in that the intent of the former is often to shock or harass. In most jurisdictions there is a very thin line (if any) between these two behaviors.
Those who deliberately expose themselves are colloquially known as "flashers." An urge to behave like this is a paraphilia, called exhibitionism. However, for others, this is a form of social rebellion (especially amongst high school and college students) and a way to object to perceived social and/or sexual oppression of their lives and/or bodies. In the United States, laws governing the definition of and punishment for indecent exposure vary from state to state. And the ticket from such an arrest is commonly framed and hung in college dorm rooms by both college men and women as a testament that they are rebels and sexually wild.
Many people believe that those who expose themselves are harmless, but that is not necessarily the case. About 20% of exhibitionists derive a sadistic pleasure out of shocking people, and those are the ones who are at risk of committing more serious crimes and being a danger to others. Randy Woodfield, the I-5 Killer, got his start exposing himself to others.
Mooning is usually considered a mild form of indecent exposure.
See also