The History of Nudity - Iconic Nude Moments In Pop Culture

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B.C.

Eve is tempted to take a bite of fruit from the tree of knowledge, offers to Adam. The naked couple recognize their own nudity and make clothes of fig leaves and loincloth, Gen. 3:7.[18]. After that, "naked" is referenced in the King James version of the bible 104 times. Oh, and humanity falls from grace.

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11th Century

Lady Godiva rides a horse naked through the streets of Coventry to protest her husband's tax policies.

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1797–1800

Francisco Goya paints La maja desnuda, a fully nude woman with pubic hair. Spanish society is enraged.

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1920s

Photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston specializes in unretouched, full frontal images of showgirls from the Ziegfield Follies.

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1933

Actress Hedy Lamarr fakes an organsm in Ecstasy, appears fully nude on screen, and (spoiler alert) has pubic hair and nipples.

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1953

Marilyn Monroe appears naked in the centerfold of the first issue of Playboy. Men rush to the newsstands for the articles.

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1968

John Lennon and Yoko Ono release Unfinished Music #1: Two Virgins and appear au naturel on the album cover.

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1974

As English actor David Niven introduces Elizabeth Taylor at the 46th Academy Awards, photographer and art gallerist Robert Opel streaks across the stage, flashing the audience a peace sign, among other things.

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1978

A 12-year-old Brooke Shields appears nude for her role as a preteen prostitute in Pretty Baby.

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1978

A 12-year-old Brooke Shields appeared nude for her role as a preteen prostitute in Pretty Baby.

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1980

To the delight (or was it shock and awe) of women everywhere, Richard Gere becomes the first man to do full-frontal in American Gigolo.

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1991

Demi Moore poses pregnant and nude on the cover of Vanity Fair, follows it up with two more naked (albeit body painted) covers.

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1991

Nirvana Nevermind album cover features naked baby in water.

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1992

Sharon Stone flashes her lady parts in Basic Instinct.

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1995

Showgirls becomes the first and only NC-17 film to be given a wide release.

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1997

Mark Wahlberg dons a 13-inch prosthetic penis in Boogie Nights.

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2002

An ad for YSL's M7 fragrance features martial arts champion-turned-male model Samuel de Cubber totally naked; GQ declines to run, only appears in European magazines.

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2003

Abercrombie & Fitch ceases publication of their softcore magazine A+F Quarterly with a splashy final issue that features images of group sex and nude young adults frolicking in a river.

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2004

Janet Jackson's nipple, encircled by a silver nipple shield, slips out for a hot second during Superbowl Super Bowl XXXVIII. Nipplegate ensues.

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2007

Approximately 18,000 naked people pose for photographer Spencer Tunick in Mexico City, setting a new record.

Hannah Morrill is a writer and editor based in Portland, Maine. She’s an avid reader, an indifferent face-washer and a sunscreen/retinol evangelist.

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