September 16, 1998

A startling statistic

Full male nudity is a longstanding tradition in what is now Pacifica. Since human beings started living in what is now Pacifica, more than 95% of the men living here at any one time have gone naked in public more than 95% of the time. Which proves the danger of using statistics and averages without explanations!

Humans have lived in this area for 5000 years or more. Only since 1769 has anyone other than those now called Ohlone resided here. In the thousands of years before the arrival of Gaspar de Portola and his group, the native Americans didn't bother with what we think of as clothing. They might insulate themselves with mud or animal furs during coldest weather, but for the most part they didn't bother.

The clothing optional beaches along the San Mateo coast are, then, the continuance of a tradition that is at least 5000 years old, and perhaps far longer.

Nevertheless, I have to agree with the city council in its decision a while back to require a continuous display of modesty, or at least a reasonable concern for the sensibilities of tourists and those local folk who view our beaches and parking lots, and therefore view surfers and beachgoers as well.

Interestingly enough, the descendants of the Ohlone, though few in number, are not among those involved in the kind of public display to which the city council and some local businessmen object. There are a number of beaches on the San Mateo County coast where clothing, as the saying goes, is optional. Which means it's not against the law to wear clothing there, but it does seem silly to bother going to those beaches if that's your plan.

I've lived in this area for half my life, but I've never visited Edun Cove, about three miles south of Pedro Point, though I've driven by any number of times. I do remember one memorable drive with my entire family, when a buxom young woman, properly dressed from the waist down, climbed up to the roadside just as we went by. No one said a word, and I thought perhaps no one else had noticed. I kept my mouth shut, rather than call attention. It was 10 or 15 years before I learned I was not the only one who had seen the display. Everyone had assumed they were the only one to notice her.

It is, after all, first of all a matter of custom. The Ohlone were properly clothed in accordance with their own way of life. Some Pacifica restaurants refuse to serve customers who arrive without shoes or shirts. While I can understand the part about shirts, what's the difference if the family at the table next to you at Nick's or Rockin' Rob's is wearing shoes or not? The Ohlone, though, must have been a pretty tough bunch to gather abalone and mussels on the beach with no insulation from the wind and fog. It must have been pretty uncomfortable at five in the morning. I've been out there a few times, and it can be damned uncomfortable even with three or four layers of clothing. And in the winter it gets worse.

Paul Azevedo has been observing Pacifica's beachgoers for well over three decades. You can reach him via e-mail at reactor@wenet.net.