The History of Nudity - Iconic Nude Moments In Pop Culture
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1B.C.
![B.C. pEve 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./p](https://cdn.statically.io/img/hips.hearstapps.com/hbz.h-cdn.co/assets/16/16/hbz-history-of-nudity-bc-gettyimages-163396734_1.jpg)
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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211th Century
![11th Century p Lady Godiva rides a horse naked through the streets of Coventry to protest her husband's tax policies. /p](https://cdn.statically.io/img/hips.hearstapps.com/hbz.h-cdn.co/assets/16/16/hbz-history-of-nudity-11-century-gettyimages-51240163_1.jpg)
Lady Godiva rides a horse naked through the streets of Coventry to protest her husband's tax policies.
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31797–1800
Francisco Goya paints La maja desnuda, a fully nude woman with pubic hair. Spanish society is enraged.
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41920s
Photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston specializes in unretouched, full frontal images of showgirls from the Ziegfield Follies.
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51933
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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61953
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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71968
John Lennon and Yoko Ono release Unfinished Music #1: Two Virgins and appear au naturel on the album cover.
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81974
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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91978
A 12-year-old Brooke Shields appears nude for her role as a preteen prostitute in Pretty Baby.
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101978
A 12-year-old Brooke Shields appeared nude for her role as a preteen prostitute in Pretty Baby.
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111980
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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121991
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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131991
Nirvana Nevermind album cover features naked baby in water.
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141992
Sharon Stone flashes her lady parts in Basic Instinct.
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151995
Showgirls becomes the first and only NC-17 film to be given a wide release.
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161997
Mark Wahlberg dons a 13-inch prosthetic penis in Boogie Nights.
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172002
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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182003
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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192004
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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202007
Approximately 18,000 naked people pose for photographer Spencer Tunick in Mexico City, setting a new record.
![Headshot of Hannah Morrill Headshot of Hannah Morrill](https://cdn.statically.io/img/hips.hearstapps.com/rover/profile_photos/7c5a8de0-eff8-4d3b-8c43-0f9e885df433_1612209267.jpeg)
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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