

It seems like it's been ages since we've heard a peep from our local body freedom activists, overshadowed as they've been by protests over bigger issues lately. So it's with great pleasure that I bring you the news that ringleader Gypsy Taub and the whole crew will be hitting the Castro this Saturday for a fully permitted "nude love parade" in celebration of Valentine's Day.

The plan is to march from Jane Warner Plaza in the Castro to City Hall, and then back to the Castro, starting at noon on Saturday, February 13.

Gypsy's email reads,

Please join us the day before Valentine’s to celebrate love in its purest, most natural form! Let’s remind the City of San Francisco that love knows no bounds and obeys no rules. Let’s remind everyone that we are only here today because our parents got naked and made love, that we were all born naked and that we are always naked underneath our clothes. The more we hide from our true selves the more separated we become from ourselves and from each other. True love knows no judgement, no hate, no separation! True self love means accepting yourself fully just the way you are, true self love means being completely free from shame in all its forms including body shame. Drop the pretense! Drop your pants (or skirts)! Take it off and join our parade! Get fully naked or come as bare as you dare!

Taub says their permit for the event was signed off on by Mission Station permit officer Alex Medina, and she said was being approved by Captain Daniel Perea as well. "Let’s hope that they are not playing mind games with us again," she says, though it's not clear what that's referring to. But, she adds, "We plan on marching regardless of whether the permit is granted or not."

The nudists won a small victory in federal court last year, getting a settlement from the city to cover legal expenses over their ongoing lawsuit  in which they claim the city has selectively enforced the 2012 nudity ban and unfairly targeted them for citations at protests that should be exempt under the law. Their case is still headed to appeal at the Ninth Circuit.



All previous coverage of the nudity ban on SFist.

