Baring it all for a cause
Matthew Schroyer
Issue date: 10/12/07 Section: 50th Anniversary Special Edition
In most cases, though, Hedley suspects the era of the sexual revolution was just one of several ingredients.
"On the one hand, it's kind of an expression of those ideas, and then on the other hand there's always the thrill of doing something that's really going to shock the older generation," Hedley said. "So there's the shock value to it, too."
Streaking also had undertones of political activism. One anonymous streaker was interviewed by the Alestle and said his actions were partly a response to the administration of the time.
"Streaking symbolized the fact that Nixon should lay bare the facts about Watergate," he said.
When streaking was first introduced into the Merriam Webster's Dictionary in 1973 (definition: running nude through a public place), it was almost exclusively performed on college campuses. Simultaneously, the sexual revolution was also demonstrated on college campuses. Hedley insists it was no coincidence.
"I think it is indicative of the fact that the broad social sexual revolution movement of the 1960s was centered on the college campuses," Hedley said. "I think that it was more about where the movement found its home than it was about the campus itself. You could definitely say that the youth factor is part of the college environment (though)."
The origins of streaking are disputed, and there is no firm claim as to the first individual to run naked through a public space. The Alestle reported the fad predated the "Streaking Cougars" by at least two months and originated in Florida, although some contend that it came from California.
Although many schools took to the eau de naturale test, just a few set the curve. The University of Georgia set a record for the largest number of simultaneous streakers, 1,543, according to a Time magazine article dated March 18, 1974.
At SIUE, students were becoming agitated as the reports of streaking on other campuses came in one after another. And yet, no SIUE streakers.
"On the one hand, it's kind of an expression of those ideas, and then on the other hand there's always the thrill of doing something that's really going to shock the older generation," Hedley said. "So there's the shock value to it, too."
Streaking also had undertones of political activism. One anonymous streaker was interviewed by the Alestle and said his actions were partly a response to the administration of the time.
"Streaking symbolized the fact that Nixon should lay bare the facts about Watergate," he said.
When streaking was first introduced into the Merriam Webster's Dictionary in 1973 (definition: running nude through a public place), it was almost exclusively performed on college campuses. Simultaneously, the sexual revolution was also demonstrated on college campuses. Hedley insists it was no coincidence.
"I think it is indicative of the fact that the broad social sexual revolution movement of the 1960s was centered on the college campuses," Hedley said. "I think that it was more about where the movement found its home than it was about the campus itself. You could definitely say that the youth factor is part of the college environment (though)."
The origins of streaking are disputed, and there is no firm claim as to the first individual to run naked through a public space. The Alestle reported the fad predated the "Streaking Cougars" by at least two months and originated in Florida, although some contend that it came from California.
Although many schools took to the eau de naturale test, just a few set the curve. The University of Georgia set a record for the largest number of simultaneous streakers, 1,543, according to a Time magazine article dated March 18, 1974.
At SIUE, students were becoming agitated as the reports of streaking on other campuses came in one after another. And yet, no SIUE streakers.
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Andrea Loughlin
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A friend of mine directed me here and I wanted to comment and thank you for all your hard work.
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