A naked man went on top of a large equestrian statue in London’s Whitehall government district on November 23, 2012, striking different poses before being told by police to get down the statute nearly three hours later.
Whitehall in London is a road in the City of Westminster, which forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. Whiehall is the main thoroughfare going south from Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Square.
Whitehall is recognized as the center of Her Majesty’s Government. The street is lined with government departments and ministries. The “Whitehall” name is used to describe British governmental administration, and a geographic area.
London police reported the naked man, who appeared to be in his 30s or 40s, climbed atop the bronze statue of the 19th-century duke of Cambridge in the late autumn chill. It was around noon when he balanced himself on the duke’s head.
The man came down the statute when police and emergency services surrounded the area. The statute is near several government buildings, memorial statutes, including the prime minister’s official residence. Scotland Yard reported the man without clothes was detained under Britain’s Mental Health Act.
Nudity is a form of freedom of self-expression and many are fascinated by it as part of radical culture. Public nudity liberates a country when people tolerate it with an open mind. An area that tolerates public nudity, such as San Francisco, becomes a safe haven for political activists, and immigrants from all over the world. Public nudity has a spirit of liberation and celebration of life.
Some people watching the naked man in London might have been struck with creativity and humor. The naked man likely made people’s heads spin. Nudity and artistic sexual self-expression challenges inhibitions and inspires people to shed a shield of physical body shame or fear.
People used to seeing people in the nude, such as when they attend a Burning Man festival in Nevada, face life-changing and heart-warming experiences. Some find nudity to be a cultural progress. If the situation were to happen in the U.S., people might support the naked London man by claiming public nudity to be an inalienable right.
Some say public nudity in the U.S. is protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution as a right to freedom of speech and self-expression. The 14th amendment, which guarantees equal protection rights, may also come into play when naked people are not treated the same as clothed people.