History

Part of Puritanism was to simplify and get down to basics. Whereas women's nakedness was seen as a vulnerability which needed to be protected and covered, men's nudity was considered a natural state and modesty was considered a hangup or weakness. Since men were not objectified, getting an erection, for example, was just dealt with or ignored. That lead to the strange phenomenon of mixed males and females meeting on a beach or nature area where young men would socialize fully naked with prudishly clad women. It included as much self-consciousness that could be expected at young ages, though not related to nudity. In the same way, men were comfortable being naked around other men with little self-consciousness.
As society developed and homosexuality became a lifestyle rather than just a behavior, the ugly shadow of homophobia also grew. Now many young adults seem to view sexuality as more fluid and overall acceptable, so the stigma of nudity as a sexual statement is disappearing. On the other hand, the awareness of living an eternal public life on the Internet remains, so I don't see public nudity as making a strong comeback soon.

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