Re: Where did Denmark come in the rankings?
The Danes and Finns seem to have developed the most open attitudes to public nudity. In the 1970s my experiences of Finno-Scandinavian cultures banished my "typical Englishman" attitudes - to the point of being a stranger in my own land ever since. In the early 1970s it was assumed by many that England was on a social trajectory to being like Denmark.
The Swedes have been made more conservative over the last 30 years by the constant vitriol directed at them by USA demagogues. They understandably became sensitive to people misunderstanding their liberal pr0n laws - and their effective sex education programmes. Concentrations of refugees from very conservative cultures have also affected their attitudes.
Norwegians were regarded as the traditional backward country cousins - until the young generation suddenly leapt forward about the time that their North Sea oil had an effect on the economy.
East Germans found an easy-going naturism was an escape from the communist regime's rules and regulations. After German reunification they were disappointed to find that their West German compatriots were much less relaxed about the use of beaches. Suddenly there were attempts to impose rules that you HAD to be naked if you stepped across a demarcation line on a beach - rather than the previous personal mixed choices.
A neighbour is from Denmark. She is not as comfortable in these matters as my other Finno-Scandinavian friends. She puts it down to a childhood in a strict religious family environment that crushed any attempt to behave like more liberal peers. The failed attempts at rebellion left her quite mentally scarred.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
