Y-History: Tabu Nacktheit

A sunny afternoon in Berlin: A small group meets at Tempelhofer Feld for a barbecue—topless. But it's not just the men, it's the women too. “Chest out” is the motto. Activist Feli believes in equal rights for all and wants to remove the taboo surrounding female breasts.

After all, seeing real naked bodies in everyday life is still taboo – even though we are bombarded with them on social media and in advertising. How does that fit together? Y History reporter Lisa wants to understand why nudity is frowned upon, especially among younger people – while our parents relax on nudist beaches.

After all, Germany is considered a pioneer of nudism. In the GDR in particular, nudity was the only freedom in an unfree system, says contemporary witness Jeanette Lisa on the nudist beach. But nudism has a problem attracting young people, as the reporter learns during a visit to a small nudist club in Hesse. The average age at the site is 66, and children have not played on the carefully maintained playground for a long time.

Why is that? Do we only associate nudity with sexuality nowadays? To find out, Lisa meets spicy influencer Susanna. She likes to show herself and her body off and has no problem talking about sex while shopping for the next sex-positive party – on the contrary.

This is a completely different approach to that of the Berlin activists: they want to normalize and desexualize the naked body. Not only does activist Feli picnic topless, she also takes photos of genitals and exhibits them.

Between these fronts, reporter Lisa not only tries to clarify the big social issues, but also to come to terms with her own nudity and push her own boundaries.

“Y-History: Taboo Nudity – Are We More Prude Than Our Parents?” will be available in the ARD media library starting November 17.
A production by Dokness for Hessischer Rundfunk on behalf of ARD. Copyright 2025.