By definition, the World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) movement  is “an international clothing-optional bike ride in which participants plan, meet and ride together on human-powered transport to deliver a vision of a cleaner, safer, body-positive world.” The bike rides take place all over the world in various select locations. I am interested in the WNBR, specifically the protest tactic of full or partial nude bike riding. Although the main reason behind the movement is for environmental causes like global warming, I think the tactic of naked bike riding can initially be misinterpreted by onlooking bystanders for other causes such as body-image issues and gender issues. The actual main aims of WNBR is “to promote bicycle transportation, renewable energy, recreation, walkable communities, and environmentally responsible, sustainable solutions to living in the 21st century. Participants celebrate the many benefits of a car-free lifestyle: reduced emissions, free parking, and overall a greater feeling of freedom.” I think the full or partial nudity is a protest tactic/strategy that is used in order to be more visually powerful and attention-drawing.  However, behind each specific bike ride, I believe each location is strategically chosen to promote the widest visibility possible. I think the use of clean-energy technologies, like bicycles, is applied well via the form of a bike ride. I think that once you understand the main motive for naked bike riding, which is for environment concerns, then the message does seem to line up with clearly stated goals. I think the locations and times for the naked bike rides are all chosen purposefully in order to ensure maximum public visibility and awareness.

I am mainly focused on the strategy of naked bike riding. I think it is visually very powerful and is very abnormal to see in public. I am proposing my main argument to be that the World Naked Bike Ride could be misinterpreted for various causes, such as gender issues and body-image issues. I am planning on utilizing audio that will clearly state what the WNBR stands for, which is for clean transportation and a carbon-neutral society. I plan on using visually captivating images and video to show how the bike rides can differ; for example, some may have full nudity, all-male, or both.

The argument for the naked bike ride protest strategy is to promote clean, “natural” transportation by going full or partial nude bike riding. To use visually provocativeness to more effectively spread awareness of our protest’s message, which is about promoting environmentally-friendly, carbon-neutral methods of transportation. I think this protest strategy is effective. I think that nude bike riding is a very powerful and effective way to grab a large amount of people’s attention. I think the visually-powerful, controversial method of public nudity helps illustrate the meaning of promoting clean transportation. For this protest strategy, I think there is definitely high risk involved. The protest participants definitely convey passion for their cause. They are willing to expose themselves in public in order to draw attention for the movement. As for clarity, the protest can be misinterpreted by bystanders. For certain bike rides, a majority of the riders were male so onlookers could have misinterpreted the protest for a gender-related issue. The protest could also be misunderstood for body-image issues. My main argument for this protest strategy is that although it is visually-suggestive and peculiar in nature, it is effective in achieving its goal, which is to spread awareness of its cause (global warming).