4. You Have to Get Naked to Streak

Hello, Welcome. I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. Musing Interruptus is a podcast for sharing thoughts and stories and enjoying idiomatic phrases. You can read along; the transcription is in the description of this episode; just click on continue reading to open a Google Doc. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, subscribe, follow, and share, but more importantly, continue the conversation. Drop a comment with your answers to today’s questions! I love hearing from you! The background music is called The Shoes They Wear by Blue Dot.

Picture this: you have an opportunity to cause a scene. It is coming down to the line. You either take the opportunity or regret missing out on having a new story. This is what I imagined raced through the minds of streakers. Streakers are people who go to public events, become nude, and run in front of everyone, exposing themselves. I thought this was funny and shocking. I mean, breaking the dress code of an event can be disrespectful.  My friend tells me it is strategic to have a variation of no more than 10% in either direction, dressing up or dressing down according to the prescribed code. A streaker breaks all protocol and puts on their birthday suit. What could be more natural or appropriate in this lifetime than wearing our birthday suits? It is counterintuitive, isn’t it? You should wear clothing, especially to cover what we call private parts. This is a social convention and a requirement in some finer establishments. No shoes, no shirt, no service. I promise I'm not as snobbish as I sound. 

There is an economic reasoning behind this. The distinction between our public and private parts favors the existence of a market, from erotic photos to downright pornography, and I dare say, it makes a space for those who find the need to expose themselves in public or for the voyeur crowd that is seeking an opportunity to watch. Possible false economic reasoning aside, there is more to it.