The Naked I.Q. Quarter 2 June 2016 Nudity No Longer Naughty In Munich One Of Germany’s Largest Cities Has Legalized Public Nudity www.telegraph.co.uk Germany’s third largest city, Mu- nich, has legalised public nudity by in- troducing six desig- nated nudist zones. Since last autumn - when statewide laws stopping nude sunbathing expired - the issue of public nudity has been debated in the city. It has now been decided that nud- ists are officially welcome to strip. The six designated nudist areas are not fenced off or hidden away, although their location in parkland grants them a degree of privacy. One nudist zone is situated in a main tourist spot along a stream, which is barely 10 minutes away from Munich’s main square. Public nudity in Munich has gone on for years, and it is common to see people walking around unclothed in several spots in the city, such as the Englischer Garten, and various spots along the Isar River. Nudity is not restricted to Munich; the practice is common across Germany, where the first naturist beach was set up back in 1920. The country is famed for its love of all activities that involve FKK – Freikörperkultur (Free Body Culture, or plain nudity to you and me), said Telegraph Travel writer Adrian Bridge, who reported on the Naked Sledding World Championship held in the spa town of Braunlage recently. 2 IMEN Board Rich Butler President / Treasurer / Gathering Coordinator / Website Admin Rob Wayson Membership / Gathering Registration Admin / Website Admin Board Members Lloyd Werner SteveDavid HafnerCapps Arch Hanson Curtis Wilson Walt Graham Allen Musick Contact IMEN at: IMEN email: [email protected] P.O. Box 578 website: www.imen4allmen.org Rising Sun, MD 21911 3 Hoes Abound On World Naked Gardening Day May 2 www.huffingtonpost.com If there ever was a day to plant your seed, it’s May 2. That’s because it’s World Naked Gardening Day, an annual event where people are supposed to drop their drawers and get down and dirty. Now in its 10th year, World Naked Gardening Day is traditionally celebrated the first Saturday in May. In the word’s of the organization’s website, about “getting naked and making the world’s gardens — whatever their size, public or private — healthier and more attractive.” “Gardening naked is not only a simple joy, it reminds us — even if only for those few sunkissed minutes—that we can be honest with who we are as humans and as part of this planet,” is how the web- site puts it. (Continued on page 5) 4 (Continued from page 4) Mark Storey (not pictured) created World Naked Gardening Day with Jacob Gabriel,. He wants the day to be fun and insists no one will be penalized if they choose not to garden completely in the buff. “If I’m gardening naked and if I need to have a hat on or shoes on, that’s fine. People are pretty rational about that stuff. This is not a religion,” he told Today.comin 2013. “We figured that if people tried gardening naked once, they would smile. Not only would they smile, but they’d see that nudity is actually a pleasant and inherently good thing.” One group that will be actively gardening in their birthday suits are citizens of the Hulme Community Garden Centre in Manchester, England. It all started in Seattle, Washington, but the celebration is hitting pay dirt all over the world. “It’s all about feeling free in your garden and we thought it would be a funny thing to get involved in,” Ra- chel Summerscales, who manages the Centre, told the Manchester Evening News. 5 22nd Annual IMEN Gathering Happy Hour Themes 2016 Sunday: Opening Reception Meet & Greet BIRTHDAY SUIT Monday: BLUE MONDAY Tuesday: "It's not that easy Bein' Green" (GREEN things, even Frogs that sing) Wednesday: The Flintstones: Yabba-Dabba-Do! Thursday: Men At Their Best IN LEATHER Friday: Family Feud: (choose your side) THE MUNSTERS meet THE ADDAMS FAMILY Saturday: CHARLIE BROWN, Pals & Pets! The Judges will take a detailed look at every costumed person who chooses to enter the contest. The Judges will note differences between a commercially purchased costume and a homemade “original” creation. A homemade costume takes more creative thinking, time and effort. The Judges will look for authenticity when viewing costumes: Example - If someone made a costume of the Joker from “The Dark Knight,” they will check to see how accurate the costume really is. Did he include the gloves, proper makeup and hairstyle? These will be important things to consider. The Judges will note their impressions of the costume and what has really wowed them, then discuss their notes and opinions in determining which costume deserves to be the contest winner. In the event the judges cannot reach a unanimous decision, the prize will be divided amongst those deemed to be the winners. 6 NYC Bodypainting Day will be taking place on Saturday, Ju- ly 9th at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza and Amsterdam Bodypainting Day will take place on Saturday, August 20th at Museumplein. 7 PrEP Yourself For Leather by LeatherWerksGuy @ LeatherWerks.com In 2014, the FDA (the Federal Drug Association...not the Furry Daddy Asses, like I thought) approved the drug named Truvada for the HIV treatment called Pre-exposure Prophylaxis. The study, which lasted nine months, showed an 86% drop in HIV infection when taken once a day. And the homosexual com- munity exploded...in more ways than one. Let's face it, HIV and the AIDS crisis put a halt on most of our sexual activities. Especially orgies. And I loved orgies. Anyone remember the good old days of visiting the bathhouses in New York City? Watching a young guy in a towel, sweating from the humid steam room and softly touching the head of his erection under that towel. Better than any porn nowadays, if you ask me. But there wasn't these worries of diseases, only the worry if were you going to be able to get a cab at this time. Times have changed. HIV ran rampant. And now, we have something to combat it. So I decided to try out PrEP myself. Hell, I try everything at least once. The process was actually pretty simple. I made a trip to my hunky doctor in downtown Wilton Manors. I tried again to ask him if I could give him a rectal exam instead of the other way around. With red cheeks, he shook his head. I found my- self nervous asking him for a prescription to PrEP. But I wasn't sure why. This man has seen every cre- vasse on my body. Why should I be awkward about this? I stumbled through the request like clothes tumbling in a dryer. He asked, "Why do you feel you need PrEP? Are condoms not an adequate protec- tion from HIV?" Okay so, good point, right? Rubbers have 99.1% chance of not transmitting the HIV virus. Much better chance than PrEP. So my answer was as honest as possible. "Because I like fucking raw." Let's face it. It's true. Most of us do. There's nothing like just spitting on your dick, spitting on a boy's hole, then shov- ing it in. While the doctor wrote some scribbly notes on his notepad, I imagined what his balls would look like with a saline infusion (I mean, the tools are all in the doctor's office, right?). Then he said something to completely close the curtain on my stage play of Genital Hospital. "Well, what about other STDs? Syphilis? Gonorrhea? Chlamydia? Hepatitis?" Damnit, I hadn't thought of that. Rubbers protects you from all that. Unfortunately, PrEP doesn't. That's what happens so often in our community. Those "less-known" sexually transmitted diseases tend to be forgotten. Syphilis is curable, but leaves behind some unpleasant sores and some unpleasant painful memories. Gonorrhea and Chlamydia can equally be painful. And Hepatitis? That's incurable. So is it worth the risk of getting rid of condoms completely? The thought hadn't occurred to me. And I'm sure it doesn't occur to men interested in PrEP either. The doctor gave me a lengthy pep talk and too many brochures. Side effects (though rare) kind of gave me the willies. Liver problems...vomiting...dizziness...sleeplessness...oh my! I figured what's the worst that could happen? If I don't like it, I stop taking it, right? Nope. Patients have to be monitored by a physi- cian when quitting PrEP. Get this... there's two main problems that could arise when quitting. Your liver "could" get severely damaged (though unlikely). If you contract HIV while on the drug and then quit, the virus could mutate, become resistant to PrEP, and then you spread it to someone else. I had been under the impression that PrEP was like the birth control pill for HIV. But I'm pretty sure when pregnant women quit taking birth control pills their infants don't become a deformed monster named Sloth. After all these fear factors, I went ahead with the decision to attempt the regimen. So you think the next step would be easy right? Just take a piece of paper to my neighborhood pharmacy where the blue-eyed stud behind the counter would wink at me and hand me my pills? Nope, you're wrong. The first step is to make sure you don't actually have HIV. Oh, and blood tests. Lots of blood. I hate blood. After a visit to the lab and yet another visit to my sexy doctor, I was finally able to get my prescription.