Photos of people being ticketed for ‘indecent exposure’ at Rockaway Beach of New York, 1946
Photos of people being ticketed for ‘indecent exposure’ at Rockaway Beach of New York, 1946 In these vintage photos, the LIFE magazine photographer Sam Shere captured the “indecent exposure” phenomenon at Rockaway Beach, New York in 1946. Starting with a sign that reads “wear robes to and from the beach,” Shere’s series shows women sunbathing in high-waisted two-pieces, men walking the boardwalk in just their shorts, and the way in which these beachgoers seem unphased by the cops writing them tickets for “indecent exposure.” In 1946 it was considered “indecent” when people walked around in their swimsuits anywhere but on the beach itself, and at Rockaway Beach in New York you were expected to wear a robe to and from the beach. The question of where a bathing suit could be worn says a lot about the changing ways in which people chose to present their body in public in the 20th century: what action did police take to try to restrict bathing suits to the beach, or even to the water only, ...