Information About

Mooning




at a mass mooning in May 1995.]]

Mooning is generally considered a rude and insulting act (though less offensive than Flashing ).


WORD HISTORY

'' Moon '' has been a common shape-metaphor for the Buttocks in English since 1743, and the verb ''to moon'' has meant 'to expose to (moon)light' since 1601, long before they were combined in US student slang in the verb(al expression) mooning "to flash the buttocks" in 1968.
Formerly, mooning was slang for "wandering idly" and "romantically pining".1


GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

The custom of mooning may be limited to North America , some countries of Europe , Australia (where the phrase 'mooning' is replacing the former vivid expression "flashing a browneye" or "chucking a browneye"), and the Māori of New Zealand .


LEGAL STATUS

The legal position of mooning varies between legislations, from Indecent Exposure to legal self-expression. Some example cases include:


Africa

Two Zimbabwe brothers were charged and jailed for indecent exposure in 2006, for wearing traditional African Loincloth es which leave the buttocks exposed.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4673510.stm Whilst not strictly mooning, it illustrates the legal view on mooning in that country. The BBC reports that whilst this "reignited" a debate, "not many people in the capital are on their side".


Greece

A 2003 case saw two British tourists convicted and jailed for 7 months each on indecent exposure charges. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20030827/ai_n12708294


USA

In 2006, a only relates to exposure of the genitals, adding that even though mooning was a "disgusting" and "demeaning" act to engage in, and had in addition taken place in the presence of a minor,
:" {Link without Title} f exposure of half of the buttocks constituted indecent exposure, any woman wearing a Thong at the beach at Ocean City would be guilty."
Defense attorneys had cited a 1983 case of a woman who was arrested after protesting in front of the U.S. Supreme Court wearing nothing but a cardboard sign that covered the front of her body. In that case, the Washington D.C. Court of Appeals had ruled that indecent exposure is limited to a person's genitals. No review of the case by a higher body, such as a Supreme Court took place, since the States Attorney dropped the prosecution after the ruling.


NOTABLE INCIDENTS OF MOONING


  • During the Battle Of Crécy in 1346 when king Edward III of England took Caen , on the way to Crécy , several hundred Normandy Soldier s exposed their backsides to the English Archers and many of them paid a high price for doing so.3

  • The Etchemin tribe of Maine were noted for this custom by a number of early explorers of the Atlantic coastline. Beyond 1492:Encounters in Colonial North America, by James Axtell, p. 189

  • In June 2000 , a mass mooning event was organised outside of Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom by the Movement Against The Monarchy (M'AM). The idea was for anti- Monarchist s to show their dislike of the British Monarchy by performing a mass mooning at their home. However, a large Police presence prevented a large scale mooning, but even so, a few individuals mooned (although there were many more who turned up to the event but were put off mooning by the large police presence). Some of them were Arrest ed, but others managed to pose for various Newspaper s etc. This event is known as the ''Moon Against the Monarchy'' event.4

  • The ''Annual Mooning of Amtrak'' is a long-running annual tradition in Laguna Niguel , ( Orange County ) California , U.S.A , where many people spend all day mooning at Amtrak Train s; some even ride the trains on that day just so they can witness the event. This mooning has spawned a chain of "train moonings" throughout the entire country. 5

  • At the 2005 UK Music Hall Of Fame awards ceremony, musician Ozzy Osbourne decided to moon the crowd after a set he played with his group Black Sabbath .http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4441786.stm

  • Patrick Devine, 19, from County Donegal, was arrested on 27 July 2007 for allegedly dropping his trousers as a dare in Saint Louis in Senegal. Devine, a student of Queens University Belfast, could spend up to 6 months in jail for his alleged actions. http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0817/devinep.html?rss



REFERENCES


  • Mann, Charles C. " Native Intelligence " Smithsonian magazine, December 2005, vol. 36 #9, pp. 94-108. -->



SEE ALSO