Not long ago a group of naked cyclists attracted attention by pedalling through the streets of York in northern England to proclaim that "nude is not lewd" and "naked is normal". Two years ago the artist Spencer Tunick swamped the front pages with nudity after persuading 1,700 Tynesiders to take off their clothes for an installation of communal nakedness in Newcastle and Gateshead in the north-east.

These very different events confirmed that mass cellulite and gooseflesh is, indeed, not very lewd. On the other hand, they were respectively a demonstration and a piece of performance art, both of which depended for their impact on the nudists' second contention being precisely wrong. Clothed is normal because most of us prefer it that way and, by the same token, nude is news.