History Main / NationalGeographicNudity

* As suggested by the trope name, there are plenty of cultures in the world who are [[ValuesDissonance completely fine with nudity on a level that would make Westerners squeamish]]. Some documentaries censor the naughty bits as a result; many more do not. Oddly enough, this can work in reverse for those same cultures. There are many African tribes where having women go topless is considered completely normal, but having them bare their legs is considered highly provocative. The members of these tribes often have the same reaction to the sight of women dressed in shorts as Westerners do to the sight of women not wearing tops. (And in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't really that long ago that Western civilization [[SocietyMarchesOn had a taboo against women showing their legs]].)

* Parodied in Creator/PeterJackson's [[BasedOnAGreatBigLie "documentary"]] ''Film/ForgottenSilver'', where the first color film ever made was supposedly banned and forgotten because of its extensive NationalGeographicNudity.

The TropeNamer is ''National Geographic'' Magazine, which sometimes shows topless women when running an article on tribal cultures where the women don't customarily cover their breasts. Almost all PG-13– or R-rated movies owe their ability to show ''any'' skin to old UsefulNotes/{{nudis|m}}t films in this vein, such as ''Holiday in the Sun'' or ''Garden of Eden''. The trope originally concerned innocent and rather tame nudist documentaries; when the nudists of the time successfully fought for the right to show nudity on the silver screen for nudist films under the justification that it wasn't sexual, filmmakers used the new loophole to make hundreds of {{B Movie}}s using the setting to allow them to show flesh.

* ''Ten Canoes''

* [[NubileSavage Krystal]] from ''Videogame/StarfoxAdventures'' wears a [[{{Stripperific}} skimpy tribal outfit]] that mostly consists of a [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starfox/images/9/9f/KrystalAssistTrophyFront.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180708110504 bra and a loincloth]]. Originally, whether or not she wore anything under the loincloth was left [[AmbiguousSituation deliberately ambiguous]]... ''however,'' her later appearance in ''Videogame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' confirmed that she is [[VapourWear quite bottomless]]. Her vulva is subtle, but completely uncensored, and includes explicit details, including [[https://i.imgur.com//OffoMLh.jpg her labia]], [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DuDzYdAVsAEHAK-.jpg cleft of venus]], and [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D1NEb5AXcAATaog.jpg pubic hair]].

* [[NubileSavage Krystal]] from ''Videogame/StarfoxAdventures'' wears a [[{{Stripperific}} skimpy tribal outfit]] that mostly consists of a [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starfox/images/9/9f/KrystalAssistTrophyFront.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180708110504 bra and a loincloth]]. Originally, whether or not she wore anything under the loincloth was left [[AmbiguousSituation deliberately ambiguous]]... ''however,'' her later appearance in ''Videogame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' confirmed that she is [[VapourWear quite bottomless]]. Her pubic area is completely uncensored, and shown in explicit detail, including [[https://i.imgur.com//OffoMLh.jpg her labia]] and [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D1NEb5AXcAATaog.jpg pubic hair]].

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]

* [[NubileSavage Krystal]] from ''Videogame/StarfoxAdventures'' wears a [[{{Stripperific}} skimpy tribal outfit]] that mostly consists of a [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starfox/images/9/9f/KrystalAssistTrophyFront.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180708110504 bra and a loincloth]]. Originally, whether or not she wore anything under the loincloth was left [[AmbiguousSituation deliberately ambiguous]]. Her later appearance in ''Videogame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' shows that she is [[VapourWear quite bottomless]]: her naked pubic area is rendered in [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D1NEb5AXcAATaog.jpg explicit]] [[https://i.imgur.com//OffoMLh.jpg detail]].

* [[NubileSavage Krystal]] from Videogame/StarfoxAdventures wears a [[{{Stripperific}} skimpy tribal outfit]] that mostly consists of a [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starfox/images/9/9f/KrystalAssistTrophyFront.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180708110504 bra and a loincloth]]. While it was originally [[AmbiguousSituation ambiguous]] as to whether or not she wore anything under the loincloth, her appearance in ''Videogame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' confirmed that she goes [[GoingCommando bottomless]] by [[https://i.imgur.com//OffoMLh.jpg not censoring her muff]].

* [[NubileSavage Krystal]] from Videogame/StarfoxAdventures wears a [[{{Stripperific}} skimpy tribal outfit]] that mostly consists of a [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starfox/images/9/9f/KrystalAssistTrophyFront.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180708110504 bra and a loincloth]]. While it was originally [[AmbiguousSituation ambiguous]] as to whether or not she wore anything under the loincloth, her appearance in ''Videogame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' confirmed that she goes bottomless [[https://i.imgur.com//OffoMLh.jpg with visible muff]].

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', the Zoras (including Princess Ruto) are completely naked, although the King wears some regal garments. The Zoras in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' are similar in this regard, although their overall design is different (and far more human-like) compared to the Zoras in the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 games. This is averted for Princess Ruto in the 3DS re-release of ''Ocarina of Time'', where Ruto was redesigned to have strategically-placed "fins" on her chest. Along with the other fins that she always had, this gave her the appearance of wearing a dress, in a way similar to Queen Rutela of ''Twilight Princess''. This same design is used for Ruto in the spin-off game, ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors''.

* As suggested by the trope name, there are plenty of cultures in the world who are [[ValuesDissonance completely fine with nudity on a level that would make Westerners squeamish]]. Some documentaries censor the naughty bits as a result; many more do not. Oddly enough, this can work in reverse for those same cultures. There are many African tribes where having women go topless is considered completely normal, but having them bare their legs is considered highly provocative. The members of these tribes often have the same reaction to the sight of women dressed in shorts as Westerners do to the sight of women not wearing tops. (And in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't really that long ago that Western civilization [[SocietyMarchesOn had a taboo against women showing their legs]].) And of course, there are plenty of cultures ''in the west'' that are more or less fine with nudity on a level that would make other parts of the west squeamish. Most states in UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates, for example, have at least one UsefulNotes/{{nudis|m}}t club.

Films such as ''The House on Bare Mountain'' or ''The Beast that Killed Women'' nominally took place at a nudist colony or whatnot, but dropped this outside random shots of naked (or usually just topless) women — and never, ''ever'', naked men.

[[folder:Art]]

[[folder:Comics]]

[[folder:Film]]

* ''End Of The Spear''

* The French animated movies ''WesternAnimation/KirikouAndTheSorceress'' and ''Kirikou and the Wild Beast''. Award-winning children's movies in Europe; can't be shown in the States without an R rating.

[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Referenced in ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' as Roger believes Jason to be looking at these kinds of pictures after locking himself in his bedroom having come home with an armload of ''National Geographic'' magazines (and is pleased, since Jason is still in the "[[GirlsHaveCooties girls are icky]]" phase). As it turned out, Jason bought the magazines because they documented the old Apollo missions.
* Parodied in ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': in one strip, Hobbes claims that he only reads ''National Geographic'' for the hot ''tigress'' babes.
[[/folder]]

** Adult women wear coconut bras, although in the [[ComicBook/Mampato original comic]], as in real life, they went topless.

* In the Chilean animated film ''WesternAnimation/OguAndMampatoInRapaNui'', Marama, a young Rapa Nui girl, spends the entire film walking around in only a small loincloth and a seashell pendant.

* As suggested by the trope name, there are plenty of cultures in the world who are [[ValuesDissonance completely fine with nudity on a level that would make Westerners squeamish]]. Some documentaries censor the naughty bits as a result; many more do not. Oddly enough, this can work in reverse for those same cultures. There are many African tribes where having women go topless is considered completely normal, but having them bare their legs is considered highly provocative. The members of these tribes often have the same reaction to the sight of women dressed in shorts as Westerners do to the sight of women not wearing tops. (And in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't really that long ago that Western civilization [[SocietyMarchesOn had a taboo against women showing their legs]].)
** And of course, there are plenty of cultures ''in the west'' that are more or less fine with nudity on a level that would make other parts of the west squeamish. Most states in UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates, for example, have at least one UsefulNotes/{{nudis|m}}t club.

The TropeNamer is ''National Geographic'' Magazine, which used to (and in fact still does) sometimes show topless females when running an article on tribal life in Africa or Australia or any other place where the women didn't customarily cover their tops. Almost all PG-13– or R-rated movies owe their ability to show ''any'' skin to old UsefulNotes/{{nudis|m}}t films in this vein, such as ''Holiday in the Sun'' or ''Garden of Eden''. The trope originally concerned innocent and rather tame nudist documentaries; when the nudists of the time successfully fought for the right to show nudity on the silver screen for nudist films under the justification that it wasn't sexual, filmmakers used the new loophole to make hundreds of {{B Movie}}s using the setting to allow them to show flesh.

* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/IlEtaitUneFois...L'Homme'', all of the early humans are shown completely naked, and with BarbieDollAnatomy.

-->--''Creator/DaveBarry's Complete Guide to Guys''

* ''Film/QuestForFire'', set in the Stone Age. Ika is naked throughout the movie.
** In particular, Rae Dawn Chong was cast as Ika because she was the most comfortable with nudity. She remained nude and covered in body paint between takes [[MethodActing to stay in character]].

* The first episodes of ''Series/{{Roots}}'' has many shots of barebreasted African women before they get caught by slavers.

* Interesting fact about the TropeNamer: The media studies work ''Reading National Geographic'' found that, aside from choosing to represent areas of the world with images that reinforce specific themes (the Pacific islands are idyllic, East Asia is eccentric and a decade behind the times, African children smile when doing backbreaking labor, etc.), what nudity is permitted in ''National Geographic'' depends on who's doing it. African, Native American and other "primitive" people get their naughty bits published, while European vacationers on a nude beach don't. And in a strange case of RaceLift, persons with borderline skin tones will have their skin ''darkened'' in order to be acceptably nude. The magazine made an exception with some lighthearted MemeAcknowledgment in their [[MilestoneCelebration 125th anniversary issue]] (October 2013) by printing a graph showing the frequency of nude images published in the magazine by decade.

* An aversion is described in the Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures novel ''Just War''; one character in the 1940s has a children's encyclopedia from the 1930s, which has a picture of a South African woman in "tribal dress", and a note saying that at home she doesn't usually have a blanket wrapped around her. He tells Roz Forrester that for years he wondered what she wore instead of the blanket.

* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in ''Literature/TakeAGirlLikeYou'' by Creator/KingsleyAmis: