Jennifer Moss (activist)

Jennifer (Jen) Moss a.k.a. "Bush Lady", "Ojai's 'Pastie Lady'" and "Ashland's Naked Lady" (born May 29, 1975) is a peace, sustainable living, social nudity and topfreedom activist living in Oregon who is best known for inline skating and cycling naked.

She has also used her attention to promote the work of Masaru Emoto.

Biography

Moss was born and raised in Albany, Oregon. She moved to Portland in 1996, then moved South in 1999 to Venice Beach, Santa Barbara in 2003, and Ojai, California in 2007.^[1] She has also gone naked in Portland, Oregon.^[2][3] In 2010, she started following the guidance of elders, which changed her outlook on life. She moved to Sedona, Arizona where she enjoyed yoga, meditation and hiking. Then, in 2012 she moved back to Oregon and now works as an Early Childhood Educator mentoring children from the ages of 2 and 1/2 years old to 12 years old, teaching them organic gardening, art, yoga, athletics, time management, and social responsibility.

Media and press coverage

Jennifer Moss gained most media attention in 2008 for her continuous acts of simple public nudity.^[4] When she was stopped by the police in Portland, Fox News contrasted the open freedom enjoyed by social groups of nudist cyclists to the constant harassment Ms Moss experienced from the police when riding naked just by herself.^[5] In their defense the police stated that Moss had not been arrested but had been asked to, 'tone it down.'^[6]

At other times Moss has been arrested for her public nudity. She was arrested twice in Ojai in 2008, however the district attorney's office failed to prosecute her, deciding that the cases would be too difficult to win. Ojai's police chief suggested there were constitutional issues involved with regards to why a man can walk about topless but a woman can't.^[7]

Her social nudity has resulted in the town of Ashland, Oregon banning topless events. On the subject of public naked breasts Moss has said, '"Nudity is natural, but a lot of people are uncomfortable with it. It's OK for children to play video games where they are killing each other, and it's patriotic to murder people in a war. But women's breasts in public? You better watch out!'^[8][9] Moss has compromised to the town council's ruling to cover up for the Fourth of July parade.^[10]

References

1. Mike Didj (March 19, 2008). "Earth Friend Jen's Point of View". The Ojai Post. Archived from the original on March 10, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
2. Monica Guzman (September 23, 2008). "Naked bicyclist promotes peace in Portland". Seattle PI. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
3. Anna Griffin (September 19, 2008). "Roll on, nude skater, roll on". The Oregonian. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
4. "Nude bicyclist drawing stares". CNN News. September 22, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
5. "Police Arrest Nude In-Line Skater 'Gennifer Moss' When Construction Workers Complain". Fox News. September 20, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
6. "Police flooded with calls of nude cyclist on Portland waterfront". KGW.com. September 22, 2008. Archived from the original on September 23, 2008. 'What she does is legal, barring two important factors. "The exposure of genitalia, and their intent has to be to arouse another person and I clearly think in this instance, that is not being met," said Cathe Kent with the Portland Police Bureau'. Retrieved from Internet Archive 9 February 2014.
7. "Ojai's Pastie Lady takes her activism elsewhere". LA Times. May 11, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
8. "Ojai has a love-hate relationship with 'Pastie Lady'". LA Times. April 26, 2008. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
9. "Jennifer Moss". Mahalo. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
10. "Naked Lady agrees to take cover in parade route". Ashland Daily Tidings. July 2, 2008. Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved from Internet Archive 9 February 2014.