Bob's Burgers Unclothed Beach Episode Gets It Right (Nearly)

I'm a big fan of the popular animation sitcom, Bob's Burgers. The show is about a family that runs a typical burger joint named after the father.
The show is funny, original, and most surprisingly, sex-positive. (The sex-positive approaches show through the three kids characters as well as the parents' attitudes towards sexuality.) The show is presently entering its 5th season on Fox, and I needed to review an episode from season 3 that is especially important to us nudies. It's called "Unclothed Beach."
In this episode, Bob has issues with his eatery health inspectors and at exactly the same time, a bare beach opens up in town. It starts out with Hugo, his normal nemesis health inspector, who gives bob's hamburgers a "C" evaluation after Bob neglects to reveal his "hand washing certification." The family requests Hugo and his partner who they're going to harass next when the subsequent dialog ensues:
Hugo: "Well Bob if you must know perhaps you have heard our town is currently home to a disgusting unclothed beach! There have already been reports of sellers there serving food while n-n-naked."
Tina: "That is how the sellers served food in the Bible."
Hugo: "Don't bring faith into this!"
The Bible remark is amusing, but I understand it doesn't appear like we are off to a great start. We've got the standard "ew, gross" comment about naked people at a nude beach. But it gets better!
Linda seems happy about the unclothed beach and asks Bob when they will get to go. Bob responds, "Unclothed beaches are full of overweight, out of shape old bodies and I do not wanna go there and realize I look just like that."
Bob's line starts out negative, but turns out to be a jewel of honesty and self-awareness. A lot of times folks are uncomfortable or express disgust with nude bodies because they are ashamed of their own naked bodies. It reminds them of how they themselves do not measure up to society's beauty standards.
Tina needs to go see the naked beach and offers to choose her mom Linda for a pleasure "mommy daughter nudity day." But Bob says he's pretty confident kids are not permitted there.
Linda ends up going to the plage with her friend Gretchen. They come upon a sign that says the playa is for age 18 , and this really is a peculiar assumption, as most bare beaches don't have an age restriction. It's also sadly bolstering the notion that naturism is an "adult" action and not appropriate for kids. (In reality many families and kids frequent naked beaches.)
American television can't even free the nipple on cartoons. Gloomy. Image: Fox
The plage scene is otherwise an accurate portrayal. There's a number of individuals sunbathing, playing sports, socializing etc. But even though it's a cartoon, they avoid showing any genitals. Additionally , I found it a little surprising how they show male nipples but not female nipples. All the backdrop characters presumed to be women are covering their torsos in some way or they are strategically blocked. We're talking about two flesh-coloured dots. Is the Fox network fearful to lose their patrons over two dots? Or is this the FCC shielding everyone from animation dots? It is fairly absurd either way.

Meanwhile, Tina, Louise and Gene go to check out the strand from a space. They see that it is found underneath a cliff, and crafty Louise gets an idea. Gene says, "It Is like the Internet but outside!" This can be a fine wink to the fact that kids aren't allowed at the playa, but nude folks and even porn is so readily seen online.
Gretchen points out the hot guys in the drum circle at the nude beach. Jpg: Fox
While the children are active with their master plan, Linda and Gretchen are hanging out at the plage. They spot a drum circle and Linda is shocked to recognize one of the drummers - it's Naked Hugo! The health inspector discovered he loved the unclothed beach.
Back at the restaurant, Linda tells Bob about Hugo, and the kids casually reveal their strategies for earning money off the naked beach. Here the parents express their tacit approval of the children seeing nudity. While they abide by the playa's 18 rule, they have no issue with the children looking from a distance. Bob simply wishes them good luck.
At school, the children work on enticing their classmates into seeing the naked people at the nude beach. They also gain a new partner, Daryl, who has a telescope they are able to use. The following day they will have a line of kids ready to pay $1 each to get a peak. http://webfeeds.brookings.edu/~/t/0/0/brookingsrss/topfeeds/latestfrombrookings/~http://x-nudism.com sells it with a little mantra - "Look by means of this tube, see some boob. Gimme the green, see some peen."
Louise sells her classmates on "nudity tours." Photo: Fox
Yet once the other kids get a peek, they are disappointed in seeing "gross" old people. Louise takes charge of the situation and alters their view with an excellent sales pitch: "You guys! You're looking at this the wrong way! You wanna see nice bodies, get a magazine. That is real, people! Check out that guy! What's that, is that a liver spot? Is that a birth mark? Who understands! You can't write this drivel!"
Her pitch revives interest, and the youthful customers line up to see real life naked people. The activity is still a little voyeuristic, but now the children are excited to see the naked bodies they do not get to see otherwise. Typical nudity in films and magazines is limited to one body type and one fake homogenized look. Here, paradoxically, the children need certainly to observe a naked beach from afar and through a lens to see real bodies.
The Belcher children and their classmates see the nude beach through a telescope. Pic: Fox
Back at the restaurant, Bob is fighting with the new health inspector who shuts him down and begins blackmailing him. Bob figures his only hope to fix everything would be to get Hugo to return to his occupation. He ends up competing with Hugo in the "Nudecathalon" - their bare Olympics at the nude beach, with 27 actions that contained a two-legged race, long jump, tug-a-war and wrestling.
Up on the cliff, the Belcher kids get a surprise in seeing their own father nude on the sand. Louise is upset and drastically covers her eyes. Tina notes "I believe dad looks pretty great considering he's had 3 kids." But they keep seeing the Nudecathalon and shortly they are swept up in the excitement and cheer on Bob to win.
Bob and Hugo wrestle in the closing Nudecathalon activity. Photo: Fox