Social Question

Coloma's avatar

Where have all the exhibitionist flashers gone?

Asked by Coloma (47193points) September 1st, 2012

While talking with my daughter the other evening the subject of “flashers” came up and she was shocked that I have had numerous flasher encounters over the years while she and none of her friends have ever had this experience. Where have all the flashers gone, have they turned in their trench coats for webcams?
Have you ever been flashed?

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39 Answers

King_Pariah's avatar

Well, one time a group of friends and I misunderstood what a Flash mob is supposed to be and well… mall security is still looking for us.

Coloma's avatar

@King_Pariah Haha..well, not exactly what I had in mind, but okay. lol

gailcalled's avatar

My last encounter was in the lane going north on Third avenue in Manhattan in 1970. A guy pulled over, I thought, to ask me for directions; when I approached, I saw him wanking off. I started to laugh and he drove on, slowly, with the car moving in a serpentine manner. I hope he lived to tell the tale.

And yes, he was wearing a trench coat, and from what I could tell, very little else.

Talk about the perils today of texting and driving!

Aethelflaed's avatar

I know flashing is still thriving. But I’d imagine some people just stay home and send online messages and cockshots. I get quite a few cockshots from online dating sites, and a lot of creepy messages. And, you know, there’s always Chatroulette. Online really saves on the money you have to spend on trenchcoats.

Coloma's avatar

@gailcalled Yes, what was it about the 70’s? Jeez, there was the guy in the park that hid in the bushes with just his penis exposed. He was a “regular” for years at a local park. I have been flashed by men driving and masturbating, pulling up alongside me, others on hiking trails, I could write a book about my flasher encounters.
The dying art of flashing. lol

Keep_on_running's avatar

They were rounded up and sent to the dark side of the web.

Coloma's avatar

@Keep_on_running Haha..yes, I think they have found their niche with the internet, no more hiding in the bushes.

FutureMemory's avatar

”(9/1/12) Dear Diary. Today I heard Gail talk about wanking off.”

gailcalled's avatar

^^If that astonishes you, you haven’t been listening hard enough.

FutureMemory's avatar

Coloma, honestly you sound like you miss being flashed.

gailcalled's avatar

^^^ Doesn’t everyone?

FutureMemory's avatar

edited…lol

Berserker's avatar

I’ve never had the thrill and experience of being flashed before. However, having lived in big cities, I’m sure I’ve suffered the equivalent thereof when it comes to random stuff complete strangers will do out of nowhere.

By the way, want to buy some watches?

Coloma's avatar

@FutureMemory LOL…aaah, nostalgia, the good ol’ days when flashers made life more interesting. haha

Shippy's avatar

Yes, I have been “flashed” a lot, when I was younger. You are right they have gone, I guess they are all on the net now charging for it. I wouldn’t mind being flashed now I must say. I suppose I could start flashing?

Coloma's avatar

@Shippy LOl..yes, seriously, it is a phenomenon, the world of my youth was teeming with flashers. haha

Shippy's avatar

@Coloma We must have been the lucky ones loll.

gailcalled's avatar

It was the era of Woodstock, where it was called freedom of expression. It was also the era of Hair, for which I paid good money to sit in a Broadway theater and watch attractive young people take off all their clothes.

Shippy's avatar

@gailcalled Or freedom of expansion ha-ha

Coloma's avatar

The most outstanding flasher was a guy, maybe a doctor or hospital worker from a Kaiser hospital across from a local park. He would have his white hospital coat tied around his head as a disguise. He had a lengthy flashing career for several years in this park and was never caught inspite of numerous complaints filed. The stealth flasher.
Probably went back to his radiology room at the hospital after a little lunch time arousal. haha

FutureMemory's avatar

@Coloma “He would have his white hospital coat tied around his head as a disguise. He had a lengthy flashing career for several years ”

For a few nanoseconds my brain was really curious what word was going to come after “lengthy”.

TheProfoundPorcupine's avatar

I think it has moved online where it is warmer and there are no worries about getting part of a thorny bush in a part that was never intended to have an intimate encounter with a thorny bush.

Also the price of dry cleaning has gone up quite considerably so getting those macs clean is no longer cost efficient

gailcalled's avatar

@Coloma; A nice punishment for the flashers in the urban parks is a lovely case of poison ivy.

Coloma's avatar

@TheProfoundPorcupine LOL…yes, lends a whole new meaning to ” beating around the bush.” haha

Cruiser's avatar

Um still here! Turn around and look out your window!! Wooo! XD.

Coloma's avatar

@Cruiser Hey, you sly old dog, now I know what that noise was in the bushes last night. lol

Cruiser's avatar

Tonight I will throw rocks at the window and wear just a miners hat with the flashlight pointed down for ya! You do lock up the goose at night don’t you? ;)

Coloma's avatar

^ Yes, but tread softly, tis rattlesnake season here, wouldn’t want you to take any fangs to your happy serpent. lololol

Earthgirl's avatar

@Coloma this is modern day “flashing”!!
Hey! I just recognized some panties that I own at 2:49 in the video! Those pinstripe boylegs!

glacial's avatar

Funny, I was watching this clip from QI recently, and thought the same thing about streakers… who does that anymore?

poisonedantidote's avatar

Chat Roulette or Omegle, we took the flashers and gave them a site.

Bellatrix's avatar

I think they moved online. Technology has led to the flasher experience evolving. Now a random person sends you a message and attached to it is a picture of their penis. I used to chat years ago and the number of times men would send a message and their profile picture was their dick OR they would want to send pics of their penis. I guess they don’t get the benefit of seeing the shocked look but perhaps the greater access to flashing victims is worth it?

Not to mention now young people are sexting each other. Sharing pictures of their body parts is routine (or so we are led to believe by the media). Perhaps some old dude riding his bike with his dick hanging out of his shorts has lost its shock value? Or walking round the corner to confront a stranger with his cock in his hand is more likely to result in laughter than shock. I can’t remember the last time I have heard of such a thing. Perhaps technology has led to the extinction of the flasher!

Earthgirl's avatar

…and by the way, I have been flashed! It was my first week in New York City going to design school. It was on 28th street right next to my school. My reaction was just “Oh my!!!, really, I don’t want to see that!” I giggled to myself and moved on.

wundayatta's avatar

Hmmm. Some 30 years ago I lived in NYC and I used to like to flash in that neighborhood. Do you think…...?

<<< did his bum look like this?

rojo's avatar

They have gone the way of the streakers.
Sad.
And not, you cannot prove that was me doing that in the 70’s!

rooeytoo's avatar

@rojo – streakers have not died in Australia, you can count on at least a half dozen every year, especially in the long hot summer cricket games.

When I was in college in the early 60’s there was a flasher reported in the neighborhood of the school. A female friend and I went out with our polaroid camera to record it for posterity, but alas, we never found him!

ucme's avatar

Crawled back in the gutter where they belong probably.

Coloma's avatar

Look, my cat has spied a flasher! lol

boxer3's avatar

When I was in middle school we had a semi formal. Afterwards, a bunch.of us had gone out to eat and we were seated along a big stretch of windows. All of a sudden we heard a knock.at the window, we all looked, man dropped his pants and pressed his butt against the window. That’s the last one I’ve seen….

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