They call him Bare-ny Gumble.
Streaking is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as an "informal run [done] naked in a public place so as to shock or amuse others". This trope has made an appearance in many forms of media since its boom in popularity in the early 1970s and has continued to be an ongoing, though uncommon, phenomenon in modern society. It is mostly associated with young adults, sports events and college campuses. The motivation can be a prank, a dare, drunken revelry or a protest (in which case the streaker may write a slogan on their body).
Streaking can be separated into two types:
- Type 1 Streaking involves complete nudity, with the possible exception of footwear. Very liable to bring public nudity charges if performed in real life. In some jurisdictions, it can get you registered as a sex offender if children are present.
- Type 2 Streaking involves minimal coverage, for males this usually consists of nothing more than sparse undergarments while females may be allowed to have coverage for their breasts and groin area. Will likely not bring public nudity charges in real life, though still very liable to raise eyebrows.
A Super-Trope to Invisible Streaker. See also Naked People Are Funny.
Examples:
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Advertising
- Beechies: I Heart Helmet
: The guy in this commercial is accidentally forced into becoming a streaker when he suddenly has to take off from his girlfriend's house wearing only his helmet. After his moped runs out of gas in the centre of town, he runs through town fully naked in order to get some gas, using only his helmet to cover himself.
- In the Pepsi "Every Generation" Progressive Era Montage ad, the seventies are represented by a streaker at a sporting event, being pursued by a policeman. In the scene shift to the eighties, the streaker is still there, only now he's in a nightclub, and nobody seems to care. He's still being followed by a man in a police uniform, but possibly for very different reasons.
Anime & Manga
- Most of Suehirogari's ero-mangas always feature women streaking.
- Daichi Misawa from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX performs a streak across the school after having an epiphany.
Fan Works
- Vow of Nudity:
- The Syndicate's Street involves Haara breaking free of a crime syndicate's interrogation chambers, finding herself stranded naked in the middle of a bustling city, and needing to make her way through crowded locales (with thugs in hot pursuit) to the safety of the surrounding forests without getting arrested.
- In addition, an image the author posted on DeviantArt reveals that Fiora used to sneak around the Stoneskeep University campus naked at night.
Films — Animation
- The Simpsons Movie has Bart doing a skateboarding streak near the beginning, at the end of a series of escalating dares between him and Homer.
Films — Live-Action
- In Clockwise, a streaker is seen (from afar) running from one school building to another, distracting the headmaster Brian Stimpson.
- Drive, He Said: During his psychotic break, Gabriel runs naked across campus to the biology lab, where he frees all the animals.
- While Tree is trying to figure out who is trying to kill her in Happy Death Day, she decides to spend one of her loops walking across campus completely naked, since she probably won't have to live with the consequences anyway.
- Somebody I Used to Know: Ally and Cassidy impulsively run nude over a golf course Sean is playing on.
- In the teen drama Triple Dog, a female character is dared to streak. She does so while being filmed by the girls that dared her to do so.
Live-Action TV
- Happened quite famously at the 1974 Academy Awards, where co-host David Niven's speech before introducing Elizabeth Taylor to present the award for Best Picture was interrupted by a man streaking behind him.
David Niven: (recovering) Well, ladies and gentlemen, that, erm... That was almost bound to happen. But isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?
- Sibling team Skye-Blue & Jake do a nudie run on the fifth season of The Amazing Race Australia.
- A recurring sketch on The Eric Andre Show is Eric and/or company streaking. Notably inverted in one episode, where Eric runs through a nudist colony while fully-clothed, declaring it "Reverse Streaking".
- In an episode of Monk, Captain Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Disher are giving a public report of the case they are currently working on, when suddenly an unnamed man runs behind them wearing only a pair of sneakers. He ends up being a Chekhov's Gunman when his streaking is later utilized to prove a blind woman isn't actually blind and thus is the killer.
- At the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards, Hayden Panettiere was about to present the award for Best Song when a naked man ran onto the stage next to her. She asked what he was doing and he said he "thought he'd do a good old streak". He then said he was fan of her work on Heroes and she jokingly invited him to the after show. The man, later identified as Irish actor David Monaghan, maintained a modicum of dignity by keeping his hands in front of his groin area. That is, until he shouted "Save the children!" and gave the audience an eyeful. Hayden seemed rather amused by the whole thing.
- Pandora: When Pilar is hacked, she's made to walk nude into the Black Hole, in front of a dozen students. Use of Scenery Censor, Shoulders-Up Nudity and Toplessness from the Back preserves her modesty to the viewer.
- In the pilot episode of Quantum Leap, Sam fills out the reason he was kicked out of his first college: streaking. Since he is answering the question in the early 1950s, the doctors at NASA have no idea what that is.
- Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996): In "Halloween Story", Sabrina creates a rather simple minded clone of herself to send to a party in order to help maintain her popularity with her boyfriend Harvey. However, the clone is easily convinced to do a streak by Libby, but thankfully the real Sabrina shows up during and convinces people she couldn't be in two places at once, leading to everyone thinking it was Libby herself who did a streak.
- Scrubs: After losing a bet, J.D. has to walk through the hospital naked, however he chickens out and convinces The Todd to do it for him, wearing just a surgical mask. Since they have radically different body types, and The Todd has distinctive tattoos, nobody is fooled. The Todd, however, loves it and goes out for a second lap.
- Seinfeld: In an attempt to get fired from his job with the Yankees so he can take a better job with the Mets, George streaks at a Yankees game. Except he's too embarrassed to actually go naked, so he wears a flesh-colored bodysuit instead. Instead of getting him fired, it makes him wildly popular with the fans as "Bodysuit Man".
- "Streaking" is the title of the third episode of the first season of That '70s Show, in the episode the male members of the main gang, Eric Forman, Steven Hyde, Michael Kelso, and Fez, conspire to streak wearing Richard Nixon masks while at a press conference featuring President Gerald Ford, who is visiting town as part of his re-election bid. The plan goes south when the guys notice several security officers with several vicious looking guard dogs causing them to chicken out; however Eric notices his father Red having trouble while asking his question to President Ford prompting Eric to drop his cover and pull through with the act, prompting Red to comically question Ford as to how he could pardon previous President Richard Nixon.
- On an episode of Three's Company, Janet and Chrissy ask Jack to bake a cake for a party they're having. During the episode, Jack thinks the girls are planning to kick him out of the apartment so their old roommate, Eleanor, can move back in. Among the things he and Larry plan to do to sabotage the party is to go streaking through. Only Larry winds up going through with it, as Jack finds out the party was for him, for getting an A on his recent cooking exam.
- Logan from Yes, Dear does this in the episode "Pimpin' Ain't Easy" by dressing only in underwear as protest to being given hand-me-down clothes upon finding out all of his clothes once belonged to Dominic. It ends only after a cop intervenes.
Music
- blink-182:
- The music video for "What's My Age Again" features the members of the band running around Los Angeles in their birthday suits.
- Also in the music video for "All The Small Things" there is another brief instance of them streaking through the beach.
- A massive number of novelty songs about streaking were recorded in The '70s. How many? When Dr. Demento did a show in 2024 on the topic to mark the 50th anniversary of the fad's 1974 peak, he was able to fill up both hours of the show with them. Not only did he play the aforementioned "The Streak" (saving it for last), he also played a Cover Version by Cledus T. Judd (featuring Stevens) and a Cajun French version by Belton Richard (which was a huge hit in Louisiana).
- Eminem: In "Just Lose It", Eminem gets arrested for drunk public streaking.
Well, it's Tuesday and I'm locked up
I'm in jail and I don't know what happened
They say I was running butt naked
Down the street screaming
(AH-AH-AH-AH-AH) - Grimes' music video for "Oblivion," filmed at a football game, shows a streaker being escorted out of the premises.
- Set up in the Johnny Rodriguez song, "Run For the Border." A man having a wild weekend in Mexico discovers the hard way that the woman he's with is married. And her husband has a knife. Now he's frantically trying to get away and haul his naked ass back north to the United States.
So I ran through the streets of Laredo naked as the day I was born
People were staring and laughing and clapping and honking their horns - "The Streak" by Ray Stevens is about a reporter covering the appearance of a streaker at a number of public events. Made funnier with the DVD The Complete Comedy Video Collection, featuring several of his well-known hits including the video.
Myths & Religion
- The Bible:
- King David is so overjoyed at his recovery of the Ark of the Covenant from enemy capture that he strips off and dances in the street out of sheer exultation. His wife has lots of choice things to say about his conduct afterwards.
- As a more serious example, God had Isaiah go about his business three years without clothes as a sign against Egypt and Ethiopia, that the king of Assyria will lead them away into captivity stark naked.
Newspaper Comics
- In one Peanuts strip, Snoopy as Joe Cool explains that "Joe Cool always follows the latest campus fads", then takes off his collar and sunglasses as he adds that the latest campus fad is streaking.
Video Games
- Dead Rising 2 allows you to wear a variety of different clothes, including just boxers.
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild:
- Link acquires a variety of outfits and can freely change out pieces at any time… or wear nothing but the boxers he wakes up in at the start of the game. If you choose that route, multiple NPCs will take note.
Paya: M-Master Link! Th-that immodest outfit is quite unbecoming of a hero like you. P-please cover yourself up this instant!
- One shrine quest requires you to de-equip all of your armor and stand on a pedestal in your underwear during a Blood Moon to activate the shrine.
- Link acquires a variety of outfits and can freely change out pieces at any time… or wear nothing but the boxers he wakes up in at the start of the game. If you choose that route, multiple NPCs will take note.
- The Mafia III DLC Stones Unturned has side missions where you hunt bounties. The very first mission has you take down a bounty who has gained a reputation for streaking at protests. When you show up to capture him, he'll be in his underwear.
- Saints Row: Streaking is a diversion in Saints Row 2, Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row IV. The player must strip down at least enough that no clothing covers the torso or crotch in order to activate the diversion. Note that nobody will care if you simply walk around naked, just as long as you don't activate the diversion. As soon as you do, everyone is suddenly repulsed by your nudity and the cops start shooting to kill.
- Streaking was added as an option in The Sims 2 in the University expansion pack, and in The Sims 3 in the University Life expansion pack.
- Streaking is the English title of a Japanese arcade game of the early 1980s, one of many clones of Pac-Man. The player controls a woman who is pursued by four male police officers with handcuffs. The woman is initially nude, but her Graphics-Induced Super-Deformed sprite changes as she collects clothing.
Webcomics
- In El Goonish Shive, it is noted that due to Bizarre Alien Biology, a streaking Uryuom is not a big deal because, as shapeshifters, any possibly objectionable anatomy disappears when not in use resulting in In-Universe Barbie Doll Anatomy and justifying the use of Non-Humans Lack Attributes.
- The Handbook of Heroes: In "Save vs. Beer", Magus is apparently stripping and running outside the tavern after too much drinking.
- The Whiteboard:
- In an April Fools' Day strip, Pirta ran by screaming in terror◊ because her clothes had suddenly evaporated.
- A year later, a husky named Miki willingly took off her clothes and ran by stark naked◊ right after Swampy hung a lampshade about April 1st. She does it again◊ five years later.
- In an April Fools' Day strip, Pirta ran by screaming in terror
Western Animation
- The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius: In "Jimmy Goes to College", Pomona Tech student Seymour Nimmelfarb, who is jealous of Jimmy's extremely high intelligence, tricks Jimmy into doing this, which gets him in trouble with the headmaster.
- Atomic Betty: Happens briefly in "A Finful of Dollars", as Sparky streaks to photobomb the crew while on vacation.
- Captain Flamingo: Tucker streaks naked in the neighborhood throughout "Knot in My Backyard", as a result of him refusing to wear a nice dress for the Queen's visit at Halverston and Area.
- Dan Vs.: Dan gets accused of streaking after his bat suit burned off when he was seeking revenge on baseball.
- Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Played With in "Let Your Hare Down"; Bloo manages to turn the uptight Mr. Herriman into Herry, a laid-back rabbit with a hippie personality who lets the residents of Foster's do whatever they want. Unfortunately, as a result of this, things begin to spiral out of control. At one point, Bloo runs past Frankie, telling her that he's streaking. Frankie points out that it doesn't surprise her, since he doesn't wear clothes to begin with, to which he tells her "And I never will!"
- The Looney Tunes Show: Daffy and Porky go streaking while on Spring Break in Mexico during "The Black Widow". After first attracting no attention at all (since they're cartoon animals), they point out to the locals that they are naked, and promptly get arrested.
- The Simpsons:
- The episode "The Way We Was" showed that Barney Gumble streaked through Homer and Marge's high school prom.
- In "The Boys of Bummer", one of Bart's attempts at catching a pop fly is ruined by Moe streaking across the field.
- An ad for CC's Chips has Homer streaking through the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant in order to get the aforementioned potato chips from Bart. It leaves him radioactive afterwards and glowing in the dark.
- In a Total Drama Video Message from Home to Duncan, he was once arrested for the "Happy Nude Year" stunt. Duncan was shown wearing nothing but a party hat and streamers obscuring his genitals.