Legal Definitions - indecent exhibition

Indecent Exhibition

This legal term refers to the act of publicly displaying or offering for sale something that is considered extremely offensive, especially due to its vulgar or sexual nature. The key elements are that the display must be accessible to the general public, and the content must be so outrageous in its offensiveness that it crosses generally accepted community standards, often involving explicit sexual or highly vulgar material.

• Example 1: Retail Window Display

  A boutique clothing store in a busy downtown area arranges its street-facing window display with mannequins posed in explicit sexual acts, wearing minimal clothing. This display is clearly visible to all passersby, including children and families.

  This illustrates an "indecent exhibition" because the store is publicly displaying items (the mannequins and their arrangement) in a manner that is outrageously offensive due to its vulgar and sexual nature, making it unavoidable for the general public.

• Example 2: Public Performance

  During a daytime community street fair, a performer sets up a stage in a public square and begins a live act that involves explicit simulated sexual activity and the use of extremely vulgar and offensive language, drawing a crowd that includes many families with young children.

  This is an "indecent exhibition" because the individual is publicly displaying a performance that is outrageously offensive due to its vulgar and sexual content, in a public space accessible to everyone present at the fair.

• Example 3: Digital Billboard Content

  A large electronic billboard situated along a major highway, visible to thousands of drivers daily, begins to display an advertisement that features highly graphic and sexually explicit animated imagery, cycling through its content every few minutes.

  This demonstrates "indecent exhibition" as the business responsible for the billboard is publicly displaying content (the animated imagery) that is outrageously offensive in a vulgar and sexual way on a large scale, making it unavoidable for the public traveling on the highway.