Nudity as Protest
Nakedness has been used throughout history as a form of protest as well as an expression of positive human values. If one's aim is to get noticed, in a clothed society stripping is certainly an effective method of gaining attention. This was a tactic used by some hippies in the 1960s and also by a number of religious protesters throughout history. For example, regarding the famous St. Francis of Assisi: "0n being rebuked by his bishop, he snatched off his clothes and walked naked through the streets."32
While it is possible, of course, to interpret this as an act of religious humility rather than protest, there is no doubt about the Doukhobors of Canada, who left Russia in 1898 and still exist in small colonies to the north of the United States. An extremist and individualistic sect of anarchists who separated from the Russian Orthodox Church in 1785, the Doukhobors numbered some 15,000 persons when they first came to Canada. Calling themselves "Sons of Freedom," they were constantly in trouble with the law because of their refusal to conform with Canadian laws governing educational, civic, and cultural standards. The Doukhobors often protested en masse in the nude. Their first nude parade was in 1903, and though the demonstrators were prosecuted and jailed, they continued this unique manner of making a statement for several decades. |
I agree, here in the States in the 1960's. it was very common for the hippie movement to demonstrate a lifestyle of nudism. My biological parents were hippies.. and i was almost 3 when we attended Woodstock. The commune, so to speak, bathed in the lakes... lived that whole weekend without any clothes.. I have always wondered though, why the performers never went without clothes. Whenever i see some old footage from that era, i actually search for this, but find nothing.
Yes i too agree that going nude is also a way of protesting... it definitely gets one noticed and gives a person time to get a point across...no matter what they are fighting for.
cheers |
