Return of the Naked Protest!

Several years ago, when we were something of a cult item and more prone to irreverence, we covered the nude protests that seemed to be breaking out all over. (Well, I did, anyway.) It’s never been clear what the connection is between nudity and, say, pacifism, but that hasn’t deterred demonstrators afflicted by a primal urge to disrobe. For some reason, though, the last few years have been lean ones for nude protests.

So I was gratified to see the genre revived, in an unlikely location, Asuncion, Paraguay: “It’s breasts, not bombs, at Paraguay nuke protest:”

About 100 women disrobed Friday in a square in downtown Asuncion to protest nuclear weapons.

Demonstrator Carola Gonzalez said the Humanist Party activists decided to strip for their cause since “the public and the news media pay so much attention to breasts and bottoms.”

Many went topless, with their chests colorfully painted with slogans, images of the Earth and radioactivity symbols.

OK, strictly speaking this was a topless protest, not a naked one, but still worth noting; click to enlarge:

400,http---d.yimg.com-a-p-ap-20090306-capt.bd2ee9e872bc46aebdb8677bebe36d10.paraguay_nudists_asu101.jpg.jpeg

345,http---d.yimg.com-a-p-rids-20090306-i-r1408939474.jpg.jpeg

346,http---d.yimg.com-a-p-ap-20090306-capt.312628b559af45a8bf6ea995c1fc673c.paraguay_nudists_asu103.jpg.jpeg

It’s a funny concept, really, having an anti-nuclear demonstration in Paraguay. Paraguay doesn’t have any nuclear weapons. So the point is a bit opaque. But the urge to disrobe is not constrained by petty logic. In a tiny minority of cases, this can be a good thing.

To comment on this post, go here.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses