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" Seek the truth and run from

those who claim to have found it "

after André Gide

Why are we obsessed with getting our kit off?

April 25th, 2010

A four page illustrated feature on A Brief History of Nakedness appeared in the Independent Magazine on Saturday. Written by John Walsh, it was witty and intelligent and captured the sweep of the book really well, so here is a bit! Click on the link for the whole article:

Strip club: Why are we obsessed with getting our kit off?
Whether it’s used purely for fun, or to make a statement, getting our kit off always causes a stir. John Walsh lays bare the history of nakedness

From rugby-pitch streakers to the volunteers for Spencer Tunick’s photo-calls, public nakedness is always news. The sight of humankind disporting itself outside the regions of bathroom or boudoir can still shock us. Naked ramblers like Vincent Bethell and Stephen Gough, who habitually wander the English countryside clad only in Karrimor rucksacks and stout boots, have been thrown into prison numerous times for “breaches of the peace”, as though revealing the bodies we all possess beneath our polite carapace of clothing is likely to provoke a riot.
Every group of activists sooner or later discovers the usefulness of the birthday suit as a uniform of rebellion, and a visual rallying cry. Demonstrators for UK animal rights, the Polish Women’s Party and the right to breastfeed in public, anti-nuclear protests in San Francisco, protests against G8 summits in Canada and Edinburgh, and against education cuts in Berlin’s Alexanderplatz, all chose nakedness as their most potent symbol of passive aggression. And of course the human body is a handy, pink canvas for any protest. “Each of us is a walking billboard,” says Philip Carr-Gomm, author of A Brief History of Nakedness, “whose skin offers prime advertising space. If you want your message distributed free and worldwide, just paint it on your naked body, walk into the street and call Associated Press.”
In his book, Carr-Gomm, a specialist in English magic, Druidism and Wiccan arcana, investigates the ways in which nakedness has, over the centuries, been employed to further religious, political and cultural goals. His intention is to establish why nudity/nakedness excites and upsets some people to such a degree.

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