. . . so take off all your clothes

Yesterday, I stripped on Belgrade’s main square in front of a crowd of onlookers.

And it wasn’t part of some accidentally-showing-up-naked dream.

It was real life.

It was part of a Women in Black demonstration against religious fundamentalism. About 10 of us walked about a rectangle in a very regimented fashion for ten minutes, wearing dark conservative, concealing clothes. Quite uncomfortable, given the heat. We then began taking off our clothes, stripping to brightly colored swimsuits or T-shirts or sundresses to show our liberation. We then began to walk and skip and spin in our own rhythm before standing in a line holding hands.

I don't think I'm totally on board with the less clothes=more liberated equation, but it was a beautiful piece of street theater and fun and grabbed the attention of people who would not have thought much about religious fundamentalism otherwise.