Naked Brexit

BBC Radio 4 - Best of Today, Can Labour and the Tories work together?

"‘Dr. Victoria Bateman is a fellow in economics at Cambridge University. She delivers lectures on the harms she says leaving the EU will cause to the British economy. What makes her a little different, perhaps, is that she does so naked. Why?’...

’I’ve brought my message to the studio today. As you can see, written across my body: Brexit leaves Britain naked.’

‘Yes. And you are now naked as we speak’...

‘Brexit leaves Britain's economy exposed… Brexit has served to reveal some anti immigration sentiments of a kind that we should be very much worried about in our society. And finally, Brexit exposes past government failures, government failures that have left many people feeling they have nothing to lose from Brexit, because they have nothing at all.’

‘And those are all arguments that have been put many, many times by very many people wearing their clothes. Why do you feel the need to take your clothes off? Isn't it just exhibitionism.’

‘So I have myself written thousands of words looking at why Brexit is bad for Britain. But I thought it would be useful to reduce all of those words down, condense all of those words down to one powerful message. Brexit is the Emperor's New Clothes. That Britain has sold itself a project that cannot possibly-’

‘And you can walk around carrying the banner couldn't you? What I'm suggesting to you is taking off your clothes is a way to attract attention. But that's all it is, isn't it? If anything, the danger is that it will have the opposite effect won’t it? People will look at you and say, oh, she's an exhibitionist. She doesn't have a real argument. She just wants to draw attention to herself’...

I'm completely comfortable with my own body. I view women's bodies is one of the big battle grounds that we face today. And actually, by engaging with society about women's bodies. One of the things that shows is the way in which people are quick to judge women purely based on their bodies’

‘Do you really believe that? Do you really believe that women today in 2019 are judged on their bodies?’

‘I do. So you look, all you have to do is look at the online response to a two minute section of my naked lecture that I posted online in the last couple of days. And you will see people firing back with comments of the kind: this woman is trashy, because she's got her body on show. This woman is stupid’

‘Well, the point is that you're breaking the norm, aren't you? I mean, the fact we do have, society operates on the basis of a degree of modesty. Rightly or wrongly, that is what most people accept. It is unusual to say the very least to see somebody walking around without any clothes on. Isn't it incumbent on all of us, given that that is what the vast majority of people think is the right and proper way to behave, isn't it incumbent on us to respect that?’

‘Well I think if we did respect that we'd still be living in days where where women were covering from head to toe, you look at the suffragettes... reveal their ankles, reveal their knees, so if we can dress exactly how we wanted that includes in the states of undress that I am in today’

‘Because it will affect many people that's why’

‘Perhaps then that might serve to raise questions about why people respond in that way. Is it because internally they have a view that women's bodies are shameful, sinful’...

‘Why on earth is she doing that? That's the point isn't it? If you have a powerful argument to put-’

‘I think why I'm doing it is right here in the words on my body: Brexit leaves Britain naked’

‘Yes, and you've made that point but you don't need to. I mean, should the other Brexiteers themselves do the same. What about... Jacob Rees Mogg sitting in your chair naked?’

‘I invite Jacob Rees Mogg to a naked debate with me. And we will see, we will get to the roots of this issue.’"


"Feminist: "Stop objectifying me!"
Literally anything: [happens] Feminist: [removes clothing]"

Keywords: removes clothes, takes off clothes, takes off clothing


Naked Dr Victoria Bateman was at centre of sex discrimination case

"A female lawyer at Fidelity Worldwide Investment complained when anti-Brexit campaigner Dr Bateman's husband James allegedly shared a nude portrait of his wife with colleagues...

It isn't just Brexit that sparks naked protest from Dr Bateman, who stripped off in a gender equality protest last year.

At a talk entitled Feminism Meets Economics, she covered her breasts and genitals with only a handful of £5 and £20 notes."