Hi Steemians! You are beautiful. Yes, YOU. 

I am Christina and I am a naked activist! I do that for many reasons. Perhaps the most important is that I believe that loving our body and reclaiming it back from all the stigma and the stereotypes associated with it, is a revolutionary act in its own right. To love our body is certainly not easy, since we are being trained from an early age and from many different sides to feel ashamed of it, to cover it, to continuously strive to improve it. Of course, there is a reason why these stereotypes around the body, and especially the female body, exist. Think of all the industries making billions from the idea that our body is something shameful, distorted, full of sins, and imperfections. Beauty, fashion, sex, porn and the church industries are among the most lucrative businesses around the globe. All of them are profiting either from the commercialization of what is most close to our nature or from hilariously fake preconceptions about the human body which have, not surprisingly, incised all important aspects of our culture, be it Eastern or Western.  

Revolutionary acts should be acts of logic. But a logic that does not depend on making profits for the multinationals, on the contrary one that cares deeply about and empowers human beings. Do we feel empowered when we think that our bodies are sinful and imperfect or that they exist to satisfy the needs of others, be it male desire, or religious rules, or even beauty standards..? Probably not, we feel empowered when we see our bodies as being part of our own identity, free to be expressed as only we believe so, without this expression becoming target of sexist comments or repressive reactions about what we should or should not be doing. We have the right to do so, without feeling that we put our safety into any kind of risk, because of our self-determination.  

As a frequent bicycle user, I often hear comments that are degrading my body or make me feel intimidated, especially when I wear skirts or shorts, as I often do during summer days. Do I deserve to feel this way just because I choose to ride a bike or because I choose to be dressed in a way that makes me feel most comfortable and good about myself? I should have the right to wear as many or as few clothes as I choose because my body only belongs to me and nobody else’s, to judge or intimidate. This is what I claim in my acts of nudivism, as I call it. The right to self-determination and the notion that our bodies are the purest and the cleanest medium we have to express ourselves. It is actually what we have that is closest to being ours. 

I am a naked activist for other reasons as well. I believe deeply in the power of the human body as a message carrier. I believe that naked activism can be shocking and awakening, as activism should be like. It is asking you to turn your head around and listen, what you possibly would otherwise not even notice. It is one of the purest, most impulsive and empowering ways of action. As a matter of fact, when I perform acts of naked activism, the purpose is always double. The first is to claim exculpation or de-criminalization of our body as something natural and beautiful that demands care and respect. The second is to make our own body a canvas for self-expression and to shout messages for causes that demand our voice to be raised. 

I have organized and participated in various naked actions throughout the last few years. Actions for the defense of animal rights and the vegan movement, actions to support the movement against gold-mining in Chalkidiki, a naked photoshoot to defend the right to water and prevent water privatization, naked bike rides to promote the use of bicycle and independence from fossil fuels, as well as nude performances against the stigma from HIV and to speak about women violence. Last but not least, a photoshoot against the suppression of women from religious rules and stereotypes, which was published on the website of Femen, the famous group of feminists that performs non-violent acts of disobedience, with only weapon their own naked breasts. 

I will write more about these actions together with sharing photos in my upcoming articles, but the story that I wish to share first in my next article is a story about Facebook that abruptly deleted my personal account because of photographs coming from these actions, so don’t forget to stay tuned. This is one of the reasons I am now looking for alternative and more respectful social media where the rules are being made by the community itself, like Steemit. I really hope that my photos from naked activism will not be censored here, as they were on Facebook…  Aside from performing nudist actions, I also love to write and I have experimented with many different kinds of writing, from fairytales and poetry to journalism and erotic literature. I also should admit that when I am not naked and not writing, I take up my other role as an alternative economist. As a matter of fact I have recently teamed up with FairCoop and @enric, another fellow Steemian and activist widely known as the Robin Banks, in a quest to change the economy and the world on a global scale. Let’s see what happens. 

Read more about these efforts here: 

https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@enric/im-enric-duran-from-robbing-banks-to-take-over-a-cryptocurrency-my-revolutionary-struggle-now-im-here

Follow my blog on @christinsa to make sure you don’t miss any of the great stories about naked activism in Greece :)