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The Freedom to be Yourself

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The Freedom to be Yourself

The Freedom to be Yourself campaign (TFTBY or FTBY) was founded in 1999 by Vincent Bethell for "the right to be naked in public". The campaign is about non-sexual public nakedness. Supporters organised naked protests in public in London; there have also been protests in Brighton, Bristol, Birmingham, Coventry and in the United States.

On 10 January 2001 Bethell was the first defendant to stand trial naked in a UK court. The trial was at Southwark Crown Court London. Vincent was charged with public nuisance, which carries a maximum of life imprisonment. He was found not guilty. Vincent once spent five months naked in solitary confinement (Segregation Unit) at Brixton Prison (London). In December 2000, fellow activist Russell Shaw Higgs joined Vincent naked in Brixton prison. Russell had a letter about his imprisonment published shortly before being released when charges were dropped after Vincent's acquittal.

In 2003 TFTBY was renamed Stop Racist Human Skin Phobia (SRHSP) because according to Vincent "...this clearly highlights the irrational prejudice towards the unclothed human body."

Filmography

  • Naked Protest Documentary by Nick Hillel, 1999. Aired on Channel 4 (UK) as part of "The Other Side" series
  • Being Human A film by Lisa Seidenberg, 31 minutes, 2003 Metro Video
  • References

    The Freedom to be Yourself Wikipedia