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Anasyrma (Ancient Greek:ἀνάσυρμα, composed ofἀνάana'up, against, back' andσύρμαsyrma'a dragging motion'; pluralanasyrmataἀνασύρματα), also calledanasyrmos (ἀνασυρμός),[1] is thegesture of lifting theskirt orkilt. It is used in connection with certainreligious rituals, eroticism, and lewd jokes (see, for example,Baubo). The term is used in describing corresponding works of art.
Anasyrma may be a deliberately provocative self-exposing of one's nakedgenitals orbuttocks.[citation needed] The famous example of the latter case isAphrodite Kallipygos ("Aphrodite of the beautiful buttocks"). In other contexts, this gesture has anapotropaic character, that is, a means to ward off a supernatural enemy, or it may be a sign of mockery, analogous tomooning.
Ritual jesting and intimate exposure were common in the cults ofDemeter andDionysus, and figure in the celebration of theEleusinian Mysteries associated with these divinities. The mythographerApollodorus says thatIambe's jesting was the reason for the practice of ritual jesting at theThesmophoria, a festival celebrated in honor of Demeter and Persephone. In other versions of the myth of Demeter, the goddess is received by a woman named Baubo, acrone who makes her laugh by exposing herself, in a ritual gesture called anasyrma ("lifting [of skirts]"). A set of statuettes fromPriene, a Greek city on the west coast of Asia Minor, are usually identified as "Baubo" figurines, representing the female body as the face conflated with the lower part of the abdomen. These appeared as counterparts to thephalluses decorated with eyes, mouth, and sometimes legs, that appeared on vase paintings and were made as statuettes.
Terracottahermaphrodite figurines in the so-calledanasyromenos pose, with breasts and a long garment lifted to reveal a phallus, have been found fromSicily toLesbos, dating back to the lateClassical and earlyHellenistic period. Theanasyromenos pose, however, was not invented in the 4th century BCE; figures of this type drew on a much earliereasterniconographic tradition employed for female divinities.[2] Ancient literature suggests that the figures represent the androgynous Cypriot deityAphroditus (possibly a form ofAstarte),[3] whose cult was introduced into mainland Greece between the 5th–4th century BCE. The revealedphallus was believed to haveapotropaic magical powers, averting theevil eye orinvidia and bestowinggood luck.
Many historical references suggest that anasyrma had dramatic or supernatural effect—positive or negative.Pliny the Elder wrote that amenstruating woman who uncovers her body can scare awayhailstorms, whirlwinds and lightning. If she strips naked and walks around a field of wheat, caterpillars, worms and beetles fall off the heads. Even when not menstruating, she can lull a storm out at sea by stripping.[4]
According to folklore, women lifted their skirts to chase off enemies inIreland andChina.[5] A story fromThe Irish Times (September 23, 1977) reported a potentially violent incident involving several men, which was averted by a woman exposing her genitals to the attackers. According toBalkan folklore, when it rained too much, women would run into the fields and lift their skirts to scare the gods and end the rain.[6]Maimonides also mentions this ritual to ward off the rain while expressing his disapproval. Stripping away clothing was perceived as creating a "raw" state closer to nature than society, facilitating interaction with supernatural entities.[7] InJean de La Fontaine'sNouveaux Contes (1674), a demon is repulsed by the sight of a woman lifting her skirt. Associated carvings, calledsheela na gigs, were common on medieval churches in northern Europe and the British Isles.
In some nations ofAfrica, a woman stripping naked and displaying herself is still considered a curse and a means to ward off evil.[8]
In Nigeria in 2002, during mass protests against thepetroleum industry, women threatened to disrobe; this led ChevronTexaco, wishing to avoid the shame this gesture would bring on the company in the eyes of local residents, to strike a deal with the community to provide needed[which?] services.[9]
In 2003,Leymah Gbowee threatened to strip naked to prevent being arrested as she and other women surrounded the courtroom where peace negotiations were taking place during theSecond Liberian Civil War. The warlords and generals at the negotiating table, fearing the curse that would befall them should they witness her nakedness, retreated back to the conference room. The women maintained their protest for two more weeks, until the negotiations finally reached a peace settlement, an episode depicted in the 2008 documentary filmPray the Devil Back to Hell.[10]
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| Nakedness and clothing | |
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| Nudity and sexuality | |
| Issues in social nudity | |
| Naturism | |
| Nude recreation | |
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| Social nudity advocates | |
| Depictions of nudity | |
| See also | |
