Natural Beauty (redux)

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PALMIRA UNCOVERED

Irrespective of its origins, by the mid-nineteenth century at the latest female nudity appears to have become universal on the island. Nevertheless, while the descriptions of occasional visitors and official records of the French and later British colonial authorities mention the naked women, even then there appears nowhere any reference to actual laws enforcing it. More likely, what happened was a gradual process. It may have been that the females went without clothing while their menfolk were at sea; although a rival conjecture is that they cast off their clothes to celebrate their men's homecoming. In any case, the custom may have become established to some degree by 1749. In that year Élisabeth Peyrefitte took to the sea as captain of her own vessel, a merchantman. She commanded her all-male crew stark naked... or so it is said. (Notwithstanding the statue of her standing naked at the helm, erected in Régate's main square, local historians dismiss the legend.)

Whenever the nude law actually came into effect, neither the French nor British colonial authorities made any attempt to nullify it. Any social campaigners who might have complained were dissuaded by the island community's social harmony, which was attributed by most observers to the nude law. As I've mentioned, there is a saying on Palmira: When all women are naked, all men know they are brothers.

Finally, it should be noted that the most radical interpretation of the nude law is that it was in fact a twentieth century phenomenon backdated by folk memory to the eighteenth. In this reconstruction, prior to 1906 female nudity was widespread but was neither compulsory nor universal. Travelers may have encountered both naked and clothed women, but naturally tended to emphasize the former in their descriptions. For instance, a visitor in 1874, Thomas Canavan (

Letters from the Caribbean

) mentioned female nudity but was coy about its prevalence. Though observant and preceptive, he was not immune to the racial prejudice of his day. He expressed surprise that white women were equally as "fancy-free" as their "darker sisters." Yet there is no hint in his report of disapproval. He noted that Palmirene women were among the most beautiful in the world. Romanticizing the old pirate custom of kidnapping their brides, he speculated that selective breeding and natural evolution had produced this delightful phenomenon. The buccaneers of old would, it was surmised, have carried off only the most comely females. Canavan wrote fifteen years after the publication of Darwin's

On the Origin of Species

.

What was less often mentioned in the records is that up until modern times, the tough, resilient females of Palmira enjoyed more rights than members of their sex elsewhere. Working on the farms and in the trades while the men were away, they exercised a considerable degree of independence; and although the island's parliament was a male-only institution, in the men's absence the women acted as decision-makers. So it may be that Palmira's females embraced nudity as an assertion of their womanhood, and perhaps as a tribute to the suffering and sacrifices of their mothers, grandmothers and ancestors.

So to sum up, there are several versions of the nude law's origins, and who's to say which is closest to the truth? For as Napoleon Bonaparte is supposed to have said, history is fable that we agree to believe.

What is historical fact is that only in 1906 was female nudity formally imposed by the Palmirene parliament. That was when the first such legislation was introduced, with its now famous

raison d'être

-- "To honour the natural beauty of the female body, women are forbidden to wear clothing." Also in the preamble is the telling phrase "in accordance with our customs" with no mention of any precedent in actual law. Perhaps not surprisingly, this was the very time when the merchant aristocracy which had dominated local political and economic affairs for generations had begun to concede power to new breeds of entrepreneur, including the tourist operator. Thus the nude law, far from being an antique tradition, may be a relatively modern initiative, imposing by official decree a widespread but by no means universal practice.

Over the decades, the law was refined and clarified, the latest upgrade coming in 2009. Successive British administrators could have vetoed or repealed it, but none did so; and as a result enforcement was rigorous and sometimes brutal. The punishment for a woman wearing any form of clothing or covering any part of her body was generally a public caning. Even the wives and daughters of colonial officials were not exempt. Those refusing to abide by local custom were (and mostly still are) obliged to remain within the confines of Grandin's administrative and diplomatic compound.

In 1935, the senior British official in the colony, Commissioner Richard Penrose, was a bachelor who took a native wife. Following their retirement to England, the lovely Mrs Penrose astonished and delighted staff and guests at their country manor house, clad only in what nature had provided.

By the 1950s, word of the "island of naked women" had filtered out to the world. A rising tide of tourists began to upset tradition. To attract investors and improve the island's image, the government began to relax the nude law for visitors. Tensions mounted; and the first of the so-called stripping riots took place in 1958, when a mob of infuriated locals attacked a group of British holiday-makers at Bonaire, on the north-east coast. A number of women were disrobed and dunked in the ocean. This and subsequent such actions were peaceful and light-hearted, and the victims of the Bonaire incident took it in good humour. However, in 1962 an ugly incident at Bretache, north of Régate, almost erupted into violence. The government belatedly cracked down on vigilantism, but also decreed a more strict enforcement of the law.

Even today there are female visitors who are unfamiliar with local history and custom, and a number who for some reason believe they're exempt. Until the introduction of the latest version of the law in 2009, women falling foul of the rules could be disrobed after a formal warning. Nowadays, no one can be forcibly stripped, but penalties for non-compliance include deportation for foreigners and fines and community service for local women.

In the mid-1960s the tourist industry flourished. Female nudity appealed to jetsetters and trendsetters pursuing new experiences, to couples looking to spice up their relationship and to honeymooners seeking an exotic start to their marriage. In turn, the impact of tourism was at least partly responsible for the modernization of Palmirene society.

The island had long passed its heyday when Regatta Bay was a sea of sails and Palmirene crews manned a significant proportion of ships plying the Caribbean. Most men still earned their livelihood at sea, on fishing boats or freighters. However, tourism was overtaking all other industries in importance. More men stayed ashore and took up more sedentary occupations. The buccaneer culture died out, and the last vestiges of the patriarchy were swept away by winds of change. These brought an improvement in women's rights, initially at a gradual pace but eventually dramatic.

In the meantime, an attempt by the British government to weaken the nude law was a factor in the (mutually agreed) declaration of independence in 1974. The next step, albeit belated, was the extension of voting rights to women. Even so, it was not until 1989 that females were able to stand for election to Parliament; and one of the reasons why Palmira lagged behind its neighbors in sexual equality was the concern that women might vote for abolition of the nude law. This was to prove unfounded.

In 1979, Chief Minister Roger Haradine introduced a resolution in the Legislative Assembly for a reassessment of "antiquated" statutes. One of these was the nude law; but then a remarkable thing happened. Women began making themselves heard. The campaign to save the nude law started as a murmur of protest which quickly grew to a crescendo. What women feared was that the end of compulsion was the thin edge of a wedge. How long would it be before clothing became compulsory? Many had never worn a stitch in their entire adult lives. The expatriate community was no more in favour of repeal. Some women felt that to wear clothes would be a sign of disrespect towards males. Others believed that to abandon the nude law would dishonor the many generations of women, their forebears, who had struggled, survived and thrived without clothing.

As one protester summed up her position: "We are finally starting to enjoy the same rights that men have enjoyed for centuries. This is the time to celebrate our differences, not to hide them. If we are ashamed of our naked bodies, then we are in a sense disparaging our mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers who have borne their nudity with dignity and grace." This woman, Elizabeth Reynolds, would later be the first of her sex elected to the Palmirene parliament.

Others were even more forthright. The island's nascent feminist movement, to the surprise of many outsiders, firmly opposed repeal. Nudity was embraced not just as an expression and symbol but an assertion of womanhood. Progressive Palmirenes of both sexes could advocate for social and political reform while endorsing the nude law.

Not surprisingly, the men of Palmira joined their womenfolk in this crusade to defend Palmira's traditions and preserve the lifestyle. Unfortunately, some went further. Although only a handful of women challenged the law by wearing clothes, those who did were subjected to harassment. The pro-nudist camp, realizing that such attacks were counterproductive, called for calm. As a result, acknowledging the storm of protest which had remained mostly peaceful throughout, the parliament voted unanimously against repeal.

By this time women had won the right to vote but were still barred from running for election. It was largely in recognition of the leadership role they had taken in the campaign, and with the realization that they would not abrogate the nude law, that they soon achieved greater rights.

Thereafter, it was the tourist boom which ended whatever lingering doubts might have existed. Not only did the nude law not deter female visitors, they made up a majority of arrivals in the 1980s. By the mid-1990s this figure had risen to sixty percent. It now stands at nearly two-thirds (although this is partly a result of a selection effect, as single males and all-male groups are discouraged). The galvanizing effect of the 1979 debate has been that abolition of the nude law has never since been put on the political agenda as a serious issue.

Any fears in 2009 that the new female-majority Parliament might dilute the nude law were quickly dispelled. Today, with the Chief Minister, Governor and Chief Justice being women, Palmira is the first independent state anywhere in the world to be controlled by females in all three branches of government. And most citizens attribute this to the influence of the nude law.

Describing the opening of the 2009 Parliament, one foreign correspondent managed to be both precious and patronizing. "The legislators filed into the chamber, single-breasted suits alongside bare-breasted bodies. Naked bottoms squeaked on leather upholstery and bare bosoms peered across the speaker's table, as the newly appointed Chief Minister rose to address the assembly. Business as usual would be her government's guiding principle." What nonsense! I have not seen a double-breasted jacket in all my time on Palmira.

Three months later the parliament did enact legislation, not to change the law but to address specific concerns. For instance, penalties and sanctions have been moderated. Special exemptions can be granted and are not as rare as many people believe. The most obvious are for health and safety reasons. For example, the island must weather the occasional hurricane and covering the body is then essential. There are also professional and certain personal circumstances. The government of Palmira adheres to a policy of equal job opportunity, so a woman cannot be denied a job which requires some protective clothing. The Health and Safety Standards Act was passed to address this issue. Otherwise, the authorities are uncompromising. This firm policy is therefore all the more notable given that the government and parliament are dominated by women.

The men of Palmira have traditionally been self-interested and complacent, but never stupid. They recognize that the continued imposition of the nude law depends on the cooperation and consent of the women subject to it. On the other side, the opposition to its proposed repeal was led by women who understood the roots of their empowerment. For a long time the law served the pleasure of men. It still does, but the women revel in their nudity. It is a form of liberation of the self, and (yes) a source of power over the male which is enhanced, not reduced, by compulsion.

This island is no utopia. Palmirene society is far from perfect. But whatever problems remain to be solved, the nude law has helped make the little community a model of sexual and social harmony of which they are much and rightly proud.