Nikki Craft

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Nikki Craft (born 1949) is an American political activist, artist and writer.


Contents

[edit] Activism

In 1979, Craft helped organize the first Myth California Anti-Pageant in Santa Cruz, California. In 1980 Craft joined other pageant protesters and over the next nine years conducted other actions, including throwing raw meat on the stage and pouring the blood of raped women across a pageant entryway. One year three men locked arms on stage, yelling "Men Resist Sexism! Men Resist Sexism!" preventing the crowning until they were dragged away. There were many arrests, and each year the crowds grew larger at the anti-pageant protests which later resulted in the Miss California pageant leaving Santa Cruz. The protests continued in San Diego and in 1988, after the pageant left Santa Cruz and moved to San Diego, the winner of a local pageant unveiled a banner from her bra at the state finals that read "Pageants Hurt All Women." A documentary called Miss or Myth examines these protests.

[edit] 1980s

Craft was arrested[1] in August 1984 while sunbathing at the Cape Cod National Seashore; she refused to put on her shirt.[2] She later organized a class action suit funded by the Naturist Society against the federal government, which manages the Seashore. Later in the proceedings, she and others withdrew from the case because the Society's attorney had made concessions to the respondents related to clothing requirements for Seashore visitors that included gender distinctions, specifically, the covering of women's breasts.

In 1986, Craft was arrested in Rochester, New York with six other women who were topless or "shirtfree" in public. The case was dismissed on appeal six years later, thus weakening the New York "exposure of a person" state law when pertaining to woman's breasts.[3][4][5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Late City Final Edition (1984-08-26), “Topless Bather Arrested in Cape Cod Protest”, New York Times: 23, <http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50A10F7385C0C758EDDA10894DC484D81> 
  2. ^ Late City Final Edition (1985-09-22), “Northeast Journal; Cape Cod Faces Nudity Question”, New York Times: 50, <http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50A10F7385C0C758EDDA10894DC484D81> 
  3. ^ Rochester Topfree Seven 1992
  4. ^ Bodies of Law by Alan Hyde, 1997, ISBN 0691012288, p. 141. Google books link
  5. ^ People v. Santorelli et. al. 1992

[edit] External links