Book lovers would rather be stripped of their clothes than their right to read freely.
A group of French booksellers and publishers took off their clothes Wednesday to protest conservative politician Jean-François Copé‘s call to censor a children’s book from 2011 called “Everybody Gets Naked” (Tous à Poil), the Local reported.
The storybook shows that everyone takes off their clothes sometimes to calm children’s fears about their own bodies, according to authors Claire Franek and Marc Daniau.
They wanted to present real bodies in natural situations “to counter the numerous images of bodies, often undressed, altered by Photoshop or plastic surgery, that are shown in ads or on the covers of magazines,” according to Melville House Books.
But the book makes UMP party leader Copé’s blood boil. During a Feb. 9 appearance on French news channel LCI he flipped through the book to show viewers how ridiculous he found it that anyone would draw a picture book with naked people for children.
This attack spurred protestors to take off their clothes and pose for a group photo with only books to cover their privates. They want to stand up against censorship and support the book’s message that no one should feel ashamed about their bodies.
Copé’s crusade against the book stirred up an outcry that wound up launching “Everybody Gets Naked” to the top spot the Amazon.fr bestseller list.
The Daily News reached out to The Strand Book Store in the Village to get their take on the controversy. And though they did not comment on “Everybody Gets Naked” they made their stance on censorship crystal clear.
“The Strand has long been an advocate for reading and enjoying banned books,” the store said in an emailed statement. “We have a whole product line and table on the store floor dedicated to it. We support the right to read, banned books or otherwise. We’re for banning censorship, not books.”
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