Lucia Riera Bosqued
Fri, 18 August 2023
"No one can take away the dignity of our nakedness, the dignity of our fragility, of our strength," said Eva Amaral before removing part of her dress, leaving her breasts exposed.
Her performance at Sonorama Ribera 2023 marked the 25-year celebration of a musical career in the Burgos town of Aranda de Duero, thrilling the audience with songs from her new album and legendary tunes from her career.
It was "one of the most beautiful moments in the history of the band", said the Spanish artist, partly due to this gesture that has once again reignited the issue of machismo present in many spheres of society.
"Because there are too many of us and they won't be able to pass over the life we want to inherit, where I'm not afraid to say what I think", she continued, reciting the lyrics of one of her most recognisable songs: 'Revolución' ('Pájaros en la cabeza', 2005 - " Porque somos demasiadas y no podrán pasar por encima de la vida que queremos heredar, donde no tenga miedo a decir lo que pienso ").
Even today, women's bodies still make people uncomfortable. They are censored and objectified, which is why many artists choose to use them as a weapon of protest.
The singer Rocío Saiz has been engaged in this struggle for more than a decade and is "fed up with receiving threats and insults" through social networks.
"There is a very serious problem in this society," laments Saiz. "They have always resented the things we do. That we have jobs, that we think for ourselves, that we vote... And now it bothers them that we do whatever we want on stage.”
"They don't let us be, they want to control us."
For Rocío, for Rigoberta...
As well as a feminist vindication, Amaral's topless performance was an act of solidarity with fellow artists Rocío Saiz, Rigoberta Bandini and Zahara at a time when these artists are in the spotlight.
"This is for Rocío, for Rigoberta, for Zahara, for Miren, for Bebe, for all of us", said Amaral before removing the top of her dress.
"From a privileged position that doesn't need any kind of marketing, Amaral has empathised with the compañeras who are fighting below", celebrates Saiz, aware of the risk that artists face because of their activism. She says that it has even earned her some hostility from members of her family.
Her concert during the LGTBI Pride festivities in Murcia was censored. When she took off her t-shirt, revealing her chest - something she has been doing for ten years now - the police stopped the performance and forced her to get dressed.
But the worst censorship, she says, is unseen kind.
"There are many female colleagues who have taken a stand and have been penalised. Your name is on the list and you are directly discarded".
As for Rigoberta Bandini, she usually shows her breasts on stage when she performs the song 'Ay mamá' - her entry for Benidorm Fest 2022. It is a clear feminist plea which honours motherhood and breastfeeding, and even if she didn't manage to take it to Eurovision, the song became a hit.
The song features the following lyrics: "I don't know why our tits are so scary. Without them there would be no humanity and there would be no beauty. “ (“ No sé por qué dan tanto miedo nuestras tetas / Sin ellas no habría humanidad ni habría belleza... ”)
Time has proven her right, evidenced by the wave of criticism and sexist comments that artists suffer every time they show their bodies.
Singer Zahara was criticised by a conservative sector of society for the cover of her album 'Puta' (2021), in which she appears dressed as the Virgin Mary. She was accused of religious offence and the poster for her concert in Toledo was censored after a petition by the ultra-right-wing Vox party.
However, her image was a denunciation "of how we are expected to be perfect, of the pressure we feel to be mothers, of how we are expected to be saints, and of every time we have been called a whore", Zahara explained during her performance.
The body as a political weapon
The video of Amaral, which has been shared and commented on countless times, has reopened the debate on the need in the 21st century for a feminism that shows itself and acts.
Some reactions explain why.
Although it was applauded by Spanish social and political figures such as the Minister for Equality Irene Montero and the Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Employment Yolanda Díaz, Amaral’s show also sparked controversy, with hundreds of sexist comments flooding the social networks.
Rocío Saiz sees a radical involution of the rights of minorities in Spain and a growing hatred of women, racially profiled people, people who challenge heteronormative standards, and immigrants...
"I think that 21st century men are afraid of losing privileges, of women leaving home, of certain behaviours no longer being allowed", says the singer and activist. That's why "their response is violence and fear".
For Saiz, it is about "an ideological struggle of the patriarchy", one that must be fought with the following weapons: the body, words, books, ideas and education.
"Whoever thinks that the message is someone only taking off their shirt and showing their tits has not understood anything", she says. "What we are trying to say is that we are not allowed to be masters of our bodies.”
"I do what I want with my body because men do what they want with their bodies.”
‘I don’t know why our boobs are so frightening’: why musicians in Spain are going topless as a radical gesture
Julia Webster Ayuso
Updated Fri, 18 August 2023 at 4:35 am GMT-6·4-min read
In the middle of her performance at the Sonorama festival in the northern Spanish town of Aranda de Duero on Saturday, Eva Amaral was about to lead her band Amaral into her song Revolución when she took off her red sequin top and threw it on the floor.
“This is for Rocío, for Rigoberta, for Zahara, for Miren, for Bebe, for all of us,” she said, listing the names of fellow artists before uncovering her breasts. “Because no one can take away the dignity of our nakedness. The dignity of our fragility, of our strength. Because there are too many of us.” In a concert marking the Spanish band’s 25-year career, going topless was a way of defending women’s dignity and freedom to go nude, and “a very important moment”, Amaral later told El País.
But it was also a show of solidarity with a growing number of Spanish artists who are resorting to nudity to defend women’s rights, and have been censored or attacked as a result.
In June, police stopped a concert by the singer Rocío Saiz during Pride in Murcia after she took off her top to perform her song Como yo te Amo, something the singer says she has done during performances for over 10 years. The local police have since apologised and opened an inquiry into the incident, adding that a police officer acted “incorrectly”.
Last year, Rigoberta Bandini’s hugely popular ode to motherhood Ay Mamá became a kind of feminist anthem in Spain, thanks to lyrics such as “I don’t know why our boobs are so frightening” and “sticking out a breast, Delacroix style”. The singer drew both applause and criticism for showing her breasts on stage while performing the song – and was later accused of censorship when actual breasts were noticeably absent from the song’s music video.
Amaral also made a reference to the singer Bebe, who in 2011 was ridiculed for displaying one of her breasts in a concert in Logroño, and to Zahara, a singer whose poster for a new album was censored in Toledo two years ago, after Catholic groups had described it as an offence to the Virgin Mary.
Feminist politicians quickly applauded Amaral’s gesture, including deputy prime minister Yolanda Díaz, who thanked her for “representing all the women in the country” and for “defending rights that today are threatened”. Equality minister Irene Montero retweeted a picture of Amaral with the words “for the dignity of our fragility, of our strength”.
For Nuria Varela, who was involved in the creation of the country’s first Equality Ministry in 2008 and is the author of several books including Feminism for Beginners, Amaral’s gesture echoed a feeling of “being fed up”.
“Since 2018 there has been a very clear demand for women’s rights and it has experienced a significant setback in recent years,” said Varela. “There is a sense that we are going back to things that we thought we had overcome.”
Two years ago, the far-right Vox party led efforts to remove a mural in Madrid celebrating an array of women from Nina Simone to Frida Kahlo, which it said contained a “political message”.
That going topless is overtly political in Spain can partly be explained by the country’s history. Varela says that it wasn’t until the transition to democracy in the 70s and 80s that female nudity became an act of rebellion and sexual liberation in a strict Catholic system. “Amaral’s message is that we have worked hard for our freedoms and we are tired of having to reconquer them every 10 minutes,” she said. “It seems like our bodies still don’t belong to us, despite so much fighting. So women’s bodies continue to be a battleground.”
The feminist group Femen, known for organising topless protests, was a more integral part of the Spanish feminist movement than in other European countries, Varela argued. “[It] is not only recognised but respected.”
‘An integral part of the Spanish feminist movement … Femen activists protest in front of the Electoral Commission in Madrid.
As well as a feminist vindication, Amaral's topless performance was an act of solidarity with fellow artists Rocío Saiz, Rigoberta Bandini and Zahara at a time when these artists are in the spotlight.
"This is for Rocío, for Rigoberta, for Zahara, for Miren, for Bebe, for all of us", said Amaral before removing the top of her dress.
"From a privileged position that doesn't need any kind of marketing, Amaral has empathised with the compañeras who are fighting below", celebrates Saiz, aware of the risk that artists face because of their activism. She says that it has even earned her some hostility from members of her family.
Her concert during the LGTBI Pride festivities in Murcia was censored. When she took off her t-shirt, revealing her chest - something she has been doing for ten years now - the police stopped the performance and forced her to get dressed.
But the worst censorship, she says, is unseen kind.
"There are many female colleagues who have taken a stand and have been penalised. Your name is on the list and you are directly discarded".
As for Rigoberta Bandini, she usually shows her breasts on stage when she performs the song 'Ay mamá' - her entry for Benidorm Fest 2022. It is a clear feminist plea which honours motherhood and breastfeeding, and even if she didn't manage to take it to Eurovision, the song became a hit.
The song features the following lyrics: "I don't know why our tits are so scary. Without them there would be no humanity and there would be no beauty. “ (“ No sé por qué dan tanto miedo nuestras tetas / Sin ellas no habría humanidad ni habría belleza... ”)
Time has proven her right, evidenced by the wave of criticism and sexist comments that artists suffer every time they show their bodies.
Singer Zahara was criticised by a conservative sector of society for the cover of her album 'Puta' (2021), in which she appears dressed as the Virgin Mary. She was accused of religious offence and the poster for her concert in Toledo was censored after a petition by the ultra-right-wing Vox party.
However, her image was a denunciation "of how we are expected to be perfect, of the pressure we feel to be mothers, of how we are expected to be saints, and of every time we have been called a whore", Zahara explained during her performance.
The body as a political weapon
The video of Amaral, which has been shared and commented on countless times, has reopened the debate on the need in the 21st century for a feminism that shows itself and acts.
Some reactions explain why.
Although it was applauded by Spanish social and political figures such as the Minister for Equality Irene Montero and the Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Employment Yolanda Díaz, Amaral’s show also sparked controversy, with hundreds of sexist comments flooding the social networks.
Rocío Saiz sees a radical involution of the rights of minorities in Spain and a growing hatred of women, racially profiled people, people who challenge heteronormative standards, and immigrants...
"I think that 21st century men are afraid of losing privileges, of women leaving home, of certain behaviours no longer being allowed", says the singer and activist. That's why "their response is violence and fear".
For Saiz, it is about "an ideological struggle of the patriarchy", one that must be fought with the following weapons: the body, words, books, ideas and education.
"Whoever thinks that the message is someone only taking off their shirt and showing their tits has not understood anything", she says. "What we are trying to say is that we are not allowed to be masters of our bodies.”
"I do what I want with my body because men do what they want with their bodies.”
‘I don’t know why our boobs are so frightening’: why musicians in Spain are going topless as a radical gesture
Julia Webster Ayuso
Updated Fri, 18 August 2023 at 4:35 am GMT-6·4-min read
In the middle of her performance at the Sonorama festival in the northern Spanish town of Aranda de Duero on Saturday, Eva Amaral was about to lead her band Amaral into her song Revolución when she took off her red sequin top and threw it on the floor.
“This is for Rocío, for Rigoberta, for Zahara, for Miren, for Bebe, for all of us,” she said, listing the names of fellow artists before uncovering her breasts. “Because no one can take away the dignity of our nakedness. The dignity of our fragility, of our strength. Because there are too many of us.” In a concert marking the Spanish band’s 25-year career, going topless was a way of defending women’s dignity and freedom to go nude, and “a very important moment”, Amaral later told El País.
But it was also a show of solidarity with a growing number of Spanish artists who are resorting to nudity to defend women’s rights, and have been censored or attacked as a result.
In June, police stopped a concert by the singer Rocío Saiz during Pride in Murcia after she took off her top to perform her song Como yo te Amo, something the singer says she has done during performances for over 10 years. The local police have since apologised and opened an inquiry into the incident, adding that a police officer acted “incorrectly”.
Last year, Rigoberta Bandini’s hugely popular ode to motherhood Ay Mamá became a kind of feminist anthem in Spain, thanks to lyrics such as “I don’t know why our boobs are so frightening” and “sticking out a breast, Delacroix style”. The singer drew both applause and criticism for showing her breasts on stage while performing the song – and was later accused of censorship when actual breasts were noticeably absent from the song’s music video.
Amaral also made a reference to the singer Bebe, who in 2011 was ridiculed for displaying one of her breasts in a concert in Logroño, and to Zahara, a singer whose poster for a new album was censored in Toledo two years ago, after Catholic groups had described it as an offence to the Virgin Mary.
Feminist politicians quickly applauded Amaral’s gesture, including deputy prime minister Yolanda Díaz, who thanked her for “representing all the women in the country” and for “defending rights that today are threatened”. Equality minister Irene Montero retweeted a picture of Amaral with the words “for the dignity of our fragility, of our strength”.
For Nuria Varela, who was involved in the creation of the country’s first Equality Ministry in 2008 and is the author of several books including Feminism for Beginners, Amaral’s gesture echoed a feeling of “being fed up”.
“Since 2018 there has been a very clear demand for women’s rights and it has experienced a significant setback in recent years,” said Varela. “There is a sense that we are going back to things that we thought we had overcome.”
Two years ago, the far-right Vox party led efforts to remove a mural in Madrid celebrating an array of women from Nina Simone to Frida Kahlo, which it said contained a “political message”.
That going topless is overtly political in Spain can partly be explained by the country’s history. Varela says that it wasn’t until the transition to democracy in the 70s and 80s that female nudity became an act of rebellion and sexual liberation in a strict Catholic system. “Amaral’s message is that we have worked hard for our freedoms and we are tired of having to reconquer them every 10 minutes,” she said. “It seems like our bodies still don’t belong to us, despite so much fighting. So women’s bodies continue to be a battleground.”
The feminist group Femen, known for organising topless protests, was a more integral part of the Spanish feminist movement than in other European countries, Varela argued. “[It] is not only recognised but respected.”
‘An integral part of the Spanish feminist movement … Femen activists protest in front of the Electoral Commission in Madrid.
Photograph: Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images
Women’s right to go topless in public seems to be under threat even at the beach and swimming pools, where it has been widely accepted for decades. Though Spain continues to be the country where the highest number of women choose to sunbathe with their tops off, a study by the French pollster Ifop found that the practice is declining, with younger women leading the trend. Half of those who choose to cover up said that the main reason was a “fear of sexual aggression”.
Earlier this week, the regional government of Catalonia put out a statement to local authorities in which it said that women must be allowed to go topless in municipal swimming pools.
Though the right to go topless is enshrined in a 2020 law, some public swimming pools have prohibited the practice, leading to several complaints of discrimination.
But in a letter from the Department of Equality and Feminism, local authorities were told that stopping women from going topless “excludes part of the population and violates the free choice of each person with regard to their body”.
Any town hall found to have breached the norm could receive a fine of up to €500,000.
Women’s right to go topless in public seems to be under threat even at the beach and swimming pools, where it has been widely accepted for decades. Though Spain continues to be the country where the highest number of women choose to sunbathe with their tops off, a study by the French pollster Ifop found that the practice is declining, with younger women leading the trend. Half of those who choose to cover up said that the main reason was a “fear of sexual aggression”.
Earlier this week, the regional government of Catalonia put out a statement to local authorities in which it said that women must be allowed to go topless in municipal swimming pools.
Though the right to go topless is enshrined in a 2020 law, some public swimming pools have prohibited the practice, leading to several complaints of discrimination.
But in a letter from the Department of Equality and Feminism, local authorities were told that stopping women from going topless “excludes part of the population and violates the free choice of each person with regard to their body”.
Any town hall found to have breached the norm could receive a fine of up to €500,000.
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