I did my part for progressive politics in this election by taking off my clothes.

So did over 100 other women when we gathered in Battery Park last Wednesday night for the Axis of Eve's "Expose and Depose" Mass Flash.

This protest wasn't just a clever excuse to undress and shock easily offended Republican delegates; it was a symbolic call to the Bush administration to end its political cover-ups and a call to all women to get out and mobilize for the election. It also taught a valuable lesson to people looking to get attention for their pet issue - print it on a pair of panties.

Protesters, member of the Axis of Eve coalition, dance during a 'MASS FLASH of protest panties' in front of Golden Sphere Sculpture in Battery Park on the third day of the Republican National Convention in New York Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2004. (AP Photo/Joe Kohen)

The Axis of Eve was thought up by Tasha and Zazel Eve, two women fed up with George W. Bush's lies and his anti-woman legislation. Bush's "Axis of Evil" State of the Union provided the name, and their desire to bring humor and fun to their activism led them to create and sell, at www.axisofeve.org, the protest panties that are now being flashed across America.Wednesday's protest gathered women clad in outfits ranging from American flag skirts, olive drab Axis of Eve tank tops and pink boy-short panties, feather boas, fishnets, and the occasional pasty to march, dance, and shout "Bush out of my bush!"

Despite calls from the organizers to avoid nudity, some zealous protesters stripped down to the bare minimum and posed for photos. As some women started playing with a volleyball covered by a Bush mask, I had to wonder how the spectacle I'd just participated in was going to tip the election for John Kerry. Organizer Apple Eve told me that this event was just a small part of "Operation Naked Democracy."

Up until now, Axis of Eve has been seen as one in a growing number of street theater-based protest groups. While it may not have the numbers of Billionaires for Bush or the surreal punch of Tuesday's anarchist Man in Black Bloc Johnny Cash tribute, the Eves have a detailed "Eve-olutionary" agenda designed to gain attention and boost turnout. They even have a recruitment plan - pantyware parties, and they're coming to a town near you.

Turning the Tupperware party concept on its head, pantyware parties offer a strategy to get out the vote on Nov. 2 and create a forum for women to talk about politics while "oohing" and "aahing" over magenta thongs and tank tops printed with "weapon of mass seduction."

Apple Eve told me there have been pantyware parties in nearly all swing states, but her list had one glaring omission - Wisconsin.

Of course there is still time between now and November for a little more naked democracy.

Meredith Clark, a recent University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate, was in New York during the week of the Republican National Convention.

Copyright 2004 The Capital Times

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