Stripping Naked for Lower Rents!
Berlin is known for its relatively low rents, especially if compared with those in cities like Paris or London. For example, in good (maybe better yet, interesting) districts one bedroom apartments can be found for 400 or 450 Euros per month. But lately all the more apartments are offered at not-so-affordable prices, and this could – should the trend spread – complicate lives of Berlin’s residents, and so a group of people calling themselves Hedonists International came up with a provocative and entertaining way of protesting. They answered ads for apartments for rent in the districts of Kreuzberg and Freidrichshain, from which immigrants moved out because of increased rents and more affluent young couples with children moved in (today’s average rent for two bedroom apartments in those neighborhoods is around 600 Euros) offered at unusually high prices. They would arrange to meet with the real estate agent and would then, just before “seeing” the apartment, strip completely naked and party inside, dancing naked, with Mickey Mouse masks on their faces, to conceal their identities, and messages “Too expensive” or “Stripping” written on their naked bodies. They would have fun and record their naked entertainment for as long as they would not be thrown out, usually only by the police.
Some real estate agencies just wave their hands, believing it is just a transient entertainment, while others are angry and claim that the Berliners are spoiled because rents in the city are minimal. Thus, they quote that the citizens of Munich spend an average of 17.6 per cent earnings on rent, while in Berlin they spend 12.3 per cent earnings on rent. But the demonstrators, as one of them, who wished to remain anonymous, along with everyone else in the group, said, claim that in Berlin still more flats is on offer than there is demand so there is no justification for raising rents. With this way of protesting they wanted to draw attention to their demands and warn landlords that they can expect their visit if they try to rent apartments at inflated prices. The nudity is also metaphorical because it implies that after renting such an expensive place, tenants will not have any money left to buy clothes. In any case, they managed to attract the attention of the Social Democrat Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit, famous for his statement that Berlin “poor but sexy”, whose office recently launched an initiative to protect rents in more gentrified neighborhoods in the city.
Anyway, Hedonists International is an international movement, which is not, as they say, homogeneous nor dogmatic, but operates in different countries – from the peripheries of Sao Paulo and Paris to Berlin’s alternative scene. They define themselves as hedonists, because their actions are carried out in joy and fun (that is why they dance naked in the flats, instead of a protesting “seriously” in front of buildings). Berlin “faction” had already organized series of events, and so they broke in masses into a shopping center at Postdamer Platz before Christmas, dancing and thwarting people who were shopping, protesting against consumerism. They organized an action similar to the one with the apartments in a neo-Nazi pub in Berlin, where they also crashed in naked and had a party rebelling against fascism. They have temporarily suspended actions in apartments due to cold weather, because they require too much time to strip and get dressed again while running from the police.
If you would like to join them, check out their web page and watch a review of their actions in the video:
