A twenty-year old woman in Cairo posted nude photographs of herself on line to protest the sexual repressiveness of Islamism. She set off an immediate controversy. Read the NY Times article.and you will encounter the sentiment that maybe the post was a bad idea, for it could be counted on to inflame fundamentalists. Everyone is afraid of fundamentalists — the intransigent, take-no-prisoners, suicidal nihlists who want to rule your life — and the fear is not unreasonable. But she is a brave woman, and not merely an exhibitionist or egomaniac. The pictures show a woman aware of her nakedness and quietly and even shyly reveling in it; her stockings accentuate her sexuality. It is as if to state the obvious — well, maybe obvious only to those of us who accept the values of the secular culture — but make it seem fresh as paint, fresh as a young woman's body; real, not photo-shopped or otherwise faked. I believe the Guardian has an article promoting this view and will try to track it down. Can't find it. Here's the Huff Post's take — DL