Oxford graduate went topless at Blackwell’s book signing

Victoria Bateman, an academic and Oxford University graduate, appeared bare-chested at Blackwell’s bookshop on Broad Street on Friday, July 3.

She was signing copies of her book Economica: A Global History of Women, Wealth and Power, calling for unity on the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum.

Dr Bateman, who is known for using nudity as a form of protest, first gained widespread attention on the day the UK left the EU after appearing nude with the words “Brexit leaves Britain naked” written on her body.

“I am determined to end out the message that Brexit is reeking harm to the UK economy”, she said.

“10 years on, the effects are starting to become clear and we need to unite with our neighbours to face the big threats in the global economy on what is increasingly choppy metaphorical waters.”

Her topless appearance at Blackwell’s was not a one-off, but part of a broader protest.

Dr Bateman said: “The outfit choice isn’t made by me, but by the random throw of a die each morning.

“The idea behind this is that by not being able to choose myself what to wear and so potentially being forced to bare my body at events that I would otherwise choose not to.”

In doing so, shays she is “reflecting the loss of choice, freedom and movement.”

She almost came to the city fully nude (Image: Victoria Bateman)

On the day of the signing, the die landed on “skirt,” which featured a print of blue parrots with orange beaks on a black background with white flowers and leaves.

She travelled to Oxford topless from outside the county.

Dr Bateman said: “Until yesterday morning when I rolled the die, I had no idea if I would be travelling to and spending the day in Oxford wearing my EU dress, the skirt or only a pair of shoes.

“In some ways I was quite lucky, as if the die had chosen the shoes I would have had to spend the entire day completely naked, as I have had to do on several other occasions in the past couple of weeks.”

She informed Blackwell’s in advance of her pledge and the possible outcomes.

She was protesting on the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum (Image: Victoria Bateman)

A former student at Jesus College, Oxford, Dr Bateman completed a Master’s in Economic History and a DPhil in Economics between 2001 and 2006.

She said: “Oxford is, therefore, a city I’m very fond of, although, when I was a student, I would never dreamt that one day I would return to Oxford to sign copies of my own book topless – but then again, I also never imagined that we would have left the European Union.”