Anasyrma

Anasyrma (Ancient Greek: ἀνάσυρμα) composed of ἀνά ana "up, against, back", and σύρμα syrma "a dragging motion"; plural: anasyrmata (ἀνασύρματα), also called anasyrmos (ἀνασυρμός),[1] is the gesture of lifting the skirt or kilt.

In other versions of the myth of Demeter, the goddess is received by a woman named Baubo, a crone who makes her laugh by exposing herself, in a ritual gesture called anasyrma ("lifting [of skirts]").

A set of statuettes from Priene, a Greek city on the west coast of Asia Minor, are usually identified as "Baubo" figurines, representing the female body as the face conflated with the lower part of the abdomen.

Terracotta hermaphrodite figurines in the so-called anasyromenos pose, with breasts and a long garment lifted to reveal a phallus, have been found from Sicily to Lesbos, dating back to the late Classical and early Hellenistic period.

[2] Ancient literature suggests that the figures represent the androgynous Cypriot deity Aphroditus (possibly a form of Astarte),[3] whose cult was introduced into mainland Greece between the 5th–4th century BCE.

[8] In Nigeria, during mass protests against the petroleum industry, women threatened to disrobe, leading ChevronTexaco, wishing to avoid the shame this gesture would bring on the company in the eyes of local residents, to strike a deal with the community to provide needed services.