Protests in the age of mass media have always needed to court publicity, sometimes with an eye-catching stunt. Some protesters have taken to exhibiting themselves in stocks and pillories as an effective way to attract the attention of the public and the media.
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) did this in 2024 when activists appeared in yokes in Pamplona, Spain, to protest against bull-fighting. Here are some pictures of the protest.
In 1966 members of the Committee for Fair Divorce and Alimony Laws used stocks and a pillory as symbols of what they described as “the oppressiveness and cruelty” of present laws. They staged a demonstration outside the civil jail, also known as “Alimony Jail,” in New York on 6 February 1966. Pictured below are Joan Matthews of Manhattan, and Ray Carrow of Brooklyn, in the pillory and stocks.
There have been other protests using stocks and pillories. This seems to be particularly popular in Finland.
A Finnish priest (centre) protesting against the church's antipathy to gay marriage. The stocks were placed in front of the judicial chapter of the Helsinki diocese. On either side of him in the stocks are the gay couple he married.
Disgruntled employees protesting outside the South Karelia Museum in Finland.
Protesting against Finland's policy towards asylum seekers.
.jpg)
Anti-government protesters in Finland. The banner translates as "liberty, freedom, equality".
