Showing posts with label Ukraine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ukraine. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

What do feminists do to get attention?

Undress, of course.

And I’m not just talking about Slutwalk.

There is a group in the Ukraine called Femen which initially formed to protest against the explosion of prostitution and sex tourism in their country. They protest by being topless. They have since campaigned about other issues, using other means,just as mud-wrestling. Most of the members of the group are young; the average age is 22. They are the most known feminist group in the Ukraine, where one in eight sex workers are university or school students.

Although some feminists believe the means of protest do a disservice to women, that is, reinforce sexualised stereotypes, a spokesperson for the group says “We don’t want to be traditional feminists.. Women’s organisations and groups here only write papers and nothing more. We need activists who will scream and leave their clothes in the street.”

Meanwhile, France is considering joining other European countries such as Sweden, Norway and Iceland, in making the buying of sex illegal. This means the client will be charged, fined and/or imprisoned. Some object to the move, saying it will simply make prostitution more dangerous for sex workers.

So, I guess the other way feminists can make change happen is by becoming politicians.