Commentary: The Femen Effect On Feminism

Commentary: The Femen Effect On Feminism.(Rferl).By Joanna Rohozinska.When the activist group Femen burst onto the Ukrainian protest scene in 2008, holding mud-wrestling matches on Kyiv's central Independence Square to protest the country’s notoriously dirty politics, I was hopeful the stunts could succeed in kick-starting a serious discussion about sexism and gender inequality, problems that continue to plague the states of the former Soviet Union.
Four years and a new office in Paris later, the group, which professes to use “sextremism” to fight against patriarchy as manifested by dictatorship, the church, and the sex industry, more closely resembles a girlie show. More flash than substance.
Femen has raised eyebrows -- and certainly provoked salacious grins -- with its topless antics, which have made it the most visible advocacy group on women’s issues. Now that Femen has successfully roped in the international media with its stunts, it's worth examining what exactly the “founder of a new wave of feminism of the third millennium” is advocating or contributing to contemporary feminist discourse.
Ultimately, a message is only effective if it is clearly conveyed. Though it would seem that there couldn’t be a clearer message than one written on nubile, bare flesh, a closer look reveals that what Femen is actually proposing remains obscured.
In an interview with Gazeta.ru, Femen activist Oleksandra Shevchenko stated that the organization’s goal is a "female revolution” but was sketchier on what that actually entails. The group’s website offers little beyond somewhat garbled slogans and repeated references to “hot boobs.” A survey of their protests fails to provide much insight into what the concrete goals are or what the contribution to feminism may be.
In sum, there is little evidence of any of Femen's protests having significant impact, either in terms of early local campaigns concerning, for example, protests against the tradition in Ukraine of turning off hot water in rotating districts of a city, let alone larger issues such as the international sex trade.Read the full story here.