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Question about Femen

Discussion in 'General political debates' started by nclpw, Mar 4, 2013.

  1. nclpw

    nclpw Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    May 25, 2012
     
    So I'm sure most of you have heard about them, and having seen them run around hysterically and topless raised a few questions. I tried looking them up but they don't seem to be really clear on what or who exactly they are, except that they think they pretty much invented feminism.
    I can live with that, they don't come off as being a group that'll actually change anything or survive much longer if they keep up the shit they're doing. Not that I'd really care if they do live on or not, I really don't take them seriously. And I'm a feminist. To me the whole thing reminds me more of a girlie show than actual activism.

    Does anyone know who funds these girls? I highly doubt they can open an office in Paris merely with money they get from donators. I checked their site and did some googling, but I can't find any info on who exactly gives them the money to travel around and such. Even if no one here knows, I'd really like to hear some opinions.

    I didn't really think this belonged in anarchism and radical activism, so I just put it here.
     

  2. punkmar77

    punkmar77 Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member


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    Hmm maybe you should ask crusty beckham as he is a Paris local...?
     
  3. Harrison

    Harrison Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    Nov 11, 2009
     
    I don't know a lot about them, with not being anywhere near them and all. From what I've seen I don't think I like them. I mean the message from what I've seen is anti-patriarchal but I get all these red flag feelings whenever I read about them, watch their videos or look through their website (which I think is kind of strange).
    I guess it almost feels scripted, or maybe robotic? I'm not saying that they haven't accomplished things, but it's eerie how beauty-normative they seem and that they clearly have a lot of funding that they acquired quickly from unknown sources. Also a lot of stuff seems to have been deleted from their site. I guess I just get a really weird gut feeling about them.
     
  4. nclpw

    nclpw Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    May 25, 2012
     
    Oh, yeah I was actually thinking about it. But I guess he'll just have to say something here if he knows haha.

    Yeah, there's just something really staged about the whole thing and it makes me suspicious. It might just be a fad/pop-feminism thing for all I know.
    I doubt there's a huge conspiracy behind it, but still. I just wanted to hear some other input or have someone prove me wrong if I am. I know there are lots of good heads here.
     
  5. Harrison

    Harrison Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    Nov 11, 2009
     
    Agreed.
     
  6. THEBLACKNOVA

    THEBLACKNOVA Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    Paris local????

    I thought he was one of the last of the famous international crusty beckhams ;)

    #FEMA https://twitter.com/search?q=%23femen

    I've seen the protest tactic in pics and news reports here and there on the net over the last year i think... I did't know it was a specific group.

    I checked some info in wiki and it says they are against sex tourists & the sex industry and they want "To build up the image of Ukraine, the country with great opportunities for women"

    Were I live i've met many women throughout the years and people who come to work in border factories with hopes of a better life and end up working in the sex industry to survive... I wonder what it's like in the Ukraine???

    I wonder if they have any connection with the peeps from the Pussy Riot group or collective??
     
  7. nclpw

    nclpw Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    Oh yeah, apparently it is. They're getting more offices across europe. Really curious of who's funding them.
    Yeah, their website doesn't say much more either.

    I bet they support pussy riot, not sure if its mutual. I haven't heard anything about that. Then again fucking Madonna supports pussy riot, so..
     
  8. crustybeckham

    crustybeckham Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member Forum Member


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    Jan 22, 2012
     
    Since my expertise is required, here I am!

    From what I understand, Femen were helped by a collective called "Ni putes ni soumises" which started as a women organization denouncing sexism and gender violence in the French ghettos but ended up working with the government, being willfully used as tokens and providing useful excuses to claim that sexism was exclusive to ghetto youths and muslims. The Femen got very good publicity here at first because they actively supported the Pussy Riot, something which the French media all loved because it was a cheap way to criticize evil Russia and point out how great French democracy is in comparison. Since then, the Femen got more and more "radical" and did some actions before the church of Notre-Dame in support of gay marriage and to denounce the rampant homophobia of the Church and basically have a go at religion. Ironically, all of a sudden, the media stopped giving the Femen good reviews, saying it was all too much, too extreme and the organizations that offered them support (financially and politically) are starting to back off. Apparently, some of the Femens have been beaten up by right-wing thugs and have been threatened more than once. According to an article I read yesterday, they are at the top of enemy list of the French far-right. The leader of the Femen (they do claim having a leader though they call themselves "romantiques anarchistes"...) also criticized the Pussy Riots for not being radical enough.

    Personally, I am not sure what to think about them. I can relate to some of their ideas and their mode of action seems to have some impact. At least, they distanciate themselves from the mild state-feminism that seems to pervade the media and to whom a female boss epitomizes feminism. They are, however, a bit arrogant and have this avant-garde rhetorics that I don't really like. On the whole, instead of focusing on their message (whether you agree with it or not), people here think they are too pretty to be proper feminists and only get their tits out because they can.
     
  9. nclpw

    nclpw Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    Oh wow, thats heavy. How are they not radical enough?

    Well, thanks for clearing the funding bit up, it makes a bit more sense now. They don't really exist, as far as I know, where I live yet so I've mostly had the media/internet impression. And judging from their site and interviews and such it didn't really seem like they had a clue. There is some sort of new wave of feminism rising that is radical in what they do, but not politically. I don't really believe in giving women special rights as a "minority" or our own culture. Naurally I'm skeptic when there's talk of a "womens revolution".
    They've really been catching up on a lot of fashion/internet trends too from what I've seen from their art and image, that was another reason for me to like them even less.

    Can't really blame them eh, so far I haven't relly seen a diverse range of tits being shown. And it always looks like its the same girls on tv, but I'm sure that'll change as they get bigger.

    Either way, it just seemed to me like they were being used by a bigger group/individual/organization, which is true.
     
  10. THEBLACKNOVA

    THEBLACKNOVA Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    MMMM it seems like it would be sweet to go to their events with anarchist propaganda and radicalize some of theme peeps passing out some anti-hierarchical critiques (anti-capitalist & anti-state & anti-hierarchical organization models) or just crash their protests with black flags & red and black flags :ecouteurs:

    [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv1okXCsYDA[/video]
     
  11. nclpw

    nclpw Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    May 25, 2012
     
    Haha, hell yeah.
     
  12. Harrison

    Harrison Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    Says quite a bit about the French far right if their number one enemies are feminists who engage in topless protests.
     
  13. THEBLACKNOVA

    THEBLACKNOVA Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    [video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cbGmf-Rkkk[/video]

    Worlds Apart: Sextreme FEMENism

    Breasts and politics - by combining the two with daring protests, FEMEN successfully captured the world's attention in a short period of time. But do they really help the causes they represent, or are they simply provocateurs, hungry for the limelight? To lay bare these issues, Oksana is joined by Inna Shevchenko, a prominent FEMEN activist.
     
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