The new face of feminism is boobs

I’m sorry but I am so freakin done with Femen. I mean, to be real, I was done with Femen the moment Femen’s boobs were plastered all over the media by horny young Occupy enthusiasts, but this quote really solidified the fact that these ladies are little more than a clueless distraction:

“We’re the new face of feminism,” Shevchenko said. “Classical feminism is dead. I think French feminism needs our new feminism.”

Look. I KNOWWW y’all are excited about whatever you think feminism is. I know you are stoked on all the attention you’re getting. I believe that you care about women’s empowerment (whatever that is) and the causes you are fighting for. But, seriously.  What the fuck is this?

Diversity of tactics, ok. But “classical feminism is dead” / “we’re the new face of feminism”? No, you’re not. You’re the new face of what the mainstream media wants feminism to be.

Do you know how many dudes I know posted this image on Facebook during the Pussy Riot trial, all like: “FEMINISM, FUCK YEAH”?

It’s no surprise to anyone who follows this blog what my thoughts are on Slutwalk/burlesque/MEANDMYCHOICE style feminism, but just to reiterate I will borrow a quote from Radfem Hub:

You can measure the degree of feminism of an action by how men react to it, and if men collectively cheer and celebrate it, then you can be pretty sure there’s something wrong about it, or that it doesn’t somehow support our liberation from men.

Anytime anyone makes reference to a “new face of feminism” and that face is either lingerie, something about pole dancing, or boobs, we should be skeptical. As Twisty put it: “‘What’s going on here?’ should be the motto of every dedicated blamer.”

Here are the true facts: If a dude posts a photo of boobs and tells you it’s feminism, it’s not. If someone tells you “classic feminism” is dead because the media isn’t plastering photos of women working long hours in rape crisis shelters or providing a critical analysis of pornography and its ties to rape culture all over the internet, they’re wrong.

There isn’t one way of doing feminism and this isn’t about saying that feminists can’t be fun or hot or like sex and their boobs or whatever (because, you guys, I’m fucking fun) – it’s that all that stuff doesn’t matter. We aren’t trying to sell feminism to the porn industry. We aren’t infiltrating patriarchy from within. Replicating patriarchal images, objecting ourselves, sexing up feminism for the media, etc. doesn’t make any frat guy go: “Oh hey, while I was watching your burlesque show, mid-erection it occurred to me that I’ve never had to put on a strip show in order to gain power and privilege in this world.”

Never happened, won’t ever happen.

Meghan Murphy

Founder & Editor

Meghan Murphy is a freelance writer and journalist from Vancouver, BC. She has been podcasting and writing about feminism since 2010 and has published work in numerous national and international publications, including The Spectator, UnHerd, Quillette, the CBC, New Statesman, Vice, Al Jazeera, The Globe and Mail, and more. Meghan completed a Masters degree in the department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University in 2012 and is now exiled in Mexico with her very photogenic dog.