What is Femen? Goals, Countries, Continuation

If you have never heard about Pussy Riot, fighting sex tourism, and other humanitarian tasks, you must at least get information about them. So without extra words — what is Femen? This is a radical international women’s movement.

Here we’ll inform you about the essential parts of Femen.

1. What are brave topless female activists fighting for?
2. Who are the leading Femen activists?
3. Why do they use female sexuality to fight for their rights?
4. Why is Femen not equal to feminism?

And the main — what feminist movement shows have in joint with fighting dictators worldwide?

Who are the main Femen activists?

The Femen founder was Oksana Shachko (1987-2018). She was born in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine. In 2008 she founded Femen.

Oksana Shachko

Oksana Shachko was a Ukrainian feminist activist and artist who co-founded Femen, a feminist group known for their topless protests and direct action. Born in 1987 in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine, she received a master’s degree in sociology before dedicating herself to activism. Shachko was a radical feminist who believed in using performance art and direct action to challenge patriarchy and gender inequality. She and Femen gained international attention for their provocative and controversial protests, which often involved going topless to draw attention to their cause.

Shachko was a powerful and inspiring figure in the feminist movement, and her activism inspired countless others to fight for gender equality and women’s rights. Her death in 2018 was a great loss to the feminist community, but her legacy continues to inspire and motivate activists around the world.

The first and main task of 2008th Femen was defeating sex tourism in Ukraine. They all pass through problems with harassment. That’s why they do female sexuality rebelling, to focus community attention on issues.

Oksana Shachko wasn’t the only Femen activist. The 2nd was Anna Hutsol. She joined the Femen after she became attuned to the sad stories of Ukrainian women duped by false promises from abroad.

Anna Hutsol

Anna Hutsol is a Ukrainian social activist, journalist, and filmmaker. She is best known for co-founding the feminist group Femen, which gained international attention for their topless protests and direct action campaigns. Hutsol was born on March 28, 1984, in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, and holds a master’s degree in journalism.

Hutsol’s political views are progressive and feminist, and she has been an active advocate for democracy and human rights in Ukraine. As a co-founder of Femen, Hutsol played a key role in organizing the group’s topless protests, which aimed to draw attention to issues such as gender inequality, sexual harassment, and the objectification of women.

In recognition of her work, Hutsol has received several awards, including the Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent, the European Citizen’s Prize, and the Lech Walesa Prize. She continues to be an influential figure in the feminist movement and an advocate for social and political change in Ukraine and beyond.

But wait, all we know about three Femen activists. Who was the third? Olexandra Shevchenko! She came to the Femen movement from Khmelnytskyi too.

Olexandra Shevchenko

Olexandra Shevchenko is a Ukrainian feminist activist and writer, best known for co-founding the feminist group Femen. Born on June 23, 1979, in Lviv, Ukraine, Shevchenko holds a master’s degree in philology.

Shevchenko’s political views are feminist and anti-authoritarian, and she has been an active advocate for democracy and human rights in Ukraine. As a co-founder of Femen, Shevchenko played a key role in organizing the group’s topless protests and direct action campaigns, which aimed to draw attention to issues such as gender inequality, sexual harassment, and the objectification of women.

In recognition of her work, Shevchenko has received several awards, including the Simone de Beauvoir Prize, which is awarded to individuals who have worked to promote gender equality and women’s rights. She continues to be an influential figure in the feminist movement and an advocate for social and political change in Ukraine and beyond.

What are they fighting for?

As you found from the previous paragraph, Femen activists are primarily fighting sex tourism and trying to protect Ukrainian women’s rights. It’s very similar to common feminism activism.

But the big difference between Femen activists and classical feminism is that feminist movements do not use their bodies to organize controversial topless protests and Femen use.

Their radicalism is not wide-angled. They’re much more oriented not for ‘equal rights’ but for fighting all that is near the sex industry. At least, it was at the start.

The more the Femen movement grows, the wider their goals become. Today sextremism serves against patriarchy worldwide. 

This contains: 

1. Possibility to have a same sex marriage.
2. Fighting against sexual exploitation.
3. Fighting patriarchy in religious institutions.

And as the fundamental of this movement were female university students, they focused community attention on problems around the Ukrainian government and policy.

What do Femen have in common with sex tourism?

Ukrainian women have nothing to do with sex tourism now because female activists from Femen almost defeated sex tourism in Ukraine with their naked female body demonstration. 

After their first winnings, the women’s revolution, founded in Ukraine, became more international. 

Alexandra Shevchenko made some demonstrations in Paris, Rome, Zurich, and finally, Berlin. All these Femen demonstrations were about different goals, but all were resultative.

1. Berlin protest against female genital mutilation.
2. Against Vladimir Putin outside Christ the Savior cathedral.
3. And many other demonstrations.

Today Femen is fighting not only sex tourism around the world but many different problems. Bare breasts are the best weapon because they focus community attention on important issues!

With what incidents has the international women’s movement become famous?

Female sexuality rebelling can’t become famous without loud incidents, which are more about policy than about humanitarian tasks. 

The loud incidents with young women were about:

1. Pussy Riot demonstrations. Erroneously attributed to Femen, but with the same goals.
2. Femen women’s revolution against patriarchy in Belarus. With an exciting continuation.
3. Showing a naked body at churches and other religious places.

And it’s just the tip of the iceberg. At least twice a year, Femen use their special force to organize special training and demonstrations of ideological causes. Not only about three manifestations but about actual and modern problems.

Pussy Riot demonstrations

The Pussy Riot Demonstrations were a series of protests carried out by the Russian feminist punk rock group, Pussy Riot, against the Russian government, Vladimir Putin, and the Orthodox Church. The following table provides a brief description of these protests:

• On February 21, 2012, Pussy Riot staged a guerrilla performance in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, which criticized the close relationship between the Orthodox Church and the Russian government. Five members of the group were later arrested and charged with hooliganism.
• On March 3, 2012, Pussy Riot staged another guerrilla performance, this time on Red Square in Moscow, which criticized Putin’s re-election campaign. No members were arrested on this occasion.
• On July 20, 2018, Pussy Riot staged a protest during the FIFA World Cup final in Moscow. The group’s members ran onto the field, briefly interrupting the match, and were later arrested and charged with violating the rules of conduct at sporting events.

To be honest, Pussy Riot is not a part of controversial topless protests. But they’re fearless and free amazons, who protest for women’s rights, similar to Femen’s goals, but in a fundamentally new form. That’s why newspapers usually connect this activist group to other topless protests and name all as the same Femen movement.

But the Pussy Riot demonstrations ended worse than Femen activism because they did their demonstrations not in a democracy but in a totalitarian country, which is very close to 1.9.8.4. That’s why after the march, Tolokonnikova (one of the leading Pussy Riot activists) was transferred to a prison in Siberia! 

Belarus KGB and Femen activists

The Femen was very active In the far away 2011 year. It’s funny to remember, but they’re fighting against ‘Europe’s Last Dictator’ in that far time. And they mean Lukashenko, not a Putin.

That was when Femen was only about three activists, not the union of more than a thousand activists worldwide. So they started their demonstration in Kyiv and Minsk at the same time.

It’s sad to conclude, but this demonstration wasn’t as successful as their other protests, but anyway, these free amazons were protesting and were arrested by the KGB, not the police.

Femen and churches

Femen and churches. There were so many incidents, and no one could complete victory. This part is the most disputable of all Femen naked body protests. Femen tries to start protesting in some Muslim countries, and their activities are connected to death threats. But what was the loudest of active participants’ protests in churches? The main one was against V. Putin, but this wasn’t the only one. The biggest objection of Femen was in France.

Femen’s presence in France

Femen is a feminist activist group that originated in Ukraine and has since expanded to other countries, including France. The following table provides a brief description of Femen’s presence in France:

• Femen established its presence in France in 2012, with the opening of its first office in Paris.
• The group has carried out numerous topless protests and direct action campaigns in France, often targeting issues related to patriarchy, religion, and the far-right. Examples of their protests in France include disrupting an anti-gay marriage demonstration, staging a topless protest outside the Elysee Palace, and protesting the National Front party during the French presidential election campaign.
• Femen’s actions in France have generated international attention, as well as arrests, legal consequences, and criticism and controversy. Some have criticized the group’s use of nudity as a form of protest, while others have praised their commitment to feminist activism and advocacy for human rights.

Femen continues to be an active presence in France, with members in several cities across the country, including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Strasbourg, Lille, and Toulouse.

Today, Femen France is the main base of the organization. All the founders exit Ukraine and now live in France. There they’re trained new members, organizing controversial topless protests, and from France, it’s much simpler to travel to other European countries with demonstrations.

The last and loudest demonstration was in Germany. The Femen break Olaf Scholt’s speech with their naked breasts! 

Euro Femen

Euro Femen is a network of feminist groups across Europe that aims to promote feminist activism and advocacy for gender equality. The following table provides a brief description of Euro Femen:

• Euro Femen was established in 2013 as a means of uniting feminist groups across Europe and promoting coordination and collaboration between them.
• The network includes groups in several European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Ukraine, among others.
• Euro Femen’s goal is to support feminist activism and advocacy for gender equality in Europe by providing a platform for collaboration, networking, and public events.
• The network’s activities include organizing conferences, workshops, and other public events aimed at raising awareness about feminist issues and promoting activism and advocacy for gender equality.
• Euro Femen’s efforts have led to increased visibility and coordination of feminist activism in Europe, as well as greater awareness of feminist issues and the need for gender equality.

Euro Femen continues to be an active and influential network of feminist groups in Europe, working to promote feminist activism and advocacy for gender equality across the continent.

Euro Femen is a big part of the movement. As you have already found, the movement is growing, and now it contains more than thousands of psychologically ready for demonstrations women. They come up with international topics about the female body and try to defeat patriarchy around the world. 

At least, they’re protesting in the next countries with the following topics:

1. Berlin. In helping Ukraine.
2. Paris. International transgender day of visibility.
3. Spain. Against Russian aggression.

The interesting part is about a single demonstration in the USA. There was an event called ‘don’t be a pussy’. You can read more details here.

Before the war, their demonstration was more diversified, like Hands off Women right in Kyiv or Essentiel-le-s in Paris.

It may look like Femen are around all of Europe, but their main parts are concentrated in France, Ukraine, and Spain. In Istanbul, their demonstrations failed. 

What now?

To be honest, now the great revolutionary mission sounds much quieter than it was more than ten years ago. There’re many objective reasons.

One of them is that they segmentally finish their mission and defeat sex tourism in Ukraine and worldwide. Secondly, most Femen female activists were arrested by a dictatorship like Belarus or the Russian Federation.

The Euro part of Femen’s protests is not as loud as they were. And the last known public demonstration was about Ukraine, and they were about a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, not about protecting women’s rights or something close to their early radical demonstration. You can read more about it on their actual site.

But the less public activity of bare breasted protests does not mean that they’re given up. They’re concentrated on other ruling leverages, like:

1. Writing books, which Femen defines maximally loud and clearly.
2. Filming about actual proud insubordination to patriarchy.
3. Training a new spearhead militant unit to create a modern incarnation of Femen.

And do many useful things to protect women’s rights without wasting their time on writing something on a Facebook page!There’s only one question left. What does the Femen logo describes? Simple — it’s a Cyrillic ‘Ф’ symbol. The ‘Ф’ is an analog of ‘F’ liter. It looks like breasts and the capital of the Femen at the same time!

Eloise Bouton

Eloise Bouton is a French independent journalist, feminist, sex life coach, author, a specialist in LGBTQI+ issues, founder of the website Madame Rap, co-founder of the House of Consent project, and former activist of the Femen movement.