Femen 1st Edition

This is a fantastic book. It's a go-too for research about Femen, Femen members, or those supporting Femen. I like the writing style and learning more about the founder of Femen in this detailed book. This book contains many of the philosophies of the various founders and answers the question, "why?", that many might ask themselves upon first encountering Femen's activism. This is a must read for dedicated supporters of Femen and those interested in the activist group.

A must read for all feminists.

Why don't more people grasp their own situation like these ladies do?

Manifesto"In the beginning was the body, the sensation the woman has ofher own body, the joy of it's lightness and freedom. Then cameinjustice, so harsh that it is felt with the body; injusticedeprives the body of it's mobility, paralyses it's movements,and soon you are hostage to that injustice. Then you push yourbody into battle against the injustice, mobilizing each cellfor the war against the world of patriarchy and humiliation."FEMEN makes a timely appearance as issues of gender are bubbling to the top of American political agendas -- yet again. The line between an employer's rights and those of the employee come to mind. That these aren't simple issues is demonstrated by the fact that as a society we are having to push the debate up to the Supreme Court, because there is no general consensus.Because of current politics and because the women of FEMEN are so radical and outspoken I was interested in what the founders of this movement had to say for themselves. I hoped to pushed beyond my comfort zone. To be helped to see what they caused these four women to begin this new style of feminism.I became even more intrigued as I read. As my ignorance of social environment of Ukraine and Russia became apparent, I recognized parallels to the limited options women in the USA had in 1950's. And I realized how stifling this must have been to these strong, intelligent young women...If you want to understand their roots, consider that they think about perestroika the way they do about the Soviet imposed faux-famine of 1932-3 --which effected the genocide of 6 million people. What the communist bureaucrats didn't entirely crush, the capitalization of the USSR did.And part of this destruction was what happened to Ukraine. It became a sex capital, and under the watchful eye of the government Ukrainian women were being sold and sold out...This book is brilliantly written. The introductory section gives an easy introduction to the politics of the Ukraine.What follows is their political stance. I-myself am a capitalist, while they are communists in the old Marxian sense. That did not keep them from opening my eyes though, for it's clearly true that women are the first to suffer from poverty and the last to recover. So what they said could not be denied in my capitalist world.I don't think those with a strong political bent will get much from this book. The Femen are far-far left leaning, and what's the point of reading something if you it is only going to make you froth and spit, and elevate your blood pressure. Just pass this by.For those able to look pass any politics they might not agree with, there are some thought provoking ideas here, and some interesting material that explains what drives these women.

Founded in Ukraine in 2008 by Anna Hutso, Oksana Shachko, Alexandra Shevchenko and Inna Shevchenko, Femen has made a statement around the world. The four young women admit that they are different individuals who may not have joined forces, were it not for the boredom each experienced in their mid-teens. Largely born from the recognition that widespread prostitution which diminished the lives of women exacerbated the mistreatment of women in general, they became determined to make a political statement. By baring their breasts, adorning themselves with messages on the skin, and wearing wreaths of flowers in their hair, the women of Femen stood out in unison Gawith the hopes of being heard.Galia Ackerman spent time with Femen and was granted interviews for the writing of this book,  Femen , which was first published in France, where the women live in exile, and now in the UK and USA. The manifesto is presented first, which includes, ¨The naked body of an activist expresses unconcealed hatred for the patriarchal order and the new aesthetic of the feminine revolution.¨ Often referred to as, ¨little Ukranian girls,¨ their statement was made and recognized by women who needed a voice. The movement has grown, but as expressed in the latter pages of this historical book, it is losing speed and internal cohesion.

"Femen" is a power packed book about this feminist movement that sprang up in Ukraine to protest and start a war on patriarch and an end to religions, dictatorships, and the sex industry which hold women back or captive in society. This is a book that will fire up the need for us all to rally against the uneven treatment given to women in comparison to men. The stories of members of Femen who are living in France, exiled from their native Ukraine, spoke frankly about the beginning of the movement and what transpired in their highly publicized protests over the years. They also speak about where the movement's direction is pointed now which includes the Middle East.I am grateful for this book as it opened my eyes to the actions of women living in another part of the world who are taking decisive action against the accepted norms of inequality, abuse, and mistreatment of women around the world. It's a book that made me feel proud to be a woman.We need more women out there getting angry and working to level out the playing field once and for all.

In inglese, ma di semplice lettura. Completo, non aggiornatissimo, ma consente di conoscere in profondità la storia del movimento, le protagoniste e le ragioni di Femen. Lo consiglio!

Femen is a very good account of an impressive and imaginative feminist movement. The Ukrainian women who started the group appear to be very motivated and well educated and rational. I admire them! The only awkward thing in the book is that the author, Ms Alterman, argues against some of the basic beliefs of Femen, most of all their very militant atheism and anti-cleracalism. I find just that one of the most convincing aspects of Femen, that they dare to criticize and ridicule the manifestations of male religious institutions, both Christian and Muslim. Altermans reservations give me the impression that she is keen to take a distance on an item that may be very sensitive in parts of the world, but in a book that technically is presented as the words of the Femen activists themselves (although it is clear they have a ghost writer, Ms Alterman) it as a funny breach of logic when the ghost argues against the main actors. But this is a detail that does not seriously hurt the main story, which is fascinating and gives hope for the future.It is a pity that Femen had to move to Paris before the latest upheavals in Ukraine. As has been shown in Egypt and other countries, which in this Millennium have experienced youth revolts and even revolutions, there is an obvious risk that events go wrong and turn into conventional male struggles of power, if there are no strong and well organised feminist movements (the presence of lots of individual women is not enough).. Ukraine without Femen may go down the same road, unfortunately.

Femen, a feminist group founded by young Ukrainian women, gained a reputation for topless demonstrations with supposedly inflammatory messages written on their bodies. This book discusses the founding of the group, takes a look at the background of the four key members and follows the movement up to roughly present day.I was vaguely aware of the group and had a few questions. Firstly, I wanted to know why it was that it would appear only 'pretty' thin women went topless. How is this feminism/equality, if only a very specific type of women is allowed to symbolically 'free' themselves from patriarchy? A heavier activist does feature in this book but it is noted her body 'doesn't really fit the Femen image'. There are repeated references to how beautiful/pretty the activists are. Why? How does this add to the group's message? This is all the more confusing as at one point Femen bemoan the lack of female solidarity. Women of all shapes & sizes would surely be the way to go. That said, I don't believe standing topless with writing on your chest/stomach will change anything in the world anyway.The group state that they want people to see 'our message,not our tits' but a) this is naive and b) at odds to their earlier explanation of being topless where they explain they are reclaiming their bodies from patriarchy, from the society that has been created. I can get behind this explanation in principal but at the end of the day, in Western Europe at least, young women going topless creates amusement and puzzlement, nothing more. Perhaps I am just too cynical.I do admire the fact that the group addresses the controversial issue of their rumoured male leader, however even here the explanation is not satisfactory. Apparently a film about them was edited in such a way as to misrepresent the facts. OK. But why did one of the four members (Inna) then write a Guardian column condemning the guy & admitted he ended up running Femen? Confusing. I do admire the young women for having the drive & determination to form a group, stage protests however I think their message doesn't translate to Western Europe very well. Perhaps such demonstrations are effective in other areas of the world; I simply do not know.The book ends on a depressing note. Mentioning defections, Femen groups in other countries breaking away....the very problem with Femen I think is that it simply does not connect to most of the worlds women, an issue which is hinted at when the group moves to France. Unlike Pussy Riot (who do receive a mention) Femen seem unable to grab the worlds attention & keep it.

Femen may be young, idealistic, sometimes naive, and unprepared for the complexities of feminist and capitalist politics outside Ukraine but they are passionate, utterly committed and frighteningly fearless - and for that they have to be applauded.This book tells their story from their unsubtle `manifesto', to their life stories, and the history of their actions. And despite the way they have been dismissed publicly in the media, their actions have been criminalised, they have been personally attacked by shady `secret police' and now forced to claim political asylum in France - all of which are markers of the extent to which they have made an impact on the world political stage.Not everyone either understands or agrees with their use of the naked female body as a political instrument but Femen are themselves aware of the dissention and show their own discussions and arguments about `sextremism' - these women might be young but they're not uneducated, unthinking or unaware of the potential contradictions in the way they appear.This book gives a very good account of how this particular brand of extreme feminism cannot be untangled from the place from which it has been born: Ukraine is still deeply patriarchal and under the control of the church, women are regarded as `on the shelf' if they're not safely married by the age of 20, and feminism simply didn't exist. One of the most shocking facts I learned is that it's not just that people there are unable to buy books like those of de Beauvoir, Millet, Greer etc. which have charted the history of the western feminist movements, but that they don't even know they exist.Inna, the leader of Femen, is still only 22 - the movement may have fallen apart for various reasons but there's no question that the struggle will continue.

Femen is a radical small group of women advocating their theory of 'sextremism' and they are very 'media savvy'. For Femen the camera lens is to be embraced.The book traces their origins from an Eastern European feminist protest group - founded in Ukraine in 2008 and now they seem to be mainly situated in France as well as some south American nations as well as having other affiliates in other countries. They advocate public actions and protests - through the use of their bodies and shock imagery - they call people's attention to their voice to stand for freedom, justice and women's rights. Since their origins their scope has widened to include, themes of poverty, religious institutions and dictatorships plus other topics of concern. Femen has a clear position on prostitution, as they say: 'there is nothing else but a domination of one gender through exploitation, force or lie. The ruling Patriarchy wants to legalise prostitution as a way to finally win the gender fight and make society accept women as sex-waitresses for the hungry clients that are men'.Their narrative tells their story, from their 'humble' origins in a small Ukrainian town to their current lives in France. We learn about what they did and why they did it, how they were treated by former Communist states, and how they survived. This book is not a dry treatment of their inception and struggle; it shows us their game plan for their brand of active protest. They are a small group of devoted activists who say they really want to make a difference. However,there have been detractors notably such as Ms Tilly Grove who says in her commentary, in the Huffington Post, that'UK Feminism Doesn't Need Femen's Imperialism'. A former member, from Tunisia, Amina Tyler left the group in protest citing what she saw 'a lack of financial transparency in the organization'.Like them or dislike them, it appears that FEMEN will not be ignored.