Femen

In an article written by the Femen activist Inna Sheyenko, topless protesting was defended as an act of reclaiming the female body. In this way, as she pointed out “we succeed in frightening many patriarchal institutions by taking away women’s naked bodies form the shining world of advertising […] and back to the political arena.”

In this photograph, two Femen members pose topless and covered with blood in front of Milan’s Duomo during a protest against Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Such controversial images aim to raise awareness about the othering and objectification of the female body in our society. Thus, the question remains, can we indeed escape from othering, whether historical, racial, political or gendered?