Application of Foucault’s Theories to the FEMEN Protests
Tags: rights, liberation, women, equality
Published: 2020-08-26 10:35:20

Nowadays, feminist movement can be often represented by the nude protest actions. A vivid example is FEMEN protests. However, many people do not accept these activists because they believe that such actions are senseless and shameful. Despite being perceived as shameless activities, the protests of FEMEN are meaningful, goal-oriented actions that are based on the Foucault’s concepts of power, knowledge, and liberation.
First, protest activities of the movement embody the notion of knowledge with an aim to generate the power of the masses for the continuous pursuit of liberation. Discourses are formed as the language in action, as they influence and regulate people’s thoughts and actions. Particular knowledge is reproduced through the discourse and the knowledge is known as a form of power. The discourses FEMEN have about women in general and female body particularly are derived from the specific knowledge production that attributes a true value to them. Therefore, it is possible to say that FEMEN represent a naked body as the symbol of freedom that produces the knowledge which states that women are not objects but independent society’s members. Within the scope of such knowledge, the protests obtain the power among the masses that helps to reach the liberation goal. Thus, through the knowledge, FEMEN’s nude protests generate power relations, to which people are submitted and made to realize women’s role in the society.
Apart from that, these protests reveal the implications of the power theory that explains the use of the body as the strategic and resistance tool in the struggle for liberation. Based on the Foucault’s theories, the body is seen as something that is regulated through the rules, prescribed by the society within the dominant discourses. The power relations can be applied to the female body and the power, in this case, works through individuals by positioning their bodies in compliance with social rules, but not through the physical coercion. Hence, the body is seen as the power and struggle site’s instrument. Moreover, it can be perceived as the struggle site in one context and as the resistance political tool in another. Foucault states that where there is power there is resistance. FEMEN are trying to convey that all female’s body functions are strictly regulated and controlled by the patriarchy. As a consequence, the body separated from a woman is only an object to the patriarchal exploitation. FEMEN resist the idea that the female bodies can be seen only as the objects that live for men’s gaze. In the protests, it is clearly stated that the female nudity, free of the patriarchal power, is a symbol of women’s liberation and freedom. Hence, the body can be considered as a key in the women’s liberation struggle and as a political tool of resistance.
Overall, I strongly believe that FEMEN actions are not shameless, chaotic, senseless or useless because such protests are carefully planned and their purpose is highly appropriate. Moreover, such actions have to be considered as goal-orientated and meaningful since they convey the message about the women’s liberation in the society. It is critical to understand that their bodies are used strategically to turn the society’s attention to the serious problem of gender inequality and an acute need for independence around the world. The Foucault’s theories can help to understand the protests’ background and purposes and realize a hidden message sent to the society, so that people could stop judging FEMEN protests. Therefore, FEMEN nude protests can be understood through the Foucault’s knowledge notions, power and liberation, where the bodies are used as the strategic tool in the fight for women’s independence and freedom globally.

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