{"id":54673,"date":"2013-04-06T12:00:36","date_gmt":"2013-04-06T17:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/?p=54673"},"modified":"2017-09-17T08:59:14","modified_gmt":"2017-09-17T13:59:14","slug":"free-pussy-riot-lingerie-campaign-appropriate-or-appropriation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2013\/04\/06\/free-pussy-riot-lingerie-campaign-appropriate-or-appropriation\/","title":{"rendered":"“Free Pussy Riot” Lingerie Campaign: Appropriate or Appropriation?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cross-posted at Osocio<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been covering the saga of Russian protest punk group\u00a0Pussy Riot<\/a>\u00a0for over a year now. The feminist collective performed guerrilla musical protests around Russia against Vladimir Putin. One in particular, in a church, ended with members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina sentenced to two years imprisonment for \u201chooliganism motivated by religious hatred\u201d. The human rights implications of this sentence attracted much worldwide attention, with\u00a0Amnesty International<\/a>\u00a0and celebrities like Sting, Yoko Ono and Madonna speaking out for the women.<\/p>\n

But something else happened. The \u201cFree Pussy Riot\u201d movement, with its\u00a0iconic knitted balaclavas<\/a>\u00a0and provocative language, became a popular meme. The cause c\u00e9l\u00e8bre was even\u00a0appropriated by the fashion industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Which is what makes this video by Blush lingerie an intriguing conundrum. While it legitimately promotes the\u00a0freepussyriot.org<\/a>\u00a0fundraising site to help the women, it is also promoting a product using a woman\u2019s sexuality as the bait:<\/p>\n

On the first anniversary of the Pussy Riot concert in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Berlin based Lingerie label blush supports the free pussy riot movement with a sexy protest march through icy Moscow (-15\u00b0 C). Support Freepussyriot.org!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n