I've been following the legal trials of Pussy Riot for several months now. I've been increasingly uncomfortable about the directions the press has taken with this case and with the level of celebrity endorsement, particularly on the issue of free speech. Whilst I do think this issue is fundamentally about the right to free speech, I don't think it is the right to free speech that the media suggests. I have always felt that the right to free speech only supports those in power or a very small group of those with no access to formal power but who can engage with the media. I don't think discussions about the right to free speech are ever supportive of marginalised groups; no matter how much left-wing men swear it is. Free speech is the rallying cry of pornographers, neo-Nazis, rape apologists, and racists who assert that their right to be a jackass is more important than the harm they cause. Hearing people defend the tenets of free speech always makes me twitchy. Free speech, like pacifism, is a position only available to people with privilege. After all, the right to free speech is irrelevant if you live in abject poverty in a place with no access to electricity and, subsequently, have no real medium in which to assert that right.
A couple of weeks ago the journalist Miriam Elder, who is the Moscow correspondent for the Guardian, tweeted this:
Curious: do you think there would be such a campaign against Pussy Riot if they were men? And such a campaign of support in the west?I've been pondering this since she tweeted it but haven't quite been able to articulate my concerns about the way the media is constructing Pussy Riot. I'm a big fan of anarcho-feminist punk bands, or any feminist musicians, and feminist performance art but there is something wilfully disingenuous about the uncritical way in which Pussy Riot are being portrayed in the "Western" media. This is not to say that I think Pussy Riot deserve to be convicted for hooliganism in this case. Far from it, I think arresting non-violent protestors is one of the Patriarchy's favourite power plays. It's a nasty silencing technique. The three members of Pussy Riot should never have been arrested; never mind convicted. However, I do have concerns about the media's treatment of Pussy Riot; particularly since Pussy Riot were not protesting the right to free speech. Free speech is somewhat of red herring here. The debate for "free speech" is just the same old "Western" hypocrisy and benevolent sexism pretending to liberate women when all it does is further constrain us.
Until last night I thought I was the only one with these concerns. Then, Rowan Davies tweeted a link to this article on RadFem Hub: A Radical Feminist Collective Blog. I had no idea about Pussy Riot's connections to Voina. To be fair, I hadn't actually heard of Voina either. A perusal of google suggests they are a political performance art group; that is usually code for general misogynistic pornography pretending to be "art". PETA has a similar policy and I think they are all misogynistic nincompoops too. Voina are, simply, quite vile, nasty misogynists. It would be very hard to argue the right to free speech based on their campaigns which is why the creation of Pussy Riot was both a necessity for publicity and a way of obfuscating Voina's misogyny.
The relationship between Pussy Riot and Voina disturbs me but it also explains why Pussy Riot are getting so much "Western" media interest. Generally speaking, the media's interest in Feminism is either to force women into accepting the pornographication and objectification of their bodies or to belittle, humiliate and denigrate feminists. I don't think Pussy Riot would have received media attention in the "West" if they were male. I don't know anywhere near enough about the internal workings of the Russian government so I can't really comment on whether or not I think a male punk performance band would have been arrested in similar circumstances. But, I do believe that Pussy Riot is only garnering support in the "West" because of the holdover of the anti-communist hysteria, anti-feminist discourse and because of "benevolent sexism". The inclusion of "free speech" is about the free speech of pornographers; it's not about the free speech of feminists.
Pussy Riot are getting support from male artists like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Paul McCartney, and Stephen Fry because of "free speech". I think their various personal histories of misogynistic discourse make their definitions of "free speech" both hypocritical and lacking in political analysis. I do truly believe a lot of their support is because Pussy Riot have vaginas and are young and pretty. It is benevolent sexism: the protection and support of pretty women whose personal voices are erased in order for the Menz to feel better about themselves [or ignore their own inappropriate behaviour]. Benevolent sexism is incredibly harmful to the Feminist movement because it gives the appearance of male support without acknowledging the conditions of that support; notably passing the Patriarchal Fuckability Test as Pussy Riot do. I don't think that this is necessarily a conscious decision on the part of some of their male supporters but I think it is there. This is not to say that Pussy Riot aren't either deliberately using the PFT as a way of garnering support or that they aren't aware of being used in this manner. It's certainly not the first time women have used the benevolent sexism card to push through their legal demands.
It's also worth acknowledging that the only major world artist whose been attacked for their support is Madonna who was labeled a moralising "slut" by Dmitry Rogozin, a deputy minister. Madonna expressed her support at a performance in Russia; as did the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Paul McCartney. I haven't heard of anyone referring to members of RHCP as sluts. And, let's be honest here, Anthony Kiedis' sexual history isn't exactly that of a man who respects women. I also don't see a group of celebs lining up to pay for the legal costs of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samustsevich as, apparently, Banksy did when he paid the bail of several members of Voina when they were arrested at a previous demonstration. Nor, do I see anyone really upset about the possibility of Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova's young children being taken into care. After all, the loss of their children into foster care isn't about the right to free speech for men.
I also don't think Pussy Riot were just arrested because they were criticising the Russian government. I think they were charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred because they identified as Feminist activists. This case is as much about silencing feminists as it is about the right to "free speech". It is about patriarchal approval for the right kind of feminists: those who think that prostitution and pornography are valid "career choices" rather than the abuse and torture of vulnerable women. I doubt very much that the male celebs lining up to support Pussy Riot would be doing so if the women were also anti-pornography and anti-prostitution campaigners who refused to use the language of pornography in their campaigns. Similarities to the Ukrainian feminist group Femen, who have support in the "West" are striking.
I do believe the right to free speech is an important requirement in a democracy. But, we don't have it now and we never really had it. Free Speech is about rich, white men being allowed to say whatever they want, whenever they want it. It's about allowing pornographers to abuse and torture women's bodies without taking any responsibility for the harm. So, whilst I have supported the campaign to free Pussy Riot, I have not been doing so uncritically under some misguided construction of feminism or free speech.
I have been supporting Pussy Riot because no one deserves to be imprisoned for singing and dancing.
I have been supporting Pussy Riot because we need to change the discourse around free speech so that it applies equally to minority groups.
I have been supporting Pussy Riot because we need to stop using women's bodies as political tools.
I have been supporting Pussy Riot because the #waronwomen is destroying women's lives everywhere.
I have been supporting Pussy Riot because the #waronwomen is destroying women's lives everywhere.
Some interesting articles on Pussy Riot, "Free Speech", political protests and constructions of "Art":
Pussy Riot: Whose Freedom? Whose Riot?
Their Closing Statements
Pussy Riot Trial: "We Are Representatives of Our Generation"
Starting a Pussy Riot
Pussy Riot Trial Worse Than "Soviet Era"
The Pussy Riot Trial Court Documents
Pussy Riot Claims "Victory" in Letter to Supporters
Let's Start a Pussy Riot
Free Pussy Riot Comes to Ace Hotel
Pussy Riot Supporters being Arrested in New York
Associated Press Guide To Pussy Riot's Music
And, Viv Albertine, who is just cool:
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