I am not a huge fan of Femen. I find their protests generally offensive, attention-seeking and lacking in any kind of compassion which is actually rather depressing because their original campaigns against sex trafficking were so very important. Now, they seem more interested in media attention from shock tactics than feminist analysis. They are also no strangers to accusations of Islamaphobia and racism with their anti-burkha protests.
Their newest campaign against the Barbie Dreamhouse exhibit surprised even me. I've already blogged my intense dislike for the exhibit but the idea of burning a cross with Barbie attached to it just blew my mind. When I think of burning crosses, I think of the Klu Klux Klan in the US and the lynchings of African-Americans. For me, burning crosses are symbols of white supremacist culture. The usage of it by feminists to protest Barbie is deeply offensive to me.
Perhaps I am reading too much into this because of my cultural heritage as Canadian, but, for me, burning crosses can never be separated from the KKK. They are a symbol of racism and nothing more.
There is also something deeply ironic about women who pass the patriarchal fuckability test protesting Barbie. But, that could just be me too.
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