Den aktivistiske krop i performance: performanceanalyse af Femens politiske aktioner

Sammanfattning: This paper examines the use of the body in the Femen movement’s street activism. The women’s rights activist group began in 2008 in Ukraine and came to prominence as a result of its topless protests in confrontation with patriarchy, religion and the sex industry. Through the use of social media in particular the group has managed to proliferate across Europe and has created a transnational network of Femen groups. Using performance analysis I attempt to explore the use and representation of the body in two videotaped protests uploaded to Femen’s website. Drawing upon theories from the fields of gender and performance studies combined with remediation, I seek to illuminate the criticism Femen has received through the importance of contexts in the creation and interpretation of signs and especially when using the complex sign of them all – the body. The remediation creates what I term a “double-context,” whereby the audience become actors in the performance they are watching. When using various forms of new media the performances are transformed into new forms, which alter the meaning of the performance and therefore the interpretation and ultimately the political statement and meaning.