From Ideology to Dogma? A Discussion About Femen, Aliaa Elmahdy and Nudity in the Arab World

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"In its attempt to liberate Arab women, Femen adopted a framework that reflects a white, racist perspective, instead of taking into consideration theories of intersectionality and realities of social heterogeneity". writes Maya El Helou

Looking at Aliaa Elmahdy’s act of protest through posting naked photos of herself on her blog, this paper studies the debates that followed. I complicate the juxtaposing between Femen’s tactics and Elmahdy’s act of nudity through engaging in questions of feminism/colonialism and feminism/conservatism. By examining articles that were written about Femen, nudity, Muslim women, and body politics, I show that the debates ran the risk of stabilizing feminism within static dogmatic beliefs.

Read the full Article in KOHL: A JOURNAL FOR BODY AND GENDER RESEARCH,VOLUME 1. ISSUE 2, WINTER 2015