Korean Feminist Group Goes Topless In Protest Against Facebook
A feminist group called “Blazing Femi Action (literal translation)” recently held a protest against Facebook in front of the Facebook Korea office in Gangnam.
The Blazing Femi Action group has led various women’s movements relating to women’s bodies and sexuality such as movements for the abolition of criminal abortions and the Greatest Armpit Hair Competition. They are perhaps most well known, however, for the Menstruation Festival, which demands institutional change in regards to menstruation such as menstrual leave and promotes a more open attitude towards menstruation.
The group of women chanted phrases such as “my body is not pornography” and took off their clothes revealing the same phrase on their bodies, causing the police to interfere.
The reason for the protest was that Facebook had immediately deleted photos of the topless women and suspended their accounts for 1 month due to “violation of Facebook’s regulations on nude images or sexual behavior”.
The group had posted photos from their latest Menstruation Festival, which promoted that “women should not be looked upon promiscuous way even if they take off their top” and that “women’s bodies are simply human bodies, just like men’s, and not simply subjects of voyeurism”.
The feminist group expressed that it was unfair of Facebook to delete the photos when they do not delete photos of topless men.
“Facebook does not delete photos of men’s chests. In fact, there are many instances in which they do not even delete illegal footage of women’s bodies that was secretly filmed.” ㅡ Feminist Group
In response to the protest, Facebook apologized for the inconvenience they have caused, removed the suspension from their Facebook accounts and restored the posts.
“Your posts, which did not violate the regulations of the Facebook community, were deleted due to errors on our part. We apologize for the inconvenience it has caused. The contents have been restored and the suspension of accounts removed.” ㅡ Facebook Korea
“Due to the community regulations which prohibit nude images, the posts were automatically deleted. The pertinent image has been restored for its social significance.” ㅡ Facebook Korea
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