Daily Dose: 110
Feminism in 3D: Defy, Disobey, Disrupt
Logo: Sheyam Ghieth
In 2012, the Russian feminist collective and rock group Pussy Riot performed a renegade “punk prayer” inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour that eviscerated a host of patriarchs and their excesses, including but not limited to Patriarch Kirill I of the Orthodox Church and President Vladimir Putin and his authoritarian regime. Three of the performers were sentenced to two years in a penal colony as punishment. In a documentary made about Pussy Riot, several men interviewed made clear that the “offense” was not just profane lyrics that “insulted” Putin and the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, but also the word “pussy” itself in the name of the collective. How dare women connect the patriarchy of their country’s authoritarian president to the authoritarianism of the patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church who support him; how dare they use a word that calls to mind vaginas and chaos? How dare they use a word that forces men to imagine not only a vagina but a vagina that rises up against patriarchy?! Remember that when the patriarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church unites with the patriarchy of Putin, women, children, and LGBTQ people are hurt.
In 2002 I visited Russia. I remember talking to the mother of a tour guide, also a travel professional, and what worried her the most was the cozying up of Putin to the Patriarch of the church, each using each other to regain control. She said if they rejoined it would mean the end of any independent thought in the country. She not only was absolutely correct but I am now horrified that the same is happening here... Trump and the church combining so that they each get their own piece of the pie of power.
This is really scary shit.