Pussy (A Post for International Women's Day)

The term pussy has several meanings and can be used in a variety of ways; some innocent, some insulting, some vulgar. But what most interests is why this word should have become such a popular euphemism for female genitalia, thereby establishing an erotico-symbolic relationship between cats and cunts; small, soft, furry, carnivorous creatures on the one hand – and domestic pets that like to be stroked on the other.

The etymological origin of the word is uncertain; it may simply have derived from a sound used to attract a cat: Here puss, puss, puss! But, by the 17th century, pussy was commonly being used to refer to young women as well as moggies and by the following century it specifically directed us towards their sex organs.

Unsurprisingly, many women now regard pussy as derogatory, demeaning and dehumanising, rather than an affectionate term of endearment. But there are other women who use it quite happily and in preference to any of the other slang terms for vagina. Indeed, some even wear knickers with kittens printed on.

Personally, it’s not a word I’m entirely comfortable with. Not only is it a little too coy for my tastes, but it also lends itself too readily to double entendre and I don’t much like sexual innuendo (whilst conceding that it's long been a crucial component of bawdy humour, from the Barrison Sisters to Mrs. Slocombe). Nor do I see any need to disguise or apologise for biology; there’s nothing shameful about female bodies and the word cunt seems to me much more honest.

Having said that, feminist punk collective Pussy Riot have managed to cleverly invest the word with a new dynamism and militancy, rightly realising that this provocative combination of terms creates a powerful ambiguity and tension. Iggy Azalea’s inspired rap anthem, Pussy, has also helped to revalue the term.

Ultimately, however it’s referred to, we should all learn to love the vagina, celebrate labia pride, and support vulva activism. For where would we be - male or female - without that which Courbet rightly recognised as the Origin of the World ...?

Thanks to Kiranjit Kaur for supplying the image for this post and for her insight on the topic. 

Pussy Whipped (Or Never Mind the Cossacks)

Photograph: Morry Gash / Associated Press (2014)

This just in: members of Pussy Riot attacked with whips and pepper spray by Cossack militiamen as they attempt to stage a protest at the Sochi Olympics.   

Nothing surprising perhaps about the actions of the former, whose opposition to the Games and to all things which receive official state endorsement is well-known. But it was rather surprising to learn that there are still Cossacks in the world (outside of the Moscow State Circus) and that they are now working as an auxiliary police force under orders from the Kremlin.

Surprising and even a little disappointing: for one might have thought and hoped that this people who pride themselves on their independence and who have often been on the wrong side of events in Russia, would resist the temptation to be no more than hired thugs in silly hats doing Putin's dirty work.   

But there you go: the partly shocking, partly ludicrous footage that has come out of Sochi obliges us to forget any romantic notions we might have had, thanks to our poets, of courageous Cossack soldiers on horseback or dancing around the campfire; free spirits, resistant to all authority, etc. The fact is they have always been vicious mercenaries prepared to serve those in power and do whatever is asked of them, whether this be fighting foreign invaders, killing the Jews, or, indeed, attacking feminists in order to uphold traditional values (racism, misogyny, homophobia ...).

This is not to say that the Bolshevik policy of decossackization [Расказачивание] was in any way admirable. But I certainly prefer the radically progressive elements of Soviet Communism over reactionary and religiously-minded ethno-tribal stupidity.

Fasten Your Seat Belts! (In Support of Pussy Riot)

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina 
Photo: Reuters / Ilya Naymushin (2013)

Obviously the early release from prison of Pussy Rioters Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina as part of Putin's amnesty law is a PR move designed to improve his image in the West ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics in February and both women immediately condemned it as such. 

That said, I'm happy they are free; though, sadly, in Russia today this is only a relative term for those who hold anti-authoritarian views or practice non-traditional sexual relations. 

Of course, it would be as easy to be as cynical about the media-stunts of Pussy Riot as it is about Putin's new found humaneness. Indeed, more people seem to take pleasure in violently abusing and condemning Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina than in speaking out against the Russian regime's clamp down on political rights and socio-sexual freedoms.

Doubtless it is this hostility that they generate that makes me love them so; that and the sheer courage that they demonstrate. Both have promised to continue their protest: "We will try to sing our song to the end", said Alyokhina. Whilst Tolokonnikova warns with a smile: "Everything is just starting, so fasten your seat belts!" 
  

On the Right to Bare Arms (A Post in Support of Pussy Riot)

The Right to Bare Arms (ffabyrd.deviantart.com)

Lawrence once insisted in a piece of fragmentary writing that he felt no deep hostility towards Christianity. Indeed, on religious fundamentals he maintained there was no breach between himself and the Church of Rome, whose authority he believed in.

Of course, this is slightly disingenuous to say the very least ... But, there is one occasion on which Lawrence leaps to the defense of the Holy Father and affirms Catholic teaching. In his long essay written à propos Lady Chatterley's Lover, Lawrence savages George Bernard Shaw for daring to mock the Pope's attempt to maintain the modesty of women by insisting that they cover-up their bare arms and legs whilst attending Mass and, ideally, when in any public space whatsoever.

Not unreasonably, Shaw points out that the irony of wanting to veil female flesh is that this more often than not leads to its eroticization; that it is clothing that arouses thoughts of sex, not nakedness. For Lawrence, however, this remark is indicative of the flippancy and vulgarity of intellectuals and whilst he agrees that half-naked, modern women fail to stimulate genuine desire in the modern male, this he feels is a reason to despair and to rethink our relationship to the body (the female body in particular).

Ultimately, like the Pope, Lawrence, wants women to keep their limbs and their hair covered. Not because the exposure of such arouses sexual desire, but because it doesn't and that is a sign that something is sadly wrong: with men as well as women; but mostly with women who have lost their natural allure and become as sexually undesirable as plastic dolls. 

If, on the other hand, women have gained their economic and political freedom and the right to participate in society as equals; i.e. to work and to vote as well as to have control over their bodies, this means very little to Lawrence. It's the fact of female flesh being publicly displayed that continues to exercise and deeply trouble him. 

I was reminded of all this - of Lawrence's insistence that the bare arms (legs, necks, and shoulders) of women constitute a dangerous and vulgar form of atheism - whilst watching a film of the trial of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich. These three courageous young women - members of feminist punk group Pussy Riot - were convicted by a Russian court in 2012 of 'hooliganism motivated by religious hatred' and sentenced to two years in a penal colony, after performing a brief anti-government protest in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

During this performance, they shouted and swore and called on the Virgin Mary to support them. But, as pointed out at the trial, they also did so whilst dressed in an inappropriate and offensive manner to those who subscribe to the Orthodox faith; that is to say, they had bare arms and this seriously compounded their crime. The fact that they had their hair covered (beneath brightly-coloured balaclavas), unfortunately did nothing to redeem the situation and save them from jail ...

There's really not much more I can say on this: Lawrence's position is sincere in its puritanism, but mistaken in its sexism. I prefer Shaw's flippancy to the Pope's misogyny. And I support the right of Pussy Riot and of all women everywhere to expose or cover their bodies, however they choose, wherever and whenever they want to, regardless of men with beards who think them all witches at heart.


See: Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, Produced and Directed by Mike Lerner/Maxim Pozdorovkin (2012)

In Praise of Inna Schevchenko: La Nouvelle Marianne

Photo of Inna Schevchenko (Reuters, 2013)  

Femen (Фемен) is a radical feminist movement that has recently gained international notoriety due to its topless protests against sexism and the phallocratic authority of church, state, and industry.

Originally founded in the Ukraine, in 2008, by Anna Hutsol and others, the group is now based in Paris but has members and supporters in several other countries, including the UK, where it is currently recruiting activists who are encouraged to paint their naked bodies with various slogans in order to promote an aggressive gender politics termed sextremism.

Now, whether turning your breasts into weapons is or is not an effective tactic in the war against patriarchy is debatable. But I must confess to having a soft-spot for the very vocal (and very beautiful) spokesperson for Femen, Inna Schevchenko, who resembles an illegitimate love-child born of Guy Debord and Ilona Staller.

But then any woman who cuts down a large wooden Cross in Kiev with a chainsaw is always going to capture my attention, affection, and admiration - even when said action was condemned by Maria Alyokhina of Pussy Riot and even when Miss Schevchenko is accused by opponents of being a self-promoting wannabe and a mere puppet under the control of the Femen Svengali-figure, Victor Svyatski.

Bare breasts do not an amazon make - that's certainly true. However, anyone prepared to take on a public role that invites ridicule and abuse - as well as very real threats of rape, kidnap, and murder - deserves respect and support in my eyes.