The phrase “I was in Ukraine” often brings lascivious and knowing smiles among male company in Georgia, where a visit to Ukraine is seen as all but synonymous with a sex holiday. Now, a group of Ukrainian feminist activists has made it its mission to convince Georgian -- and other -- men that "Ukraine Is Not a Brothel!"
Hoisting posters marked “Not for Sale!," a visiting delegation of Ukraine’s feminist group FEMEN, famed for its topless protests, marched last week on downtown Tbilisi, where a giant outdoor video screen and leaflets distributed to passers-by often promote a Ukrainian striptease show.
Such shows might seem an anomaly, at first glance. Tbilisi is not exactly Bangkok, after all, and the Georgian Orthodox Church holds increasing sway. But, to FEMEN, their staging is part of a bigger problem than any local problem of male machoism.
Ukraine, they say, is increasingly seen as "Europe's biggest brothel."
In Georgia, oddly enough, diplomatic tensions may have played a role in promoting that image. Russia used to suffer locally from the same reputation, but, as ties between Tbilisi and Moscow soured, the stereotype passed to Ukraine.
FEMEN, which scuffled with a Georgian embassy guard in Kyiv earlier this year, doesn't intend to accept it.
“Ukrainian women are not a commodity…they must be loved, understood and respected,” FEMEN activist Yevgeniya Kraizman told Georgia’s PIK television.
Giorgi Lomsadze is a journalist based in Tbilisi, and author of Tamada Tales.
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