Isabelle Magkoeva, political activist
IN RUBRIC "BUSINESS" we introduce readers to women of different professions and hobbies that we like or are simply interested in.
I grew up in an ordinary Moscow family. She studied well, was engaged in alpine skiing, chess, tennis. Summer spent with my grandmother in Pyatigorsk, my best friend there was a girl from a completely different family. Her dad was a taxi driver, and her mother was a music teacher and part-time seller on the market. So I learned enough about social division, but it took me some time to understand why it exists and what to do about it. It is ridiculous to hear talk about the fact that we live in an era of opportunities, that everyone can achieve everything they want. That 100 million losers in our country simply did not want something badly enough.
When you see injustice, nothing remains but to act. Probably, I constantly feel responsible for what surrounds me. I know that many believe that if they do not do anything, then there will definitely be someone else who will do it instead of them. This is self-deception. I respect people who are engaged in charity, but I think that if, for example, we want ALL children with cancer to have operations, then we need to act differently. In Russia, it is impossible to honestly earn a billion. Major charity always has a downside; we can rejoice that we have one good museum, but do not forget that a thousand have already been stolen from us.
I started engaging in activism sometime in early 2011; could not sit back. I never wanted to be noticeable, but the moment came when there was no person who could express what we feel, so I had to become that person for a while. Feminism is a view of life, of relationships between people. Being a feminist does not mean communicating only with women, not shaving armpits or exposing breasts in the street. This is not a subculture. Being a feminist is critical of the current relationship system. In our society, still the most important thing for women is to be beautiful, sexually attractive. From birth, you absorb a culture in which the main positive quality of a woman is sexuality.
It seems that the only nonsexual female character from my childhood is a raven from “Good night, kids”, but she was not a role model for anyone. The most monstrous character - the Little Mermaid. Having nothing but beauty and voice, she sacrifices them, throws her edge, changes her body so that every step is given to her with a wild pain. And all this for the sake of a prince who prefers another. After cartoons and fairy tales, women's and girl's magazines start to pile up you, which are already on the cover of the main problems and tasks. "Lose weight", "wrinkles", "stretch marks", "cellulite". When you leaf through these magazines, it never occurs to you that you are normal; on the contrary, they convince you with all their might that everything is wrong, that you have to do something, buy, go to an incredible ideal, hate yourself. That is, at 12 you already understand that you have serious problems.
The little mermaid throws her edge, changes her body so that each step is given to her with wild pain. And all this for the sake of a prince who would prefer another
We feel the inhuman medical experiments of the Nazis, when people tried to make more Aryan, but cutting their own body or the body of another person in pursuit of the ideal is a completely ordinary thing. Nowadays, no one seems insane surgical operation simply to improve the shape of the nose. In the 1960s, the image of a good hostess was promoted in the West, and in order to comply with it, you had to buy certain vacuum cleaners and laundry detergents; to meet current ideals, you need to spend a quarter of the salary on cosmetics and procedures. Not that I am opposed to cosmetics and personal care, but I do not understand why millions of women should hate their bodies and suffer because of beauty and fashion corporations.
In Russia, feminist activists have to wage not defensive battles, but defensive ones. Recently, Mizulina said that she wanted to limit abortions, to prohibit the sale of postinor over the counter. And how can we talk about maternity leave for men? When they limit reproductive rights, then it is not only about Christian values, but also about economic benefits. The load on free hospitals is reduced, and the paid sector is growing. Also with contraceptives: no one will be recorded for a week, everyone will buy a prescription at a paid clinic.
The more vulnerable the position of a woman is in a society or group, the greater will be the competition between women. In Russia, the situation is very bad, so you rarely see sisterhood, or at least female mutual support. In environments where women are few, for example in politics, harassment, envy and aggression are enormous. Monstrous stupidity.
No one says that women are better than men. To assert this is to play the same game of suppression and depreciation. I do not propose to put in the Duma 90% of women, let it be 50/50, let it be the same salary, and not like now. I want equality, because without equality there can be no freedom.
Photographer: Marina Adyrkhaeva