Yes, you read that right. This young woman is lifting her skirt in front of hundreds of onlookers, exposing herself in crowded places with the intention of proving a point. She claims she’s doing it for a good cause, but not everyone agrees. Now, you be the judge.
The recent viral video of Anna Dovgalyuk, a Russian student, has sparked debate across the world. In an attempt to protest against sexual harassment and upskirting, she lifts her skirt in crowded public places while cameras roll to capture it all.
But is this act really promoting change or furthering perversion?
Upskirting is when sexual predators use mobile phones or specially made devices to take photos and videos of women without their knowledge. As they are unsuspecting victims, these private images and clips are then often sold on the internet to fellow perverts. It’s a problem that should be criminalized, which Anna hopes to draw attention through her “video manifest”.
Of course, Anna’s display is already controversial as she is essentially giving the upskirters what they want – making their job easier.
There have been plenty of predictable reactions such as “I hope this movement catches on” as well as backlash accusing her of doing it for attention and objectification from those who focus solely on her body instead of any point she is trying to make.
However, many fail to realize that there were people around her who likely didn’t want to see it such as parents with young children or those who prefer modesty over public indecency.
Furthermore, by creating a sexually charged environment in order to fight against sexual harassment, isn’t she just proving counterproductive?
It seems that instead of stopping sexual assault and harassment, Anna’s video may have encouraged it; two wrongs don’t make a right after all.
As much as we would like for this form of protest to bring awareness towards upskirting and help prevent its occurrence in future – sadly it seems the video did not do so but rather brought attention towards her backside instead.
