Arrested for Drawing Women as They Are
Image via Amnesty International
Yulia Tsvetkova, a Russian feminist cartoonist, is awaiting trial for drawing images of women with stretch marks and body hair. On June 9, 2020, Tsvetkova, who lives in the small Russian city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, was officially charged with “production and dissemination of pornographic materials.”
The images in question: body-positive illustrations that Tsvetkova drew of women celebrating their body hair, stretch marks, and menstrual cycles. Tsvetkova, who is currently under house arrest as she waits to stand trial, faces up to six years in prison if convicted. As more than 99 percent of cases in Russia lead to a guilty verdict, feminist and LGBTQ activists have been rallying around Tsvetkova, trying to draw awareness to a case that has been a chilling reminder of the government’s commitment to silencing free speech and upholding so-called “traditional values.”
Inspired by the play “The Vagina Monologues,” the 27-year-old Tsvetkova created a group on the social media site VKontakte (a sort of Russian version of Facebook) with the same name. There, Tsvetkova shares artwork promoting body positivity and nonsexualized images of women's bodies. One series, titled “Women are Not Dolls,” featured cartoon drawings of women with wrinkles, body fat, and gray hair along with the caption “This is Normal.” She encouraged group members to share their own images and to use the hashtag #феминизмНЕэкстремизм (#FeminismisNotExtremism) and #бодипозитивНЕэкстримизм (#BodyPositivityIsNotExtremism).
Tsvetkova first came under investigation in March 2019 when she staged a children’s play called “Pink and Blue” that challenged gender stereotypes. She received a substantial fine for violating the country's “Gay Propaganda” law, which criminalizes the distribution of LGBTQ content to minors.
Following Tsvetkova’s indictment in June, feminists and LGBTQ activists across the country, including the activist music collective Pussy Riot, have staged protests and online actions in her defense. On June 27, protesters in Moscow and Petersburg picketed while holding signs that read “My Body is Not Pornography”; 43 people were detained by police. Supporters also organized an online flash mob; across Russia, women posted body-positive photos of themselves online with body fat and underarm hair in full view using the hashtags #заЮлю (We Support Yulia) and СвободуЮлииЦветковой (Free Yulia Tsvetkova). Over 200,000 people signed a petition on her behalf.
As Tsvetkova continues to await trial, Russian artists and activists continue to rally in her corner as the case for them symbolizes the government’s systematic repression of feminist and LGTBQ voices. As Miliyollie, a photographer who has come out in support of Tsvetkova, told The Calvert Journal, “It’s horrifying and painful to see a woman of my age being tried in court and threatened with six years in prison for sketches of a female body, especially when museums around the world are full of paintings of naked women drawn by men. Why is the first pornography, and the second art? It means that the female body still doesn’t belong to women.”
You might also enjoy
