Topless Feminists Protest At Museum After Woman Was Denied Entry Over Cleavage
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Topless feminist activists have staged a protest at Musée d'Orsay in Paris, France, after a woman was denied entry for revealing 'too much cleavage'. You can watch footage from the protest here:
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Student Jeanne was turned away last Tuesday and subsequently shared an open letter alongside a photograph of the offending outfit in a tweet that went viral, receiving more than 41,000 likes.
In the letter, the 22-year-old said felt 'discriminated against' on the basis of 'sexist dynamics'.
She wrote: "I'm not just my breasts, I'm not just my body, your double standards shouldn't be an obstacle to my right to access culture and knowledge."
Lettre ouverte @MuseeOrsay
Ci-joint la robe de la discorde (photo prise quatre heures plus tôt) pic.twitter.com/FTIXQKsdRZ
- Tô' (@jeavnne) September 9, 2020
On Sunday, around 20 topless feminists from FEMEN, an international women's rights movement, protested in support of Jeanne.
The activists chanted that their breasts 'are not obscene' and had similar slogans painted on their chests.
Writing on Twitter, FEMEN said: "MY T*TS ARE NOT OBSCENE! With this action at Musée d'Orsay, we reaffirm that our torso is not obscene and that we support Jeanne and all women victims of sexist discrimination. Stop the sexualization of women's bodies!"
Jeanne also received an outpouring of support on social media after sharing her open letter, with the museum widely condemned for its action:
The Musée d'Orsay in Paris apologises to a woman for not letting her enter the museum wearing a plunging décolleté top. Have they not looked at the nude portraits hanging on the walls? https://t.co/dezyFqGS95
- Matthew Fraser (@frasermatthew) September 9, 2020
The Musée d'Orsay, a museum which is apparently happy to display many bare breasts in its permanent collection, shamed this young woman at the entrance and told her she couldn't come in because her neckline was too revealing. Unbelievable https://t.co/behcr0kDu9
- Katy Lee (@kjalee) September 10, 2020
The Musée d'Orsay apologised to Jeanne on Twitter on the same day she shared the open letter.
It wrote: "We learned of an incident with a visitor when she entered the Musée d'Orsay.
"We regret it profoundly and apologise to the affected person we contact."
The museum's website states that people may be barred from entering if they wear 'an outfit susceptible to disturbing the peace', however, it does not go into specifics.
LADbible has contacted Musée d'Orsay for comment.
Featured Image Credit: Newsflash
Topics: World News, France, Protest
