T*ts and Grassroots?

Here’s a rather saucy women’s grassroots campaign, coming soon to a distracted workplace near you.

On Monday, April 26, tens of thousands of women in a Facebook event group intend to bare their cleavage as a protest against Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi’s statement that immodestly dressed women cause immorality and earthquakes (!

The mass protest is the brainchild of blogger Jen McCreight, who states:

“I don’t think the event is completely contrary to feminist ideals. I’m asking women to wear their most “immodest” outfit that they already would wear, but to coordinate it all on the same day for the sake of the experiment. Heck, just showing an ankle would be considered immodest by some people. I don’t want to force people out of their comfort zones, because I believe women have the right to choose how they want to dress. Please don’t pressure women to participate if they don’t want to. If men ogle, that’s the fault of the men, not me for dressing how I like. If I want to a show a little cleavage or joke about my boobs, that’s my prerogative.”

The event is also spreading on Twitter (#boobquake) and has started to attract mainstream media attention.

Obviously, some people are taking this “movement” as slacktivism at best, or at worst, self-exploitation that demeans other women. For McCreight, what began as a “boob joke” has grown into a statement against “supernatural thinking and the oppression of women.”

“The cleavage joke was just a result of me personally having cleavage, and that being my choice of immodesty. And I thought “boobquake” just sounded funny. Really, it’s not supposed to be serious activism that is going to revolutionize women’s rights, but just a bit of fun juvenile humor. I’m a firm believer that when someone says something so stupid and hateful, serious discourse isn’t going to accomplish anything - sometimes light-hearted mockery is worthwhile.”

“With the power of our scandalous bodies combined, we should surely produce an earthquake. If not, I’m sure Sedighi can come up with a rational explanation for why the ground didn’t rumble,” she adds.

The campaign also has a fundraising element, soliciting donations to victims or naturally-caused earthquakes through the Red Cross and the Ayaan Hirsi Ali Foundation.

And not surprisingly, there seems to be overwhelming male support for the cause.

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