French government minister for the social economy, Marlène Schiappa, has received criticism after posing (fully clothed) for a Playboy cover shoot set to appear in the April issue of Playboy magazine in France. The images will appear alongside an interview with the minister on women’s and gay rights, and abortion.
Schiappa’s decision to grace the cover of Playboy has been criticised by both her political opponents and colleagues. According to an article published by BBC, the French Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, was one of the first to dish out criticism toward Schiappa, saying that her decision “was not at all appropriate, especially in the current period.”
The Green MP and fellow women’s rights activist Sandrine Rousseau echoed the same sentiments, telling the BFM TV channel: “Women’s bodies should be able to be exposed anywhere, I don’t have a problem with that, but there’s a social context.”
The timing of Schiappa’s decision to grace Playboy coincides with the recent uproar between police and workers striking against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.
@screenshothq These protests have now gone viral on the internet, grabbing the world’s attention with people pointing out how good the French are at protesting for what they believe in. Activists from Alternatiba Paris, the French movement for climate and social justice, are the latest to go viral after making the crowd attending rallies against pension reform dance to techno tunes. “Pensions, climate, same fight, no retirees on a burning planet”, sings Mathilde Caillard, who’s already known as the “techno striker”. #paris #parisprotest #france #franceprotest #francepensionreform #retirementage #technostriker #alternatibaparis #climatechange #mathildecaillard #presidentmacron ♬ Powerful songs like action movie music – Tansa
On Saturday, Schiappa took to Twitter to defend her decision to appear in Playboy, writing:
“Defending the right of women to do what they want with their bodies: everywhere and all the time. In France, women are free. Whether it annoys the retrogrades and hypocrites or not.”
Schiappa, 40, is a regular face on French TV and became a feminist author long before she took up a career in politics. She’s written about motherhood, women’s health, pregnancy, and has even authored a book of sex tips, which also caused quite the controversial stir.
In 2018, serving in her role as equalities minister, Schiappa brought in legislation banning catcalling and street harassment in France.
The editor of the French edition of Playboy Magazine, Mr. Florentin, has supported Schiappa’s decision to grace the cover of the magazine with an interview, describing the French minister as the most ‘Playboy compatible’ member in Macron’s cabinet, due to her strong support and enforcement of women’s rights.
Florentin then went on to defend the magazine, which has long received lash-back for objectifying women’s bodies:
“Playboy is not a soft porn magazine but a 300-page quarterly ‘mook’ (a mix of a book and a magazine) that is intellectual and on trend,” he said, according to BBC.
