Most people wouldn’t think to attend Occupy Wall Street to gawk at babes.
But that’s exactly what filmmaker Steven Greenstreet did. Not only did he gawk. He filmed. The result: a controversial video, “Hot Chicks of Occupy Wall Street,” and its matching Tumblr account, which toe the line—and many say cross it—between sexist and celebratory.
There’s no denying that the women Greenstreet chose to profile are diverse, intelligent and articulate about their beliefs. They also happen to be very attractive. And as they speak, his camera lingers over their hair, lips and bare, tattooed skin, to the strains of a stringed-instrument soundtrack. The video has 207,000 views and counting.
Hot Chicks of Occupy Wall Street from Steven Greenstreet on Vimeo.
“Our original ideas were admittedly sophomoric,” Greenstreet wrote. “Pics of hot chicks being all-protesty, videos of hot chicks beating drums in slow-mo, etc. But when we arrived at Zuccotti Park in New York City, it evolved into something more.”
Not everyone agrees. Nearly a hundred commenters accused the filmmaker of objectifying women.
“It’s truly demeaning to these women and their ideals to reduce them to “hot chicks” subjected to the male gaze,” wrote Juliet Bond.
“You trivialize the efforts of so many people because of your obsession of gawking at the “hot chicks,” wrote John Wise.
Greenstreet does, however, have a strong supporter in one of the women featured in the video, Dania, an Egyptian citizen who was depicted painting children’s faces.
“Just wanted to thank you for capturing the feminine side of the story and let you know that i do not care if you call me a hot chick. It’s actually humorous and i love it!” Dania wrote.
Dania’s letter joins the filmmaker’s Tumblr, full of photos of female protestors and police officers. The title is obviously a cheap shot. If the intent is to highlight the diversity of the protest, is it really worth it?
