Rebtel Opens Dialogue about Feminism with Dancer Viewpoints from Times Square Body Painted Flash Event

NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Last weekend, International calling app company Rebtel pulled off a meticulously planned move featuring nude dancers that left Times Square roaring, and media pounding down the door. Much positive coverage of the flash event surfaced showing tourists and families excitedly jumping in for photos with the body painted dancers who took over Times Square, and on the flip side of the coin a few showing disdain, which allowed Rebtel to successfully open a dialogue as intended. Rebtel released a strong statement responding to critics via their website today found here www.rebtel.com/timessquaredance. The statement also accompanies a glimpse into the view points of the bold female dancers that participated (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU6KLg9gmVY). Some are calling the event sexist, however the release of the stunt's backstory from the dancers' point of views tell a much different tale. The event was in fact inspired by the Free the Nipple Campaign (http://freethenipple.com/), and conceptualized by a forward thinking team made up entirely of women working with Rebtel to enhance female empowerment through art, a movement that Rebtel strongly believes in.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150925/270909

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150925/270910

One dancer within the video states right after being body painted: "I love women, I love women's bodies, I think we're amazing. I'm not going to be embarrassed about it. I'm going to put myself out there and dance." A second dancer within the video agrees and continues: "I think we could somehow, with the younger generation, incorporate that into different themes of art and different forms of art. There is definitely a future."

In addition to the statement found on their website, Rebtel also elaborated to Business Insider when asked for a statement by saying:

"Our dancers were wearing body paint and thongs, just as the Naked Cowboy in Times Square has been for some years now. It is legal in New York City for women to be topless, just as it is for men. For years, free-spirited public figures have been widely celebrated in Times Square. So with the years of the public adoring the Naked Cowboy, Rebtel pondered the question, why the double standard concerning female nudity? We believe in breaking down barriers. Since this is a conversation that needs to be had and thoroughly explored, we felt that it was the perfect opportunity to start a dialogue with the Indian community. Though India is a traditionally conservative country, it is going through rapid social progress and the timing seemed ideal to raise the issue of female body rights.

We feel it is unfair to be condemned for participating in a social movement just because we offer a service. We are 75 women and men, from more than 20 countries, with many different faiths and backgrounds, all working from an office in Stockholm. We were well aware that this event would receive mixed reviews. As our brand is inherently rebellious ("rebel" is literally in our name), we are not afraid of taking risks in order to encourage important social conversations. We welcome any and all opinions." -Rebtel

As seen in Rebtel's telling 'behind the scenes' video, the company is out to cross cultural barriers surrounding women's freedom to show their bodies. An example of the disparity between views on men's and women's bodily freedom can be seen when comparing Robert John Burke, the "Naked Cowboy,' who has not received backlash from city officials for his semi-nude appearances in Times Square, with the Desnudas who are currently receiving a great deal of negative feedback from both the media and government for their decision to wear only body paint when posing with tourists at the popular destination. Rebtel's stunt proved to fuel the fire of this controversy. One BuzzFeed article for Rebtel's stunt was sectioned in Your Daily Dose of WTF. With another writer contacted the PR team to ask how they could create this while topless women are currently becoming aggressive in Times Square. Rebtel's response was as follows:

"We 100% agree that the topless women in Times Square should not be aggressive with people. However Rebtel's stance is to open an honest dialog regarding these women and if they were not aggressive, should they be receiving so much flack for simply being topless? The Naked cowboy could only wish that he had so much trouble with NYC in the press. However the double standard is very real. Rebel wanted to create an event that matched their brand - which is rebellious in nature. It's a brand for the free thinker that can't be put in a box, not for calling, not for thinking, not for art…not for anything," states Varun Atrey, Rebtel Marketing Manager.

The flash event took place on September 19th, 2015, and featured a handful of gorgeous nude Bollywood dancers clad in only green and gold body paint in the style of Indian half Sarees. The women hit Times Square and were filmed dancing to the popular Indian song, Chammak Challo, at the Pedestrian Plaza in Times Square. Raw B Roll footage of the event can be found here: https://youtu.be/orZ5z_Y_cKU.

Rebtel's stunt and subsequent video encourages women, like the dancers, to embrace their artistic individuality, emboldening Rebtel's target audience, the millennials, to follow suit. Each dancer in the video took the opportunity to go beyond the cultural norms expected of females. This has sparked conversation and debate internationally over public displays of female nudity. The video's representation of the dancers' experiences illustrates the breaking of gender related barriers by opening new channels of communication, which is exactly what Rebtel is doing when presenting their Unlimited Calling Plan to India, for just $8 a month with the first month free.

For more information on Rebtel's Unlimited Calling to India plan or media inquiries please email Eliza Osborn, Email, or call 1.877.841.7244. To download the app visit: http://www.rebtel.com/en/Get-Rebtel/.

ABOUT REBTEL
From its beginnings as a plucky start-up intent on disrupting the telecom industry to its present day status as one of the most successful digital international calling companies in the world, Rebtel has always remained true to its vision of providing user friendly, cheap, and high quality communication to immigrant communities across the globe. Rebtel was founded in 2006 and is a profitable company with a turnover of $95 million in 2014. Rebtel is headquartered in Stockholm with team members across the globe.

SOURCE Rebtel

Related Links

http://www.rebtel.com