Today we hear endless discussions about equality, rights, and the idea of “new femininity.”
Debates on body positivity, what one can wear and what is deemed “unacceptable”… Yet such conversations rarely show the whole picture.

We invite you to take a step back in time: from modern films and TV series — to 19th-century fashion, then further to classical painting, Victorian England, medieval cathedrals, ancient statues, and pagan tribes.

We will explore:
▪️ Why in the 20th century the corset was considered a symbol of oppression — and what “corset contraception” meant
▪️ How war transformed women in just two years from fatal beauties into “strong independent mothers”
▪️ Feminism as the right not to ask permission but simply to study, work, and attend lectures
▪️ What women lost and what they gained by giving up some roles and embracing others
▪️ How poetry and painting captured beauty — and sometimes turned it into a weapon or politics
▪️ The paradox of gender and the eternal question: “What are little girls made of?”

You will see how modern debates echo ancient myths, and how easily — and at the same time how painstakingly — the notions of “beauty,” “human,” and “art” have shifted through the ages.

This lecture is for everyone who loves discovering new ideas, looking at the world from a different perspective, and laughing even at serious things.

Lecturer: Liiya Slobodyan, art history educator