The youngest prime minister and the photoshoot that scandalized Finland

She is young, beautiful and elegant. He became famous as the youngest prime minister in the world. But now Sanna Marin is the number one topic in her native Finland for another reason.

Raised by two women, her mother and her partner, Marin is the first person in the family to go to college. He quickly rose through the ranks and in the Social Democratic Party. Due to criticism of the government’s response to the crisis with the national postal service in Finland, Prime Minister Anti Rine resigned late last year. The 34-year-old Finn was chosen to replace him after a vote by the Social Democratic Party, which rules Finland in a five-party coalition.

Since then, his management has been relatively calm and peaceful. Until a few days ago, when photos of her appeared on the Internet, which scandalized the public and sparked a debate about sexism.

It all starts with a photoshoot for the fashion magazine Trendi. Marin poses for her October issue, which includes an interview with her. He talks about the demands of his position, exhaustion and the difficulty of reconciling work and family life.

However, the criticism is due to the choice of clothes – he posed for photos with a shirtless blazer underneath. After the photos appeared on the web, there were damning comments about the very provocative image that was allowed.

According to her fiercest critics, such a political woman cannot afford to appear in such a nude magazine.

Others, mostly women, defended her, finding the attacks on Marín discriminatory, noting that in society, men are much less likely than women to be judged on their appearance. As examples, they post photos of men, naked to the waist, that have not been criticized.

The magazine also received harsh criticism on social media after the October 9 issue.

Marie Paalosalo-Yusinmäki, director of the A-lehdet media group, which publishes Trendi, summarized the comments to CNN, saying that “men find it bad and women find it scary.”

“It was a bit surprising. We have had photos like this before, in the obviously feminine and brilliant fashion magazine. We have been portraying women in blazers with nothing underneath for many years, with celebrities, and they have never had such a reaction,” said Paalosalo . Юсинмяки.

According to her, some are angry that the prime minister is being photographed in a lifestyle magazine. Others who do it while the government is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and perceive it as a waste of time.

But in addition to a wave of criticism, there is a wave of support as social media users post their own photos in blazers with the hashtag #imwithsanna (“I’m with Sanna”).

“I think that speaks to women who are tired and tired of being restrained, who are told how to act, look and behave and are judged on their looks. If you are young and beautiful, then you are not you can get serious, “said Paalosalo-Yusinmyaki.

Sanna Marín, who has yet to comment on the issue, is far from the first woman politician to face criticism for her appearance.

In 2016, former British Prime Minister Theresa May came under fire from the tabloid press after she was photographed in leather pants for the Sunday Times magazine.

British MP Tracy Brabin had to respond to attacks on whether her clothes were appropriate, after appearing with open shoulders in a debate in the House of Commons.