Women Who Eat On Tubes: the fightback begins

The controversial Facebook group, Women Who Eat On Tubes, allows its 21,000 members to comment and post photos of women eating food on the tube.

But Lucy Brisbane Mckay – who will lead the counter-protest on Monday – told Channel 4 News that it was escalating into a “battle against feminism”.

Speaking about Tony Burke, founder of the original Facebook group, she said: “This is a man who works in advertising and is adept at putting a spin on things. I do not buy that this is observational art – maybe that’s how it started. But new sites are springing up and new supporters are jumping on board.

“This is becoming a battle against feminism.”

I empathise with the feminist argument, but I feel it’s not relevant in this case Tony Burke

Ms Mckay will lead the hundreds of protesters expected to gather on the London Underground’s circle line on Monday, where they will stage a picnic. “This is about responding and celebrating the fact that women eat – but clearly stating that it is their right to celebrate; not something to capture and monitor without their consent,” she said.

“There are clear misogynistic undertones that need to be addressed. Monday’s protest is about starting that discussion.”

Facebook told Channel 4 News that the page – which was suspended on Friday morning – has since been republished as it does not breach its policy. Under European law, people can apply for their images to be removed from the site.

The group became the subject of intense scrutiny on Friday morning after Mr Burke leapt to his group’s defence, describing it as an “observational artistic study of human behaviour”.

Listen to the full interview here:

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‘An observational study’

Mr Burke told the BBC’s Today programme that “we have a right to take photos of people without asking their permission”. Denying suggestions that his behaviour was an invasion of privacy (not to mention, weird), Mr Burke replied he was conducting an “observational study”, which was “artistic”.

“We have a right to take photos of people without asking their permission,” he said, adding: “I’m from an artistic community.”

This is a man who works in advertising and is adept at putting a spin on things Lucy Brisbane Mckay

“I empathise with the feminist argument,” Mr Burke said this morning, “but I feel it’s not relevant in this case.”

Though the Facebook group has been around since 2011, it has received been universally derided in recent weeks with reports that it amounts to bullying, voyeurism and is even sexually motivated. Journalist Sophie Wilkinson, whose picture was taken and uploaded on the site, told The Independent she felt “victimised and hurt” by the social media craze.

I guess a lot of art is quite misogynistic, so maybe that’s why Women Who Eat On Tubes guy thought his misogyny might get a pass as art.

— Sarah Ditum (@sarahditum) April 11, 2014

How about making Tony Burke meet all the women that had their pic taken, then doing a Tumblr called ‘Tony Burke Eating Through Tubes’?

— Tiernan Douieb (@TiernanDouieb) April 11, 2014

The call to arms for Monday’s lunchtime protest says: “The latest ‘subject’ of British Lad (and ladette) humour is photos of women eating on tubes. While many of us are wondering what is interesting about photographs of women eating, thousands of people are joining the page to look at secretly taken and usually unflattering snaps of women dining on London’s tube networks.

“So we will be throwing an open invitation lunch party for women and allies to eat together without fear.”