This “pussy” craft beer with a massive vulva on its label, made by women to highlight gender violence, is set to launch next month.
The beer, called ‘Muschicraft’, which means ‘Pussy craft’ in German, the word ‘Muschi’ meaning simultaneously the domesticated feline and the female genital area in German as well, is set to launch in the Austrian capital Vienna in March.
The self-styled “feminist beer” is the brainchild of Anna Sophie Tschannett, who wants to support and raise awareness about women who have been victims of violence.
One in five women in Austria has reportedly been exposed to physical and possibly sexual violence from the age of 15, and on average over two women were killed every month in the country last year.
Tschannett, who has worked as a social worker in Vienna and looked after victims of violence, said: “I was amazed at how many women are affected by violence.”
She said that she came up with the idea for the pussy craft beer after growing increasingly interested in feminism and concerned about the situation of women. At one point, she told a friend about how her boss had behaved in a misogynistic way and she said: “You have a lot of pussy power.”
That is how she came up with the idea, she says, to make a “feminist beer”.
Tschannett said she purposefully avoided using the word ‘pussy’ (in English), saying: “Pussy is not a word that only has positive connotations.”
She explained that “you pussy” is an insult that emphasises female weakness.
She added: “A pussy or vulva is something very powerful. We have to remember that we are all from the same place.”
She has reportedly since been using the ‘muschi_kraft’ handle to sell feminist stickers, art and other merchandising on social media.
Tschannett said she donates all or part of the proceeds to women’s shelters in Austria. By the end of 2021 she had collected EUR 3,600 (GBP 3,030), and a new campaign was started in January, ahead of the beer launch in March.
Tschannett said she finally found a woman brewer in Vienna, the Schalken Braeumanufaktur in the Ottakring area of the city.
Demand for the feminist craft beer is said to be high despite online feedback being a bit of a mixed bag. Tschannett reportedly gets a lot of hate on Facebook and it is mostly from women.
She has reportedly been criticised for printing a vulva on a beer label, ostracising men and for slamming the marketing of feminism, which some see as an anti-feminist move.
But Tschannett said: “I’m not trying to replace other genders; it’s about focusing more on the vulva. Men deal with their gender very differently than women do, and I wish women would do it with the same ease.”
