A man in a dress that fights violence and homophobia. Very often we are looking for inspirational stories in other countries. Today we want to remind you of a person who lives in Estonia and tries to make it better. Mikk Pärnits is an Estonian writer, translator and cultural critic, famous for his biting texts and bold style. He gained international prominence in 2020, when he went out in a pink minidress and high heels to receive an award for his contribution to violence prevention. According to Mikk, he wanted to expose himself as ridiculous and vulnerable, as women are often seen. The project that brought the writer a reward is about the same: in the “See Pole Okei” account (“this is not okay”) on Instagram are published screenshots of offensive messages that Estonian young women and girls receive from random men. In his speech at the awards ceremony, Mikk drew attention to gaps in Estonian legislation that impede the effective fight against the culture of rape and pedophilia. Since 2020, some amendments have been made (not least thanks to the efforts of Mikk Pärnits and his like-minded people): thus the age of sexual consent in Estonia increased from 14 to 16 years last fall. In addition to activism in the field of protecting the rights of women and children, Mikk writes articles, in which he makes fun of Estonian nationalists, sexists and homophobes, and also regularly holds new photo sessions (of course, in dresses). In the 2010s, he was the editor of the scandalous portal the Nihilist.fm under the auspices of the ZA/UM cultural association - the one from which grew the eponymous game design studio, which released the cult game of Disco Elysium. 📸: Mikk Pärnits