Walking home from a night out, I saw this giant artwork and its wording really struck me as being representative of the core of the issue. Its in Shoreditch, so even its location is relevant...
Object, strippers and your activists were hardly ever going to see eye to eye, but nonetheless there was scope for common ground, the possibility existed for dialogue and better understanding and mutual respect. We would have listened. We could have 'adored and endured each other', but now I think its too late for that.
You managed to change the licensing law and since that time have had the satisfaction of seeing some clubs denied licences, their staff having lost their jobs as a result. It was mostly women that lost their jobs. That must be a problem for a group that claims that it is fighting on behalf of women.
You see, what you have achieved is to make some women angry, but many more you have made very frightened. They are frightened that they are going to lose their jobs, have their lives uprooted and their futures threatened. Some are frightened about the threatening text messages that some of your extreme members like to send. I don't think your management board sanctioned that, they don't even know about it, but it happened.
In their view, the strippers have done nothing to deserve this treatment.
I genuinely do not believe that many of your members fully understand what they are doing to the women that they are victimising with their campaign.
Strippers never campaigned against you, they were content for everyone to live their lives peacefully and yet they find themselves the target of a campaign that seems to consider that any slander, any libel, any insult and any act to be justifiable.
Object, the uncomfortable truth is that the things that you say about dancers and their work are far, far worse than what even the most unpleasant customer would say (shortly before being removed from the venue I might add). If there is abuse in connection with being a stripper, the abusers are those that sit behind a computer and vent their rage against strippers, a group of people that have never harmed them or wished them any harm.
Object, do you find it empowering to frighten women? Because a number of us are genuinely concerned that you cannot control your activists.
You have met a number of strippers that have left the job. Did you ever try to meet with any that are still dancing? Did you ever try to explain to them, face to face why they should be forced to give up what it is they do? I really don't think you did, its easier that way because you don't have to justify what it is you write and say and do.
I hate to say this, Object but you are the abusers and that makes me very sad.
We are here to hold you to account.
Sitting here reading this and feel so down about intelligent women who want to put forward the cause of women but instead are hurting so many women they have never met. If a man was to say what job a woman could and couldn't do he would be ripped apart yet it is okay for women to do so because they know better? Object think clearly and carefully, your activists on bulletin boards across the country are making comments that are attacking dancers in a very personal way. You have a few ex dancers who have had bad experiences which you use as justification for your behaviour. Yet realistically it is nothing to do with the dancers, your own supporters have said as much, the we don't give a damn so long as the end result is what we want. And if you are honest it is exactly the same for most of Object. Otherwise you would be supporting the unionisation of the dancers instead of encouraging your supporters to ignore the fact.
ReplyDeleteObject hate to say this but you have to be one of the most virulent hate groups around, the fact you can work with supporters of beating wives (tower hamlet clerics) to try and get your own way shows just how far you will ignore women to get your own way.
I had forgotten about the alliance of convenience that they have forged in Tower Hamlets. My greatest fear is that at some point Object are going to go too far and inspire some kind of sociopath to do something very bad indeed.
DeleteI draw parallels with those that release computer viruses into the wild and rarely if ever accept responsibility for their actions. Object are in some ways similar, because they have released an 'idea virus' or meme into the wild, with no way anticipate its effects or outcomes.
I understand that you feel down about this, I do to and I imagine that we share the fear as well.
Thanks TonyN.
Chasmal
Radical 'feminists' (i.e. organised misandrists) usually justify their attacks on other women who are not exactly like themselves by branding them as 'traitors'. And, whether many of its casual supporters even realise this or not, Object is rad-fem inspired and led.
ReplyDeleteI agree totally, I think though that its RadFem 2 and has been re-branded. Someone, somewhere finally realise that extremism is not marketable and furthermore, alienates potential donors. So what we have is Designer Feminism, its the same rad-fem core, wrapped in a more user friendly package. It media friendly fascism and scapegoating made media acceptable and the media love it.
ReplyDelete