Whats Another Year

So Roz has been CEO of Object Now for a year tomorrow (thanks Brute for pointing this out and the some of the "fails" that are a part of this piece). The first part of this is a bit of fun at the expense of Object and I will finish with something that has been playing on my mind.

So what has Object achieved in terms of tangible things that they have done this year, not talking about talks or events that they have been invited to but actual campaigns that they have run by themselves and delivered this year....... I saw the campaign against the Escort ads that Vivastreet had put out but not sure you led on on it Object, the same as the bus adverts for ride around on me for £3 all day. Okay guess that this was going to be a short list anyway. Roz has been a rent-a-quote for the press when they need to be disapproving even though the papers are the centre of media sexism. Wonder if anyone from the outside might consider that a little 2 faced?

Roz did get to go to Brazil and speak at a conference about violence against women, I believe her focus was the media and it's impact on this. No idea who paid for the trip, if I was a paying member of Object I would be really upset if I had paid for it. But the weather is always nice and I know a lot of the guys on the London strip scene will know one or two Brazilian dancers.

So lets now consider what Roz and co has campaigned on this year that interests this blog and consider how successful on each they were.

No More Page 3, this was led by UK Feminista and they were all cheering when the Sun stopped page 3 for a couple of days and were a little upset when the paper brought it back. Like with Lads Mags the campaign claims victory but the platform has changed with social media and the internet delivering them now.
Spearmint Rhino, this is an annual thing where Object complain about the license renewal and in real terms achieve nothing apart from to make the dancers lives harder.
The fight against Entice in Sounthend which even though they got a couple of councillors to attend the presentation with Essex Feminist Collective in once again they failed as the club opened.

Fun in the Changing Rooms? 

I have gone over a very long set of tweets and retweets to see things where Object are the Lead Organisation and apart from the campaign from Hull on Strip Venues this year has been pretty much a year of riding other peoples coat tails. That and turning up to protest against magazines and porn which I believe they intend to do again this year. So we may well see more videos of them making fools of themselves.

So I have a suggestion for you, one you will laugh at probably because the concept of actually trying to deliver something is strange.

Roz, assuming your back from Brazil there have been murmors from yourselves about pushing for even more regulations and controls. Well perhaps before you go rambling off trying to create mayhem (from my point of view) perhaps you should do one thing. Engage with the people involved.... not talking about club owners, I know your opinions of them, not talking about the dirty mac brigade as you no doubt see the customers... I am talking about engaging with the dancers and the unions involved to see what can be done to create a better environment for the dancers without making them fight to earn a living. Go speak to those people whose lives you try to destroy most with your attacks on the industry.

And Roz lets be honest by attacking the industry in the UK you don't hurt anyone but the dancers. As a customer I can find other venues if you close one or I can hope on a train to Paris or a ferry to Amsterdam, there are always alternatives for me. Are you hurting club owners? A little but they can always open a night club where sexual violence is much more likely to be associated with it. So who ends up losing out? Dancers who may struggle to find work that fits in with their needs with study, childcare or even work that allows them to perform and express themselves. There is a lot of other people who lose out but the people you hurt most are the people that Object said when they started out that they were there to protect/support.

Perhaps if dancers dressed like this Object would be happy?

So you can e-mail me if you can't find anyone to engage with but it is about time you looked at what Object was created to do and what you are doing now. Your numbers have fallen off and twitter SJWs are fine but they won't come out on a cold November night and stand by your sides. You can call Object a human rights organisation but if you have read this blog previously you would have seen how laughable that claim looks in the cold light of day. Stopping the hate and resentment would be a fantastic opportunity to actually do something positive. Roz  you have been CEO for a year and that in itself is something but if you want to make an impact in your second year then work with the people your organisation was suppose to! Creating stigma benefits no one.

I often make jokes about Object and I probably will again (very soon) but you can make me look a bit foolish if you choose to reach out. I would be happy to apologise if you worked to better the lives of the dancers, I know I am probably going nowhere with this but I want people to understand the issue I have with Object is that they are busy hurting the one group of people that they should be working with instead. 

TonyN (tonyprince@acdcfan.com)

And The Crowds Were Bitterly Disappointed

Been a quiet time leading up to the election although I noted on Object's facebook page that they praised our Friends in the Essex Feminist Collective for their work in trying to block the opening of Entice, a new SEV in Southend. Remembering this include a very pretty slide show presented by Roz echoing her beliefs but the only evidence that she presented was anecdotal. However Object suggested that now the election is finished that they may look at what they can do to increase the ability of a few objectors to create havoc rather than let those who know the law and represent the public make decisions based on the law rather than one or two people trying to create false fears.

And you have to credit Object with some guts after the failure last year in terms of turn out for the Paul Raymond awards they have started early this year and have already created a facebook event for people to say they are going and then not turn up because they struggle deciding if they should be shouting rapist or loser. However reading the event I had to bite my tongue as whoever created the event has decided to make reference to a couple of "porn stars" being photographed topless in the street during the early hours of the morning. Now this is nothing unusual in any town or city on a Friday or Saturday night so my gut reaction is disgust at this attempt to "slut shame" which your average feminist is usually against. If you go off and read quotes about "slut shaming" you realise that often it is radical feminists who struggle with the concepts around nudity and dress.

Feminists point out (and rightly) women should be allowed to dress how they want without fear of sexual assault or rape and yet we have radical feminists slut shaming and putting the blame on rape for men seeing women with little or nothing on as though men have no self control but of course they must have self control because women should be able to wear what they like. I would like to quote “Any regulated dress code from bikinis to burqas assumes that men are weak, impulsive, and untrustworthy.Yet, we know men can be strong, disciplined and trustworthy. Dressing for success is dressing without this sexism.” ― Christyl Rivers.

And lets think about public behaviour especially the night Object protested outside Xbiz using vile and abusive language and being photographed intoxicated. Just what does Object think they are doing if they believe they can comment on other peoples' behaviour when they cannot keep their own house in order. So if enough people turn up to the protest I do hope they remember that in all probability they will be photographed, videoed and written about. And whatever Object do to campaign about SEVs this blog will be there ready to counter anything that is not 100% factual.

TonyN (tonyprince@acdcfan.com)