[sudo-discuss] post-Bike Smut follow-up

[Pete Forsyth]

Rabbit,

As far as I can tell, your message of May 20 has gone without much
response. I think this needs to be said: your message unkind, judgmental,
and damaging to the producers of the Bike Smut film and event. While I
recognize that there's room for interpretation and a variety of opinions,
you stated your opinion as though it were fact, and went on to propose a
new policy for Sudo Room based on that fact. I believe that is a damaging
kind of behavior in a community, and hope not to see it repeated. Please
see below:

On Mon, May 20, 2013 at 2:29 AM, Rabbit <rabbitface at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks, Vicky!
>
> I want to speak up especially about consent:
>
> 1. Consent on the screen: If we're going to watch porn together (which I
> support!) let's make sure it reflects our values instead of supporting rape
> culture (like the film with the box being delivered).
> http://www.upsettingrapeculture.com/rapeculture.html
>

The idea that Bike Smut supports rape culture is stands in strong
opposution to my understanding of the project's values. One of the main
goals of Bike Smut as I understand it is to foster healthy dialogue about
sexuality. I saw the short film you're discussing, and agree that it
presented a disconserting, non-consentual act. But it no more *supports*
that act than Hans Christian Anderson supported "child-eating" culture when
he told the story of the big bad wolf.

If you disagree, that's fair. Perhaps they have strayed from their values.
I think the most respectful way to express that opinion would be to go
straight to the producers, who maintain open lines of communication, and
tell them. Hold them accountable to their stated desire to present material
that fosters healthy communication; initiate a discussion. Posting an
insult to a public mailing list, though, as far as I can tell does no good
at all, and has the potential to do great damage.

2. Consent in the audience: Let's be careful to let the audience know if
> there are difficult / triggering things in the porn we're showing which
> could be traumatic for them to see.  This applies to bdsm as well as
> non-consent.
>

It's hard for me to imagine *any* porn that does not contain things that
are triggering or difficult for *many* people. I was very uncomfortable
attending the Bike Smut event, but chose to embrace that discomfort as an
opportunity to experience new things and maybe learn or grow. It seems to
me that specific trigger warnings targeted to specific audiences would
never be complete, and would be extranous -- I think labeling it as a "porn
screening" to begin with is trigger warning enough.

Both of these are very serious issues.  In the future I think we need to
> preview shows like this before showing them to an audience.
>

No real opinion here, except that I think if anyone takes this on, they
will find it's pretty difficult to find things to present that are both
interesting and 100% inoffensive to everyone.


> Props to the contestants at the end of the show, though!  That was really
> great.
>

Agreed, that was probably my favorite part too. I thought the energy of the
producers and the audience was excellent and inspiring.

-Pete

p.s. Since lots of people on this list probably don't know me: I've been to
Sudo Room a handful of times, and am a big fan of its existence and
mission, and hope to be more involved in the future. I've also known Rev.
Phil, the guy behind Bike Smut, for over 10 years and consider him a close
friend and an inspiration.
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