In conversation with Consentis: returning consent to our dance floors

The #metoo movement has taken the world by storm, beginning with Hollywood's now infamous film producer Harvey Weinstein before turning its gaze to high-profile professions the world over. The underground clubbing scene, thankfully, has not been spared its ricochet, which has helped shine a light on the growing consciousness of sexism in the electronic music industry. From Koodeta in London, Gash Collective in Ireland, Discwoman in the United States, to worldwide organization female:pressure, women are on a mission to shift their experiences from margins to centre and dismantle the electronic ‘boy’s club’ one record at a time.

But industry sexism is not confined to the rank of DJ; unwanted sexual attention is pervasive on dance floors where both men and women find themselves vulnerable to unwanted sexual attention.

Women in particular are familiar with the hidden dangers that lurk in a nightclub's shadows. As victims have grown more comfortable sharing their experiences of sexual harassment and sexual violence, it’s become clear that public and private spaces are not always safe for women when men are present. Just a couple months back, Jackmaster admitted to “inappropriate” behaviour towards female staff members at Love Saves the Day while he was off his head. Her experiences at the hands of Jackmaster are not atypical. A standard clubbing night out for a woman could involve enduring uncomfortable stares, staving off unwanted touching or grabbing, and that covers only the milder dangers the female-identified population risk by virtue of their gender.

Thanks to the increased visibility of sexual harassment, the movement to make the electronic music scene safer for men and women has only grown in momentum. One such organisation is the Paris-based collective Consentis, which is campaigning to spread awareness about consent in festive spaces. I had a chat with one of its founding members Mathilde Neuville to find out more about the work they are doing and the condition of the underground music scene today.

Eleanor: You started Consentis at the beginning of this year in Paris with your friend Domitille Raveau, with the mission of addressing the issues surrounding consent and sexual misconduct in festive spaces. Tell us a little more about what you guys are hoping to achieve.

Mathilde: Consentis.info was indeed created under the French organisation law early 2018 by Domitille Raveau - social psychologist in Paris and myself Mathilde Neuville - music supervisor in Berlin. Our team gathers now nine members and we keep on welcoming new volunteers!

Our main goal is to establish a culture of consent in festive places through awareness campaigns. Inspired by the values of the underground (techno) scene and the queer culture, we wish to participate in fostering parties and festival where sexism and sexual assaults would have no room. We wish every person to be free to attend to the event he or she wants without fearing being victim of discrimination, physical or sexual aggression. To do that we want to make all the actors of the nightlife aware of their responsibilities because party goers, promoters, club owners, security staff and other stakeholders have a role to play in order implement a more respectful, tolerant and safe party culture.

Eleanor: I think sexual misbehaviour has come to the forefront of people's consciousness in the aftermath of the #metoo movement and triggered conversations that may not have happened otherwise. It is important that this historic opportunity isn't wasted and it is great to corollary movements like Consentis spring up and contexualize these conversation.

The stories surrounding #metoo originated from Hollywood but the forms of sexual misconduct and the forces at play are closely to the setting where it took place, be it power dynamics within the workplace or inebriation on a night out. You have located Consentis within the festive spaces (in particular the underground and techno scene), which are known for celebrating sex positivity, body positivity, nudity, voyeurism, kink, BDSM and open sexual behaviour, often with a heavy concoction of mind-altering substances in the mix. How do these particular dynamics influence the giving and receiving of consent and can they muddy the waters at times?

Mathilde: The #metoo movement (#balancetonporc in France) indeed freed tongues and allowed the topic of sexual harassment to be discussed in public places. We feel very thankful to this movement, which fostered sisterhood and allowed many sexually assaulted women to feel less lonely and finally understood.

Our reason to have located Consentis in the festive places is because we noticed an increasing paradox: on one hand we were told loads of sexual aggressions stories by our friends who then developed risk-avoidance strategies such as not frequenting certain clubs or areas, and on the other hand, we noticed a song unawareness of nightlife stakeholders concerning the high presence of sexual harassment. We then thought that we should participate to raise awareness in the scene by conducting a study among the patrons and determine statistics. This scientific approach helped us to quantify the problem and to understand the factors of unsafety in nightclubs in order to establish powerful awareness campaigns.

It is true that Consentis can be mainly found in the underground scene because the other co-founder Domitille Raveau and myself are passionated by electronic music and it made then more sense to start introducing our project in the frequent. Thus it is certain that our ideal of parties is influenced by this scene and that we share the same values of respect, tolerance and solidarity as the founders of the Techno scene.

However we do not want to limit Consentis exclusively to a kind of party but want this project to participate in implementing a culture of consent in ANY festive place. We do not think that consent is a variable concept and advocate that it is mandatory whatever the crowd and the place. When it comes to the consumption of mind-altering substances such as alcohol or narcotics, we are very clear: when someone is on the verge of passing out: even if zie person is unable to give consent even if they can verbally indicate it! So a YES is not always a YES if the person is lacking the ability to make informed or full consent.

Eleanor: It goes without saying that NO means NO and that consent should be explicit no matter the situation. However I have found from my personal experiences in sex-positive spaces such as Berghain (for example), due to the sexually charged energy and the seductive outfits of the patrons, some individuals interpret this as an open invitation to engage in sexual behaviour. There is this idea that if you are the kind of person who goes to Berghain and wears revealing clothing, you are also the kind of ‘free’ person who welcomes erotic touching by strangers. This ‘assumed consent’ is obviously very problematic. How do we tackle this issue of consent within these hyper-sexual environments when it is viewed by some people as ‘unsexy’ or cumbersome?

Mathilde: Well, whatever the outfit is, it does not allow anyone to touch a sexually connotated part of your body! It is true that in sex parties some outfits might give information about your sexual preferences, especially in the gay scene. However, those never implies that you give yourself away to the others. Consent is mandatory! I think that this is what sexual positivity is about: being aware of your sexuality, expressing what you like and want, showing your desires to your partner(s) and respecting consent! The Berghain club policy encourages the queer culture and people to express their unicity. This does not involve any sexual behaviour that wouldn't require consent. On the contrary, it fosters more awareness about one's sexuality and body positivity. If a patron cannot stand the nudity of other clubbers and then harass them, this person turns into a sexual predator. It is then the duty of the club to kick this person out which is unfortunately very often problematic.

Eleanor: After your research, what have you learnt to be the biggest drivers of sexual misbehaviour within festive spaces and what steps can be taken to reduce these types of activity? You mentioned that some women have adopted a strategy of avoidance, but this is surely a last resort and shifts the burden of responsibility to the women as a potential victim.

Mathilde: The study that Domitille Raveau - Social Psychologist conducted for Consentis.info in February 2018 - reported statistics about the presence of sexual violences in festive places. Its analysis found out that this issue is very gendered and that there is a huge lack of awareness when it comes to consent. Thus, we think that one of the main driver of sexual aggressions and harassment within party places is the sexism in these places such as the manifestations of the rape culture and toxic masculinity. It happens throughout the whole party process in the mainstream scene: from the moment you decide your outfit until the way you decide to go home. For this reason we think that promoting more equality and deconstruct gender norms through awareness campaigns in various forms will help to reduce sexual misbehaviour within festive places.

In parallel, to foster more freedom, our study helped us to find out that we should increase the feeling of safety in these places. We gained experience from the various initiatives led to promote a culture of consent in other countries. Even though it is sad to discover how worldwide sexual violence is, it was as well very motivating and knowledgeable to follow them. The outcome of this international review underlined the importance of the commitment of the event organiser through clear club policies and the training of the security and service staff.

Furthermore, the readiness to intervene should be more encouraged and enhanced. Too many situations tell that many people fear and/or don't feel concerned when they assist sexual aggressions. It is important that we all feel responsible for a change. We wish the clubs - festive and cultural places, to be accessible for anyone - regardless of the gender, skin colour, social background, ability or their sexual orientation, who will be respectful, well-intended and open-minded with the other clubbers. For this reason we don't see strategies of avoidance such as women refusing to frequent some places as a solution.

Eleanor: At the core of Consentis’s objective is the ambition to improve the literacy of party-goers when it comes to issues such as consent, sexual assault, sexual violence and rape culture. Do you believe that misunderstanding and under-education is causing the sexual misconduct we are witnessing today?

We indeed intend to improve the literacy of clubbers because we think that the fundamental concepts of consent and sexism are abstract for many. Some enlightenment would contribute in increasing awareness and then, since awareness is according to us the first step in the process, reduce sexual violence. Thus we think that under-education about consent and gender equality is causing the sexual misconduct we are witnessing today.

However, it is important to point out that the level of general education is not an indicator of the presence of sexual violence. Unfortunately sexual misbehaviour is present in all social categories and all education levels. This is also what the Harvey Weinstein scandal helped to prove: even the sectors characterised by a high level of education experience sexual aggressions. Our awareness campaigns also aim at deconstructing all the stereotypes linked to rape and rapists.

Eleanor: Are you hopeful about the future of partying within festive spaces?

Mathilde: Yes I am! Our actions were always well welcomed so far. People feel the need for more club policies in order to improve the clubbing experience. We feel that other organisations sharing the same values as us (respect, tolerance and inclusion) are flourishing and that consent is being brought to public place. This in combination with women empowerment sound very promising. Although we are aware that there is unfortunately a long way to go (see statistics...), we chose the optimistic side and believe in collective intelligence to change mindsets!

In our communication we use the #dansonslibres which means "dance carefree/with freedom", I feel that this is something most of the clubbers wish for themselves and the others.

We are now working on comics which describe a "Consentis world" where a culture of consent would be established and sexism abolished in festive places to make people realise that there are solutions to found against sexual and sexist violence and that everyone benefits from more social responsibility in nightclubs. We are also very active on social media such as Facebook and Twitter where we share content about consent, sexual and sexist violences (including rape culture and sexual indebtment), feminism, queer culture, toxic masculinity, nightclub policies in order to support the cause to a wider audience.

If you want to find out more about the work of Consentis you can go to their website, Facebook or Twitter page