OBJECT Press Release
22.11.2014
OBJECT to protest Paul Raymond Awards at Spearmint Rhino OBJECT, the campaign against media sexism and the objectification of women, will be demonstrating against the Paul Raymond Awards, hosted by comedian Russell Kane, at Spearmint Rhino on Tottenham Court Road on Monday 24 November. The awards, which celebrate the pornography industry, include a range of themes including “Newcomer of the Year”, which is sponsored by an online porn site called FakeTaxi.com OBJECT’s Chief Executive Officer, Roz Hardie, said: “Over the past few weeks, there has been considerable discussion of, and action taken against the misogyny of Dapper Laughs’ TV show and Julien Blanc’s seminars, and how they normalise violence against women. The outcomes of these protests have been encouraging, but there is much more to be done to change other aspects of this woman-hating culture. For example, the sex industry plays a massive role in normalising the treatment of women as objects for men’s consumption. Women in pornography are commonly subjected to violence and degrading treatment. This affects how all women are viewed and treated. “Through this protest, OBJECT wants to draw attention to the emergence of “UK reality porn”. We believe this type of pornography glamorises the very real danger faced by women of being sexually assaulted and raped by unlicensed taxi drivers. One particularly extreme ‘fake taxi’ film features a mentally ill young woman being coerced into sex with the taxi driver as she cannot pay her fare. He subsequently mocks her disability. Ironically we also know that Spearmint Rhino are operating on Tottenham Court Road with local objections to their licence because of the noise and disruption for people in the area, including from taxi touts.” On the subject of the ‘fake taxi’ porn genre, Bobby Morton, of trade union Unite, has issued the following statement: “the FakeTaxi.com site is extremely distressing and demeaning to women, and should be avoided at all costs. Further to this, it is also disrespectful to the thousands of taxi drivers in this country, both members and non-members, who are respectable people giving a service to the general public and who would never dream of taking part in the distasteful activities depicted in FakeTaxi.com.” OBJECT supporters will be protesting outside Spearmint Rhino on Tottenham Court Road, London, on Monday 24 November, from 7p.m. ENDS For more information or press requests, please contact OBJECT on 07944 627 925 or at campaigns@object.org.uk. Notes to editors OBJECT is an award-winning organisation that campaigns to end the sexual objectification of women in the media and popular culture, the mainstreaming of the sex industries and all forms of commercial sexual exploitation by combining high-end lobbying and grassroots activism. www.object.org.uk