A Detailed Look At “The Family Sex Show”

What worries me is the lack of any rigorous response from the NSPCC. All that word salad in response to a bunch of adults not only proposing to strip naked in front of other people's 5 years olds but openly stating that it's appropriate to discuss using pleasure to explore consent with young primary aged children.

They're the UK's leading child safeguarding charity yet they are evidently so captured by the porn lobby that they can't bring themselves to say"
"At face value, much of this looks inappropriate for very young children so we're going to explore further to establish the facts. Thanks for contacting us". Instead it's "Oh please don't speak to us. This is so awkward. Why don't you go and make some phone calls instead?"

Given their track record you'd imagine they are keen to repair their rather tarnished reputation but evidently not.

It is utterly fascinating how these things get past scrutiny. Almost as if those that want to [checks notes] abuse and get close to children get themselves into positions where they can facilitate those that abuse and get close to children.

Weird.

“A response from the child such as “I saw the Family Sex Show at the Theatre” would be a reasonable response they were not in fact at risk”.

An admission they know the show could conceal red flags.

Do we think they are grooming or that have already been groomed?

'By normalising the idea that pre-pubescent children should engage with sexual material, The Family Sex Show in practice carries water for genuine paedophiles.'

Thanks, Butlerian. I hadn't seen that.

unherd.com/2022/04/the-rise-of-the-liberal-groomer/

The way they talk about safeguarding is bizarrely reminiscient of certain visitors to this board.

“I know nothing about safeguarding, I’ve never even attended an introductory training, but how hard can it be? Watch as I say stuff I just made up in an authoritative tone and convince everyone I’m a safeguarding expert and that [boundary-trampling thing I want to happen] is a fine example of child safeguarding.”

How weird too that this got funding and made it into production without anyone consulting a safeguarding expert. They knew enough not to pitch it at schools, at least.

‘If you deny you're right wing, is that because a right wing person's opinion would be less valid than a socialist one?’

Yes. It works because nobody needs to take right wing moral panics seriously, the pearl clutchers are always reaching for their smelling salts.

I imagine plenty liberal leftists will be falling over themselves to parade their progressive credentials by taking their kids to this show.

Mary Harringtons latest @unherd was brilliant on this

‘I think it’s more because when right wing people oppose the topic of sex being in the public arena, it’s usually for religious or ideological reasons than practical concerns.’

I think it’s more complicated than that. Social conservatism (including for religious reasons) isn’t always ‘fire and brimstone’. It can be just a nagging feeling that things were better before we had dildos being sold in supermarkets, or a sense that children don’t need to know about felching to be happy.

I’m economically left-wing. I’m liberal in terms of what people do in their private lives. I’m probably quite conservative in terms of what we teach kids.

‘ “A response from the child such as “I saw the Family Sex Show at the Theatre” would be a reasonable response they were not in fact at risk”.

WHAT??!!!’

Yeah, I would ask, “What was that, then?”

Then I’d DIVE on my school’s safeguarding reporting system.

Sazza - I’m with you. I am a reluctant Tory voter at the moment. I voted Labour for twenty years. I’m just pointing out that some people assume that a person talking about child safeguarding is right wing. And that’s an issue.

But continuing on their track of talking about safeguarding while demonstrating how not to do it, ThisEgg launches into an “example”, not of safeguarding, but of how to dismiss a safeguarding concern - if a child has bruises, the responsible adult asks, and the child says they fell in the playground.

End of story, according to ThisEgg: “Therefore these answers may not require further action”.

... WHAT?!

- this is what TheFamilySexShow’s FAQs instructs concerned adults:

“These statements might warrant open, follow-up questions”. (It’s worth noting they give no examples, not even bad ones, of what these open follow-up questions might be).

And then, the kicker:

“A response from the child such as “I saw the Family Sex Show at the Theatre” would be a reasonable response they were not in fact at risk”.

WHAT??!!!

If other people also speak to them about their concerns maybe they would?

Even if no one takes their child to see this, even if the audience is mainly made up of Guardian journalists and the actors' mates, the Arts Council has questions to answer. They are funded by central government and the lottery. Our money basically. Our money to create a production about sex for children created by people who don't understand (or want to understand) safeguarding and who are pushing an agenda which government guidance says is inappropriate

I did like that they confirmed that they weren't aware of it until recently, not had anything to do with the production and don't endorse it either.

So it looks as if they've not spoken to the people who should know the most about this stuff.

This is pretty lame from the NSPCC:

"We are unable to comment upon whether the content of the show is in line with NSPCC research, as stated on the show’s website, without knowing more about the exact content of the show or specifically which research they refer to."

You'd think they'd have learned from rubberwankmanincident by now

I looked at all of the website and it screams red flags. Anyone who takes their kid to this needs a visit from social services. If I knew anyone who took their kid to this, I'd be cutting ties immediately and telling the school. None of it is appropriate and all of it has the common theme of lowering boundaries, and normalising sexual terms like "pegging" so that when children repeat them, adults carry on like nothing just happened.

Great write up. I emailed n&n festival and also the nspcc.

I posted the reply from n&n festival on the previous thread about this.

The nspcc replied with this:

Good Evening,
Thank you for contacting the NSPCC in relation to your concerns regarding this production; your email was received on 08/4/22 at 08.26
We have reviewed the information you have provided and made enquiries with relevant departments within the NSPCC. We can confirm that we were not aware of this production until recently, it has not been developed in partnership with the NSPCC nor is it endorsed by us.
We are unable to comment upon whether the content of the show is in line with NSPCC research, as stated on the show’s website, without knowing more about the exact content of the show or specifically which research they refer to.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I can see that you have already contacted your MP and Norfolk and Norwich festival, you may also wish to write directly to the company who have developed this production as they will be better placed to answer specific questions you have about the production itself.
If you ever have concerns for the welfare of a child, please do not hesitate to contact us again via return email or by calling us on 0808 800 5000. If a child is at risk of immediate harm, please call the Police straight away.

‘If you deny you're right wing, is that because a right wing person's opinion would be less valid than a socialist one?’

It’s because it’s a common attack strategy when people suggest child safeguarding is important.

Yeah I get that vibe too @PonyPatter44

Someone had a - fairly ok if slightly left-field idea - of helping parents who don't really know how to broach the subject of SRE with something that makes grim, embarrassing PSHE lessons a bit more entertaining.

And then it got hijacked into this monstrosity with the biggest red flag sticking out of it

And whoever had the original idea has been told to suck it up or be branded a bigot in the time-honoured fashion.

I'm curious. What does it matter what your politics are? If you deny you're right wing, is that because a right wing person's opinion would be less valid than a socialist one?

I don't think the cast and crew are wrong 'uns, necessarily, but I suspect they are useful idiots.

‘The people behind this zany sex romp claim that the aim of safeguarding is to prevent sexual violence. A cynical person might take that to mean, violence will not be required, if you just lie back and take it like a good boy / girl.’

Couldn’t give a fuck what they think the aim is. It’s actually to prevent the premature sexualisation of kids, because that’s abuse.