A Detailed Look At “The Family Sex Show”

[Sazzasez]

Just for clarity & in case anyone jumps at the chance to call me a right-winger bent on denying women reproductive rights: I’m a socialist agnostic who has protested anti-abortionists.

And I know a child safeguarding hazard when I see one.

Performances planned in Bath, Bristol and Norwich.

grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/nope?s=r

I can't disagree, but the whole 'woe is we'...

The correct response to a safeguarding concern is to openly and transparently respond, show the safeguarding measures put in place in an open and above board way, show the risk assessments, not claim victimhood and that women raising safeguarding concerns about children is 'threatening' behaviour.

It was certainly an option that was open to them. It's disappointing that the theatre company and actors chose an alternative mode of action in response.

After all, the respective insurers surely did their due diligence before the theatres went ahead with scheduling this production into their offerings so the impact assessments etc. must be available.

@PurgatoryOfPotholes

"Threat and abuse", they say.

I imagine there will be screenshots then. It couldn't possibly be that they are characterising middle-aged mothers as abusive for emailing about their safeguarding policy, could it?

Exactly this!

🥂 cheers, everyone! Another victory facilitated by Mumsnet.

Women are wonderful.

If it had been all fine and nothing to give anyone concern, it wouldn’t have been cancelled because of some emails and tweets. It was cancelled (clearly) because the theatres wouldn’t have wanted to be associated with the bad PR.

"Asking questions about child protection", they mean

The cancellation statement says "information regarding the content of the show was made available to bookers before coming to see it".
Is that true?
I thought they hadn't finished developing it?

@Plasmodesmata

The cancellation statement says "information regarding the content of the show was made available to bookers before coming to see it". Is that true? I thought they hadn't finished developing it?

It was not true. There was meant to be a much fuller page that was not available.

Excellent! And how very DARVO of them in their ridiculous statement, but who is suprised? We know exactly what they and to a greater extent their backers really are after all. I am very veryv glad that my email to the NSPCC is seen as part of a "threat" to open societal grooming of children for sexual abuse. That was the intended result.

@theemperorhasnoclothes

'abuse' - DARVO in action.

Tells you all about who they are and actually proves the women raising safeguarding concerns as right to be concerned.

The correct response to a safeguarding concern is to openly and transparently respond, show the safeguarding measures put in place in an open and above board way, show the risk assessments, not claim victimhood and that women raising safeguarding concerns about children is 'threatening' behaviour.

The only way that what women on here have been doing is 'threatening' is if you're a paedophile.

This.

[quote Cwenthryth]It’s been cancelled

twitter.com/aspergerlicious/status/1515718552640237582?s=21[/quote]
Delighted. Just listening to Glinner's yt programme talking about this.

They would not know the correct way to respond to a safeguarding concern because they didn't even factor safeguarding into their planning, so would not have had any procedures to deal with it. Just tried to completely deceptively hang on to the coat tails of the NSPCC and thought that would cover it. Well well done everyone! But its just a battle won, the war continues.

30k+ signatures on a petition and several newspaper articles would usually be seen as pretty good publicity, I think.

But perhaps there are limits to the tolerance of the public for 'live nude stage shows for kids'. You would reasonably expect some push back for the title alone (as noted in this excellent & sobering article I've only just seen:

'Why is it being called “The Family Sex Show”? I cannot work out if the name is sinister or stupid. Incest, or intrafamilial sexual abuse (IFCSA), is alarmingly frequent yet difficult to find data on.... Smiley educated young professionals, a national newspaper and national theatres are now endorsing the message that young children discussing erections, arousal, the intricacies of sexual pleasure, while witnessing adults expose their genitals with their family members, is needed and beneficial to the child. No. That relatives want to discuss sex acts and orgasms and introduce their children to public adult nudity should raise alarm bells, not jolly Guardian reviews.'

thecritic.co.uk/why-are-we-allowing-the-family-sex-show/

I found it utterly enraging that the FAQ page basically admitted that an abuser could take a child to this production, and then use the show as a fricking figleaf for his/her/furrys victim's age-inappropriate familiarity with sexual vocabulary.

Statistically, at least 3 kids in every school class has been sexually abused, and we are supposed to be laidback about an arts production for 5 year olds that will make it harder to identify and safeguard children experiencing sexual abuse? For cultural capital and status as the Right Sort of Permissive Parents?

Screw that.

• sorry, I should add CONTENT WARNING - for that article above, discussions of sexual abuse.

It feels so similar to Rainbow Dildo Butt Monkey that it's hard to believe that nobody realised that they needed to be appropriately diligent about this.

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/london-library-redbridge-monkey-costume-children-event-b945272.html

I want to know what due diligence the Arts Council carried out before funding this.

That was a very good article.

I want to know what due diligence the Arts Council carried out before funding this.

Likewise, I also want to know why it was ever sanctioned in the first place, let's see the evidence.

If nothing else, the fact they thought they could put on this highly dubious production without challenge shows how fucking embedded this bullshit ideology is, pretty well every where.

Looks like they’ve deleted the show’s website…

Good thing we got the screen grabs…

Oh wait sorry that’s the Family Sex Show page on ThisEgg website, not the show’s website itself. Rushing to distance I wonder?

As far as I can see it’s only in Norwich that it’s cancelled. A look at Bath’s Theatre Royal & Bristol’s Tobacco Factory suggest it will go ahead there.

I believe in Norwich quite a few people have raised the safeguarding issues with County Councillors and the Norfolk Child Safeguarding Team, as well as with the Norfolk & Norwich festival, which booked it.

I wonder if they sold any tickets?

using pleasure to explore consent

As everyone says, this statement alone shows they either understand nothing about child sexual abuse or they are active groomers (most likely the first - well-meaning, though still harmful, idiots. Though I don't use that to let them off the hook. Its bloody obvious that they should have fully researched this area before coming up with this show).

Child sex abuse victims, such as Billy Connolly, do talk about one of the confusing things about the abuse, as a child, is that it can bring feelings of sexual pleasure. So no, this is not a ' way into talking about consent' for children. Quite the bloody reverse. Clever paedophiles can use exactly that, if it feels good its ok for us to do it, to groom.

Even for adults, the fact it feels physically good, does not always mean it is not causing psychological or emotional upset.

It says the National Tour is cancelled which suggests all showings?

The tweet says "to cancel the national tour" which suggests other theatres won't be putting it on? If those other theatres still are, could people write to their local safeguarding bodies asap? We may need to keep up the so called "threats and abuse" ie pointing out clear safeguarding violations to the appropriate organisations and services.

@higherthanthat I work with abuse survivors and that is exactly right, as I have described in a post a long way upthread now.