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Swedish Comedian organizing ‘man-free’ music fest until they learn ‘how to behave’

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...y-learn-how-to-behave/?utm_term=.2ec37cbc1869

Sweden's largest music festival, the four-day Bråvalla, which regularly featured such acts as Kanye West, the Killers and Iron Maiden, has been canceled next year in response to the growing number of sexual assaults reported at this year's event.

One woman, though, suggested a different idea: Just don't invite the men.

The festival began in 2013, and annually drew crowds upward of 40,000 people. But it also became a venue for frequent reports of sexual assaults. In 2016, at least five alleged rapes and more than a dozen sexual assaults were reported. Attendees of this year's festival, held from June 28 to July 1, reported four alleged rapes and 23 sexual assaults, according to the Guardian.

”Certain men ... apparently cannot behave. It's a shame. We have therefore decided to cancel Bråvalla 2018," the festival's organizers said in a statement. ”Words cannot describe how incredibly sad we are about this, and we most seriously regret and condemn this."

In response, Swedish comedian and radio host Emma Knyckare tweeted, ”What do you think about putting together a really cool festival where only non-men are welcome?" It would last ”until all men have learned how to behave."

”Sweden's first man-free rock festival will see the light next summer," Knyckare said, according to the BBC. ”In the coming days I'll bring together a solid group of talented organizers and project leaders to form the festival organizers, then you'll hear from everyone again when it's time to move forward."

”Since it seems to be OK to discriminate against women all the time, maybe it's OK to shut out men for three days? I would not exactly call it an abuse not to come to the festival," she told Sweden's Aftonbladet.

Slate's Christina Cauterucci wrote that " ‘man-free' offers Knyckare a bit more flexibility than ‘women-only' " because it is inclusive of people who are gender nonbinary or transgender.

Knyckare isn't the first to express concerns over number of sexual assaults reported at Bråvalla.

”We won't play at this festival again until we've had assurances from the police and organizers that they're doing something to combat what appears to be a disgustingly high rate of reported sexual violence," Mumford and Sons wrote on Facebook in 2016. That same year, as The Washington Post's Elahe Izadi reported, police handed out wristbands at the festival that bore the words, ”Don't Grope."

”We're hoping mainly that this will get boys to think twice," national police chief Dan Eliasson told TT News Agency at the time. ”A lot of them don't seem to realize that this is a crime."

Lock if old.
 

Platy

Member
And they will show a screening of Wonder Woman while in there ? xD

Also

man-free’ offers Knyckare a bit more flexibility than ‘women-only’ ” because it is inclusive of people who are gender nonbinary or transgender.

I don't see how women only excludes non-nonbinary trans people
 

Pein

Banned
“We’re hoping mainly that this will get boys to think twice,”

I don't like how he used boys here, as if there's some innocence to the men who assault women. I might be overthinking it though.

Hope it works out though.
 
Also



I don't see how women only excludes non-nonbinary trans people

Because non-binary wouldn't identify as women?

“We’re hoping mainly that this will get boys to think twice,”

I don't like how he used boys here, as if there's some innocence to the men who assault women. I might be overthinking it though.

Hope it works out though.

I'm pretty sure you're completely missing it. Calling them boys is meant to be insulting, not to make them seem more innocent
 

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
“Since it seems to be OK to discriminate against women all the time, maybe it’s OK to shut out men for three days? I would not exactly call it an abuse not to come to the festival,” she told Sweden’s Aftonbladet.

Yikes
 

joe2187

Banned
I expect nothing but full cooperation, sympathy and understanding to why this concert is being put together and expect absolutely no controversy from men against this.
 

Platy

Member
Because non-binary wouldn't identify as women?

They said " 'women only' would exclude NON BINARY and trans" which imply "women only" would exclude binary trans people

which is weird because

1) binary trans women are women

2) binary trans men are men and therefore excluded from man-free.

For someone taking care of language to be inclusive ... they really sucked there xD

Or could be a swedish-english translation fuck up =P
 
are all the stage crew going to be women?

I personally have no problem with man-free advents. But they should consider the optics they are presenting. Once certain areas are designated (X-free) its going to be hard to argue that other groups cant have similar events as well.
 

Platy

Member
are all the stage crew going to be women?

I personally have no problem with man-free advents. But they should consider the optics they are presenting. Once certain areas are designated (X-free) its going to be hard to argue that other groups cant have similar events as well.

There were similar events in the 70's.
 

Alienfan

Member
Seems like an extreme way (although I guess cheaper than trying to make their festival safer for woman by hiring more security) to solve the issue. Why not just men free zones? Why the entire festival? Seems like she could make the same statement without banning a bunch of people that didn't contribute in anyway to sexual assault.
 
Sounds like a great idea.

I fear that it will provoke a backlash more than introspection and positive change but one can hope.
 

D i Z

Member
That's a shitstorm to be calling down. People still need to enter and leave the venue. But I'd be lying if I wasn't all about "how to pull this off, and show everyone how to do it".
Solve the security problem outside (that they couldn't ever inside the venue) and you've got something.
 

Kolx

Member
So if half of the 40000 were men, 20 cases were reported. How does punishing the 99.9% of men who didn't do anything wrong sound fair?
 

Kolx

Member
Goal is to make it zero. Those 20 guys ruined it for them. Simple as that.
We can label everyone in the world so that they become in a group in which a minority did something wrong. It's just wrong to fuck a certain group like this because a very small number did something wrong.
 
We can label everyone in the world so that they become in a group in which a minority did something wrong. It's just wrong to fuck a certain group like this because a very small number did something wrong.
They'll be fine.

That just sounds kinda dumb really, whats it teaching or going to accomplish here? These people already know its bad, but they choose to do it anyway.
Maybe they do and maybe they don't. At the end of the day it's only a music festival trying to make it safe for women. What should they do instead?
 

Horp

Member
This makes sense to me. There are other music festivals, and there i nothing stopping men from making a man-only festival (not sure who would want to attend).

Mainly, I know several women that love concerts but just dont want to put them into a sea of people where they can be sexually abused. It's also a case of physical violence. I've been to many festivals and many, many concerts in my day and some men are just... they take away the fun, even for me as a man. And I've been there with female friends, girlfriends and sisters and more often than not things have become threatening in one way or another.

When more (a LOT more) men have learned to watch sports or music without being violent or sexually abusive, this festival wont be needed any more.
 

Lynd7

Member
They'll be fine.


Maybe they do and maybe they don't. At the end of the day it's only a music festival trying to make it safe for women. What should they do instead?

I'm pretty sure all of them know its against the law to rape someone, I seriously can't believe there would be people out there that genuinely did not know that.

As for what they should do? I don't know what the answer is. But I just don't see it mattering, once they reopen it to everyone at some point, its just as likely to happen again anyway.

Or just only ever have female only festivals and cater to a smaller crowd?
 

SephLuis

Member
Right or wrong is defined by suffering.

No, it's not. Pain doesn't define right or wrong.

If 20 guys in a crowd of 40k men did something bad, you don't exclude the whole group.
There are much better ways to deal with that instead of making a circus of the whole thing
 
I'm pretty sure all of them know its against the law to rape someone, I seriously can't believe there would be people out there that genuinely did not know that.

As for what they should do? I don't know what the answer is. But I just don't see it mattering, once they reopen it to everyone at some point, its just as likely to happen again anyway.

Or just only ever have female only festivals and cater to a smaller crowd?
A lot of guys don't understand consent. This is a fact.

No, it's not. Pain doesn't define right or wrong.

If 20 guys in a crowd of 40k men did something bad, you don't exclude the whole group.
There are much better ways to deal with that instead of making a circus of the whole thing
It is defined by suffering. We don't punch people because it's wrong because we are causing harm. It's, like, what most people use as a base.

No guy has been harmed. Those who value people's saftey over going to a concert will not care for this change. It's as simple as that.
 

cuate

Banned
the whole thing was getting shitcanned anyway due to those men. women don't have to be punished too because of some asshole men who can't behave.
 

Eusis

Member
I think the problem is that there's a huge liability issue if they ignore it, and don't do a thing about it. Which would probably be why it's canceled, and why she wants to do an alternative no-men one.
 

D i Z

Member
Crazy shit being said about this in here. Holy shit, you all think you have a right to be in everything.
 

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
It's like they are saying... maybe its time for men to take fucking responsibility for themselves and other men.



Nahhhhhhh, clearly just discrimination against men!
 

D i Z

Member
We're talking about actual rapes and sexual assault that were reported. Can't count the cases that weren't or were ignored. I know people are used to letting that shit slide because they love a good show, but you have got to be fucking kidding me with this "not all men" bullshit. I say send that message. "Stay the fuck away!" because some people are obviously not hearing it yet.
 
Right and wrong is not determined by suffering.
Thank you for this conversation. I clearly see from your posts that you have detailed your position. I have learned a lot. Thank you.

Like, it's not like right is maximizing happiness and wrong is, like, suffering, misery, pain, etc.
 
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