We could have done anything with our time that evening. So why did we protest? The answer is simple: "Girls Gone Wild," Mantra Films and founder Joe Francis promote the exploitation and objectification of young women.
Francis claims that he is giving women the chance to empower themselves. They contend that they are doing young women a favor. This couldn't be further from the truth. How does GGW operate? First of all, many club owners actually pay GGW to come to their club. Mantra producers and cameramen often follow girls around clubs, handing them free drinks and cash in an effort to 'persuade' them into their bus to perform sexual acts. If the girls say 'no,' they follow them around until they are drunk enough to say 'yes' and they film these intoxicated girls signing consent.
Once they enter the bus, girls are given more alcohol until they are drunk enough to be coerced into performing on film. Is this truly consent? If you cannot sign on a loan or drive a car while intoxicated, signing a legal document while intoxicated should be out of the question. This is bad business and incredibly dangerous for women.
In 2006, GGW was fined $2.1 million by a federal court for failing to keep age records of the girls who appeared in their videos. The original charge was filed under a law designed to prevent sexual exploitation of children. The company recently admitted to featuring underage girls in several films. Francis has been accused of rape several times and other crimes. Once again, I think we have done enough 'research' to realize that Francis and his producers run a bad business.
The men who buy these films are being sold a fantasy. The problem is that, for women, rape and violence can be a life-long reality. These films give men the idea that there are 'normal' young women roaming around bars just waiting for the chance to 'go wild' and have sex with them. It does not matter how many times they say no because (according to the video) they want to say yes. Men attend these events expecting sex; a few guys walking into Rockin' Rodeo told us that rather bluntly. It is not only about sex, it is about domination. GGW is feeding a rape culture; they are creating an unsafe environment and unrealistic expectations for women and encouraging negative roles and behaviors for both women and men.
While we don't have the power to shut GGW down, we have the power to keep them out of Denton. We do not want them to come back and we suspect that most other people don't want them here either. They are creating an unsafe environment for women and feeding destructive behavior. This is something that people from all parts of the Denton community can agree on. This debate is not about liberal, conservative or about whether or not some guy has a problem with FMLA. This is about keeping Denton safe.
Men are fueling all of this and supporting Mantra by allowing them to film in Denton when we could easily keep them out. My question is this: what are we going to do about it?