The OTTO Empire's Jess Langley, Annelise Hickey and Jo de Fina Launch '50 Shades of No'
Prompted by the magnitude of sexual harassment and worldwide dialogue surrounding what constitutes unwanted sexual behaviour, a group of young women have created a brave new social awareness campaign. Launching on International Women's Day (8 March), 50 Shades of No seeks to eradicate the grey area and educate men on the ways women demonstrate non-consent.
Shocked by the outpour of sexual allegations in the media, Jess Langley and Annelise Hickey of The OTTO Empire, along with their Executive Producer Jo de Fina, were part of the founding group who reached out to women worldwide to understand the verbal and physical cues they used during a sexual encounter, where they didn't feel comfortable or confident enough to give an outright 'no'. The campaign began by taking 50 real-life statements from 50 women and printing them onto a range of t-shirts. Langley and Hicky then co-created, directed and produced a film using these statements to retell the women's stories. The featured statements range from 'Is it ok if we just sleep?' to '*Pretends it isn't happening*'. It's all part of the 50 Shades of No project.
Throughout the day on March 8, model Steph Smith, actress Machala Banas, pro surfer Felicity Palmateer, Alex & Mia Fevola, as well as a plethora of Australian sports stars, musicians and TV personalities will all wore the real words of 50 women who want to say something about consent.This International Women's Day they
asked everyone to wear and share the shirts to provoke a broader conversation about consent and raise funds to further educate the next generation. All profits raised will go towards Project Consent, a not-for-profit organisation thatseeks to bring further awareness, education and conversation about consent in today's youth.Says Jess Langley, producer, 50 Shades of No campaign film: "It's actually not always easy 'to just say no'. Because of this, people may communicate their discomfort with more passive verbal and nonverbal cues. We can violate someone's boundaries when we don't pick up on these signals, even if we have no intention to do so. We think there's an opportunity for people of all genders to make sure their sexual partners feel safe and comfortable."
Says Jo de Fina, EP: "Each statement depicts a moment a woman was ignored when trying to say 'no' to sex."
Says Katherine Lively, professor of sociology: "Girls are socialised to be nice and to be more in touch with other people's feelings. Boys on the other hand are socialised to be less attuned to people's feelings, and to win."
This often results in miscommunication between genders and a lot of 'grey area' where consent is unclear.
Says Annelise Hickey, director, 50 Shades of No campaign film: "We need to move beyond 'no means no' and towards a culture of enthusiastic consent, where both parties take responsibility for checkingin with their partner to make sure they feel safe and are having a good time."
The 50 Shades of No t-shirts are available for sale from 8 March from www.50shadesofno.com with money raised donated to Project Consent.
Project Consent is an international non-profit organisation that aims to combat sexual assault and rape culture by raising awareness, spreading education, and promoting consent. For more information visit www.projectconsent.com.
