Even though the music industry was started out of love and the opportunity for creative expression, it has been tainted with dark events for quite some time. Unfortunately, stories of murder and abuse have been present even in the olden times of music. In this post, I will talk specifically about sexual abuse which is extremely prevalent in the dance music industry.
Many allegations have actually surfaced up recently, especially during to COVID times. It seems like this difficult world situation we are facing has uncovered many of the heinous acts happening behind the scenes in the dance/electronic music industry.
One of the most active people in promoting the #MeToo movement and bringing justice to victims is DJ Rebekah. When she was just 17, she was excitedly going to a record shop to buy Vinyl and had also inquired about a job there. She was given a disgusting answer: “Yeah, you can give me a blowjob.” Back in that time, there were no female role models in the scene for her to look up to. 25 years later, she is an extremely popular Techno DJ and women are becoming much more prominent in the industry.
The record shop incident was just one example of sexism, harassment and abuse that Rebekah has experienced throughout her career. Along the way, there have also been many supportive men who have nurtured and encouraged her, she says. But for some, her passion for music was something to be used against her – either as a subject of ridicule, or as a means of sexual exploitation. As #MeToo stories begin to emerge in the dance scene with recent allegations made against Derrick May (which he denies) and the late Erick Morillo, Rebekah’s career is stained with the same patterns of abuse.
As a young DJ, Rebekah was abused more than a few times. Once, a promoter entered her hotel room while she was passed out and took advantage of her. Countless times, men have told her “you’re not a real DJ”, and nobody took her seriously. It didn’t help that she worked as a glamour model in the adult scene for a few years, from the age of 19. She did it because she needed money and needed enough time to make music. That was used against her for many years to come. A couple of decades ago, persisting in the face of continual disrespect was the norm for a female DJ. Rebekah recalls rejecting a former booking agent who came on to her one night in London. “I said, ‘I can’t believe that you’re doing this. I thought you put me in your agency because you respected me as a DJ,’” she recalls. “He said, ‘You’re not a DJ. I created you, you’re not a fucking DJ.’” When Rebekah suggested to a legendary US house DJ that they work together in the studio, he replied: “Only if you’re naked.”
Rebekah started dressing in black shirts, jeans and sneakers to turn the attention away from her body. She states: “Why should I have to change for a man who’s high in the industry to take me seriously?” she says. “But, in the end, that’s kind of what I had to do.” The relaxed dressing style is widely present with women in the dance scene, as a way to prove that their bodies are not the reason of their advancements in life. In 2017, even after two decades of demonstrating her talents, Rebekah was accused of faking her DJ sets- an allegation commonly thrown at female DJs). She promptly disproved this ridiculous claim with a live performance video.
“Being female in this industry is a double-edged sword,” says Rebekah. “In one respect, you get noticed really quickly and things happen really fast. But, on the other hand, you might not be ready for it. You get thrown in the deep end and you just have to survive.”
After clawing her way to the top, she finally felt comfortable to address sexual harassment and assault in electronic music in September, following the death of house superstar Erick Morillo, who was praised on social media despite having been recently charged with rape. The rape survivor who pressed charges was a fellow DJ who had played a gig with Morillo before going back to his house with another woman. Numerous other women shared stories of being assaulted by Morillo following his death, and were all slandered and ridiculed for it on social media. “I just went back to being the 17-year-old,” Rebekah says. “It’s been 20-odd years, and I thought things were in a better place and, what, we’re slut-shaming a female DJ who went back to a fellow DJ’s house? It made me feel sick.”
Rebekah shared her anger over the situation and started getting a slew of DMs from countless women sharing their abuse stories. She then started a campaign #ForTheMusic, for women and LGBTQ+ people to protect them against abuse in the scene and give them safety. Hedonism has always gone hand in hand with clubbing, but the scene’s milieu – late nights, drinking and drug use and a lack of industry oversight – has also enabled sexual predators to operate in the shadows for decades.
The campaign was hear by numerous electronic music associations and a first version of the industry code of conduct was released in November 2020. The goal of these new regulations is to make sure predatory behavior is reported and dully punished, and to hopefully create a safer party space for when clubs reopen after Covid-19.
Here is a partial list of DJs accused of sexual abuse in 2020- just showing how serious the situation is: Bassnectar, Graves, Raihala, Space Jesus, DJ IROC (who even worse abused underage girls), Billy Kenny, Thriftworks.
Source
www.dancingastronaut.com/2021/01/seven-more-accuse-derrick-may-of-sexual-harassment-and-assault/
