Dutch singer asking white men to stand in the back is not discrimination, hotlines say
Discrimination hotlines in the Netherlands and Belgium have concluded that there was no discrimination during two recent performances by Dutch singer Sophie Straat. During performances on Monday in Ghent and at Best Kept Secret last month, she asked “all white men to step back” and make room for women, queer people, and people of color in the mosh pit.
Straat said that she did not want to exclude anyone, but wanted to make room for people who feel less safe in a mosh pit.
“Whatever her intention was, people may feel discriminated against by this,” a spokesperson for the Dutch discrimination hotline, Discriminatie.nl, told NOS. The hotline received “many hundreds of complaints,” the spokesperson said. “We understand that, but at this moment we do not see enough grounds to believe that there was discrimination based on skin color or gender.”
The hotline points out that Straat did not make any offensive remarks about white men. “The call only concerned one short, one-off mosh pit for these groups. Visitors were not refused entry to the concert.” Discriminatie.nl will not take any further steps at this time.
During her performance at the Gentse Feesten, Straat repeated her request. The Belgian discrimination hotline, Unia, received about 200 reports. “Although the statement may be perceived as polarizing or offensive, in this context it must be seen as a symbolic and artistic expression,” a spokesperson for Unia told the Flemish broadcaster VRT.
Unia investigated the reports and Straat’s statements. And given the context, concluded that there was no discrimination. “The statement was made at the end of an artistic performance with a social and political message about inequality.” Unia found no indications that white men were actually excluded from the concert or from participating in the activities.
Since her first request for white men to make room for other people in the mosh pit at Best Kept Secret last month, Straat has received a torrent of online hate, she wrote on Instagram earlier this month. “A wave of sexist, antisemitic hate messages and (death) threats, some more explicit and creative than others.” The threats also target the people she works with and the venues she is scheduled to perform at.
In her Instagram post, Straat criticized the lack of public solidarity. "Where are the (left-wing) media? Where are the statements from the major festivals? The only public narrative to be found is that of right-wing media, such as Johan Derksen shouting on national television: 'I won't let that bitch screw me over' and 'this slut isn't getting away with it'."
