Bar apologizes for sexual assault joke
Social media draws attention to sign that trivializes consent
A Toronto bar with signs that made light of sexual assault has patrons and critics speaking out about the latest instance of the trivialization of consent.
Locals Only, on King St. W. near Bathurst St., apologized Sunday for a “disgusting, derogatory” slogan seen on a signboard inside the establishment. “No means yes & yes means a---?” the sign read. “They’re trying to be edgy, but in doing so they are just straight up promoting rape,” said Katii Capern, a 24-year-old Ryerson University student whose social media posts ignited the backlash.
Capern said she was at Locals Only with friends on Saturday evening when she saw the sign.
It made her feel sick to her stomach, she said.
Capern said she tried to contact the bar the next day to complain. When her phone calls and emails went unanswered, she posted a photo of the sign to Facebook and the online sharing and trading platform Bunz.
That prompted other Torontonians to post photos of additional slogans they said they had seen at Locals Only, including “Dry slump? Do the Trump” and “Too naughty to say no.”
Calls from the Star to Locals Only were not immediately returned Monday.
Business registration documents obtained by the Star indicate that the establishment is owned by Jonathan Condren, David Widenmaier and Robert MacDonald.
When the Star visited Locals Only on Monday, the sign appeared to have been taken down entirely from the bar wall.
Aman at the bar, who identified himself as one of the owners or managers but refused to provide his name, said he had no comment beyond what had been said in the social media statement.
He added, however, that the bar owners were “working on something else” which they thought would please “the community, which we respect.”
On Sunday night, Locals Only posted a statement to its Facebook and Instagram pages, which seemed to address the “No means yes” sign.
“It has come to our attention that while unsupervised, a staff member of Locals Only Toronto made a sign within our establishment that is disgusting, derogatory and insensitive towards a serious issue that we in no shape or form condone,” the statement read.
“We are deeply saddened, shocked and appalled that a trusting member of our staff would do such a thing, and we are taking the appropriate measures to immediately terminate this staff member’s employment.”
The statement went on to apologize to anyone who was offended by the sign, adding that bar staff would be trained on appropriate “practice and policy in the workplace.”
“Who exactly is that funny for? It certainly isn’t funny for people who have been there and have been sexually violated, but it’s also probably not funny for people who are most at risk of being sexually assaulted, and that would be women and girls,” said Nicole Pietsch, co-ordinator of the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres. “I know people often say, ‘It’s just a joke . . . it’s really not that big a deal,’ but we find it certainly can create a culture where (ignoring) consent, or pushing people past their stated boundaries, starts to become socially acceptable.”
Capern said Monday that she found the apology inadequate.
“I think they’re scrambling. I think they know that they’re in hot water. And (the apology) is a start, I’ll give them that, but there’s clear pattern here,” she said.
“Rape jokes are in no universe OK, but in a bar it’s especially trouble- some, because of the prevalence of date rape in those environments,” Capern said. “Bars should be using their platform to actively promote consent culture and not rape culture.”
Locals Only is not the first Toronto establishment to come under fire for jokes about sexual assault.
La Carnita, a local chain of four Mexican restaurants, apologized in October 2016 after it posted a photo of one of its dishes on Instagram with the caption, “What if Donald said, ‘grab her by the taco . . .’ ”
That post, like the Locals Only “Do the Trump” sign, seemed to reference U.S. President Donald Trump’s boasts of touching and kissing women without their consent.
The backlash against sexual assault jokes is indicative of changing attitudes, Pietsch said.