From being 'dry humped' on the dance floor to the feeling of a hand nestling into your lower back, Common Misconceptions paints a vivid picture of the microaggressions women regularly experience thanks to nightclub culture. Written by Lynette Nylander and directed by her friend Margot Bowman, the four minute animation is told through the eyes of a young woman and is an unapologetic lesson in boundaries and consent, and sheds light on creepy club behaviour through a number of scenarios. The pair suggest ways in which men can change their behaviour: 'Dont interrupt someone dancing', 'Dont follow or stare', 'Be visible' (don't sneak up from behind) and 'Respect Limits' ('ask, don't assume, I wanted my leg dry humped').
'With women speaking up about their experiences that were often being left out of the cultural conversation, we saw Common Misconceptions as an opportunity to shed spotlight on the micro sexual aggressions that are normalised in club culture but that can make women feel uneasy, uncomfortable and inadequate. It is important to continue to have conversations in and around what is happening, in and out of clubs: especially as young people so we can create a new normal,' say the creators.
Bowman adds; ‘creating a level of abstraction with this kind of storytelling is so important. The use of animation allows more people to find themselves in the story in a way that live action and the politics of casting may have limited us.’