More than 5,000 people have signed a petition to keep misogynistic pick up artist Julien Blanc out of S'pore

He's already not welcomed in several other countries.

Ng Yi Shu| November 18, 09:42 AM

UK officials don't want him in the UK -- and the Canadians, Japanese, Australians and Brazilians also don’t want him in their home countries.

Now, more than 5,000 Singaporeans have joined in, with a petition calling Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean to bar him from Singapore.

His name is Julien Blanc, and he is a pick up artist at California-based Real Social Dynamics (RSD). Despite his company’s name, Blanc’s tactics are remarkably anti-social.

Part of his pick up artist tactics include choking women and harrassing them, and he has travelled around the world taking videos of how he manipulates women into having sex with him.

In a video of one of his seminars in Tokyo, he was shown telling men: "If you’re a white male in Tokyo, you can do what you want."

"I’m just romping through the streets, just grabbing girls’ heads, just like, head, pfft on the dick, head on the dick, yelling, ‘Pikachu,’ with a Pikachu shirt (on),” he added, to laughter in the audience.

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Another video, titled "White male f**ks Asian women in Tokyo (and the beautiful methods to it)”, showed him sexually harassing a convenience store clerk, and forcibly pushing women’s faces between his legs.

His reviled tactics have gotten many all over the world -- including Singapore -- alarmed.

Petitions have been started in the UK, Japan, Canada and Australia, where Blanc’s public tour was cut short as the Australian government had denied him a visa. Other countries, like Brazil, have also since denied him a visa.

The petition in Singapore was started by Charis Mah, who was concerned about Blanc’s arrival to Singapore after records from his world tour showed that he might be in Singapore from Nov. 20 to 22.

Real Social Dynamics’ official events calendar has since been cleared. Yet, tweets from activists indicate that the events calendar may have been cleared as a smokescreen.

“(The tweet) indicated a possibility that he or RSD might still attempt to hold events here,” Mah told Mothership.sg. “I wanted to urge our relevant authorities to take precautions.”

Mah said that she is attempting to reach DPM Teo and Ministry of Home Affairs via email with the current number of signatures.

"I thought a petition would be a fast and effective way to highlight this issue to our relevant authorities and request their action, especially since the other countries' petitions have already paved the way,” she told The Straits Times.

Members of the public Mothership.sg spoke to were mixed about the petition.

Entrepreneur Adrianna Tan said that she was "not inclined to support a blanket ban on law enforcement and public agencies enforcing moral codes, unless a criminal act has already been committed on our territory."

“(It’s) a slippery slope which can also be used against other causes or people the administration dislikes,” she said. "I personally prefer advocating for private businesses to not support his events, and in creating awareness of his activities among the community."

Activist Arya Sita Ramana disagreed. "Anyone can -- and should be able to -- petition to bar anyone they consider (unwelcomed),” she said. "A well informed and astute public should be able to tell the difference between a valid petition and one that has no merit.”

E-commerce writer and feminist Melissa Tsang said that Blanc “should be serving time for harassment". “We don’t actually know if Blanc is coming (to Singapore)... but whether or not he's coming, he shouldn't be welcome,” she added. “(This) guy genuinely feels entitled to do that whether women are into it... and he wholeheartedly advocates his followers share that same disrespect. It's insulting, it's intimidating, and more importantly, it's criminal.”

Teacher Ian Chong said that it was "good and important that Singaporeans who disagree strongly with Blanc" have the opportunity "to make their views known". “(Petitions) remain imperfect ways to express public opinion,” he added. "I wish politicians would take more initiative in voicing their concerns about the misogyny that Blanc represents."

 

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