“I was surrounded by men with more than gravelly looks”, DJ Paloma Colombe denounces sexist violence in the middle of the party

Summer may well be the season of festivals, nightclubs and parties that stretch until dawn, but the dance floors are also a reflection of a sad reality, that of sexist and sexual violence in the festive environment. Women DJs are particularly exposed to it, as denounced by Paloma Colombe, Parisian DJ for ten years, on social networks at the beginning of June.

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In an Instagram post, she recounts a particularly traumatic experience during a show in a Parisian nightclub, where her mixing desk is placed in the center of the room. “I was surrounded by very drunken men who were yelling at me telling me what to do, what to play.

Not the shadow of a security guard to worry about the situation that evening, so Paloma is hyper vigilant. “I had a dress, very beautiful, electric blue. When I saw that I was surrounded by men with more than gritty looks, I decided to keep this jacket and die of heat”, regrets the artist. Girlfriends come to her rescue and try to calm these men down.

“They started being insulted as a bitch, a whore, a slut. They got middle fingers and threats throughout my set, which lasted two hours.”

Paloma Colombe, DJ

at franceinfo

A questioning of his skills

Paloma hesitates and wonders what is the most professional attitude to adopt: “Is it to stop my set to report that there is something serious happening or is it to continue the music for the 1500 people who are there while my friends were being insulted in front of my eyes, that I was afraid for my safety and for their safety?

Insults or intimidation, female DJs must constantly prove their legitimacy. Moreover, one of the remarks that Paloma hears the most is “that one cannot be both pretty and at the same time have musical knowledge”. His musical knowledge is called into question and his technical knowledge faced with the machine that is the turntables. A few months ago, while she was mixing in front of thousands of people, a sound engineer called out to her by grabbing her by the waist. “He said to me: ‘If you want, the return button is there’. Knowing that I had been using since the beginning of my set, so it made no sense.” Exchanges that are more everyday than exceptional according to Paloma.