The Band Explains: Dream Nails - 'Vagina Police' (Video)

Photo Credit: Ant Adams

Our favorite punk witches Dream Nails released the video for their track 'Vagina Police' last month. We had a chat with them about Facebook's sexist algorithms and how their video came together. 

How was the video filmed?
We assembled a crack-team of babes (a 13-strong female crew, almost unheard of in the film industry) to produce the video directed by Guen Murroni. We filmed it in and around Hackney on a cold November Sunday and although the call time was 6am and we didn’t finish until 7pm, the feeling of having so many creative, talented women in one place kept us all going.

What is the video trying to convey? What are the ideas behind it?
Our band has always mixed rage and joy together, because the combination of those two emotions is really healing. This song is an angry piss-take of all the creepy weirdos in the pro-life movement who want to control women’s bodies. Also, it’s about us being silly. Women are rarely seen being silly, messing around and cracking each other up. I think this is a rebellion against this, and also the natural end point of the four of us existing in our own alternate universe we call Dream World™.

Any behind the scenes stories?
Well at one point we were all dressed as men wearing fake moustaches feeding each other doughnuts, and it all got pretty weird pretty quick and only stopped when the director shouted “CAN WE MAKE IT LESS EROTIC?!” None of us have been able to look a donut in the face since.

There’s also a scene where we all run into the van right at the end of the video. Anya was wearing borrowed shoes that were far too big for her in the name of fashion, fell over her own feet in the panic to get into the van and completely decked it. We know it’s meant to be a spoof but someone’s always got to take it too far, haven’t they?

You have had some problems sharing the video online? Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
We’ve noticed that all of our posts containing the words ‘vagina’ or ‘abortion’ haven’t been showing up on people’s news feeds. It’s really weird, and the record label we released the song with, Everything Sucks Music, had their account deactivated for trying to create an advert of it?! We’ve heard about Facebook’s algorithms being sexist, and everybody knows about #freethenipple, but this is just beyond…

The algorithm is effectively censoring public discussion about reproductive justice. With the upcoming referendum to repeal the 8th amendment and legalise abortion in Ireland, we need more information and discussion, not less. New media platforms like Facebook have a public duty to make sure women’s voices are heard.

Photo Credit: Poppy Marriott