Today is the 10-year anniversary of the dildo incident that changed our nation. The Spinoff catches up with the dildo thrower, who reflects on her famous protest.<\/p>\n
Four pair and two years ago Josie Butler brought forth in the carpark of the Waitangi Copthorne Hotel, a nine-inch novelty dildo, conceived in protest, and dedicated to the proposition that someone from National needed to be sconned in the face. A decade on, the Christchurch nurse can still remember feeling giddy as the phallus took flight. It careened through the muggy Northland air into economic development minister Steven Joyce\u2019s jowls, before bouncing off 1News reporter Helen Castles into the history books. \u201cOh yes yes,\u201d said Joyce, sadly. \u201cGood-o.\u201d<\/p>\n
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That moment on February 5, 2016 has gone down as one of this nation\u2019s most memorable political protests. It was a mix of careful planning and happenstance. Butler started thinking about direct action after exhausting other means of protesting the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. She settled on a dildo throw after Googling \u201cmost effective protest methods\u201d and finding an article about Muntadhar al-Zaidi, who threw his shoes at George W Bush to condemn the Iraq war<\/a>. \u201cI really liked that idea,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd then thought \u2018oh, it would be cool to do something a bit funnier.\u2019 So me and my flatmates went down to the local Peaches and Cream.\u201d<\/p>\n The implement they picked out is often described in shorthand as a dildo. It\u2019s actually a nine-inch squeaky pecker made by Ozze<\/a>. Though it\u2019s not visible in the footage from the day, the \u201cdildo\u201d has a face. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t use it as a dildo,\u201d says Butler. Her decision to pick a softer toy rather than a working dildo was a practical one. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to get assault charges,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n In the weeks following the purchase, she and her flatmates trained hard at \u201cdildo target practice\u201d. \u201cIt was mostly us just throwing the dildo at each other unsuspecting around the house,\u201d she explains. The most memorable incident came when she took a date home for dinner. \u201cWhen I walked in the door with the date, my flatmate sconned me in the face with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n