Rain Dove: Model pepper sprayed in women’s restroom
Model Rain Dove poses for a portrait in the London Fashion Week venue in Soho in central London on February 23, 2016. (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty)
Model and activist Rain Dove has revealed that they were pepper sprayed in a women’s restroom and they’re sharing their story after reconciling with the attacker so as to educate others.
Dove posted on Instagram about the attack, which they told PinkNews happened in a high school toilet in Ashville, North Carolina, on October 4.
Speaking to PinkNews, Dove, who had been at the school for a meeting, explained that they were confronted by a woman in the restroom with her children.
“This person shrieked and hit me—not directly in the eyes—but just got a good cloud of mace in my face.”
“While we need anger, and we need true feelings, we also need people who are willing to sit down and talk with that [are] our oppressors, are the people that are attacking us. Because we’re not going to change their minds if we are just their enemy.”
—Rain Dove
The 29 year old said that a security guard came in and asked if they were okay, saying the employee initially tried to take them away from the sink where they were washing out their eyes “because they thought I was a man in the restroom.”
Dove explained that they didn’t hear anything following the assault, until the perpetrator messaged them directly—”on every single social media” [platform]—towards the end of October.
Rain Dove tells perpetrator to treat every person as an “individual”
Dove posted screenshots of their conversation with their assailant on Instagram on Wednesday (November 21).
In the messages, the woman at first told Dove that she “would do it again,” adding: “I hope that pepper-spray burned the fuck out of you.”
However, the woman apologises after exchanging a few messages with Dove, in which the model encourages her to treat each person as an “individual.” Dove told her: “There’s no way to ‘look like a girl’ or a ‘boy.'”
By the end of their exchange, the woman said: “I feel dumb now … I still don’t like trans people in the bathroom but I won’t mace anyone next time.”
Rain Dove posted on Instagram about their pepper spray attack. (raindovemodel/Instagram)
Speaking to PinkNews, Dove said that they hoped the exchange would educate others about the LGBT+ community.
They said that they have organised a Skype conversation with the woman on Friday evening (November 23). A trans friend of Dove’s will speak in the Skype call, so as to teach the woman more about trans issues.
“It’s not my first time being attacked in that kind of way,” Dove said.
“But this is the first time that anyone has ever followed up.
“Part of the reason I posted it was that I felt it was a really interesting exchange and this person is dedicated towards understanding more.
“I love posting positive results.”
Rain Dove: Hopefully my attacker will become an advocate for us too
Dove said the woman had followed up on the incident because one of their children went to the high school where they had been assaulted.
“I think they were just trying to be a protective parent. So we engaged in a conversation and my platform is [to] educate—don’t hate.
“I believe that there is a place for anger. I think that anger is a necessary part of activism in many ways.
“It’s what gets people onto the streets. But I believe there needs to many types of activism to change the world.
“And, while we need anger, and we need true feelings, we also need people who are willing to sit down and talk with [people] that [are] our oppressors, the people that are attacking us.
“Because we’re not going to change their minds if we are just their enemy.”
Rain Dove has said they hope their assailant will “become an advocate for us as well.” (Gustavo Caballero/Getty)
Dove said that they told their attacker that they understood where she “is coming from.”
The model explained: “I can understand the fears of being raped and sexually assaulted. And I understand the propaganda that we have that all men want to attack women.”
The model said the woman was even talking to her ministry at her church and “getting guidance from them.”
Dove added that the woman has said “she wants to go and take this to her church and her ministry, and she would like to do a live Skype with her women’s group at this church.”
The model said that they hope the woman will go out and educate others about issues affecting the LGBT+ community.
“A lot of people that responded [to my post] said that they don’t understand,” said Dove, “that they would be angry, and I totally get it…but I mean, what we’re doing here is we’re taking this one person and helping them to understand and feel justified in their human experience—but also understand that we have human experiences, too.
“And this one person, hopefully, will not be the only person who will come to understand better.
“We’re hoping that she’ll become an advocate for us as well.”
