"uni lad" and lad culture

[cinnamonnut]

There was a big furore recently about the "uni lad" magazine advocating rape. They closed their website to "clean up their act" but their facebook page is still so misogynistic :(
This popped up in the activity feed on my facebook the other day. I got involved but ended up having more sexist comments fired at me and in the end deleted my comments to avoid becoming a target.
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=381942055162193&set=a.352663588090040.76923.146505212039213&type=1&theater
Fortunately it never reached 15,000 likes but this type of behaviour is becoming more and more accepted.

[cinnamonnut]

Oops, link fixed: www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=381942055162193&set=a.352663588090040.76923.146505212039213&type=1&theater

[TheSmallClanger]

How bloody depressing.

I SWEAR that university culture was not like that when I was first there in the early 90s. I saw the beginnings of it in about 1996/1997, when I worked at a university - there was a definite return to older-fashioned gender roles, a decrease in progressive politics and a rise in "raunch". This isn't golden-ageism either, I can think of examples.

Where did it all come from?

[cinnamonnut]

I almost feel like a coward for deleting my comments, but I don't think there's any point exposing myself (with full name attached) to so much vitriol.

[SardineQueen]

Their whole facebook page is just about saying really offensive things about women.

It's really depressing it wasn't like that when I was at university in the mid 90s. Most blokes were just nice normal blokes. If any of them had thoughts like that they kept them to themselves or I guess shared them with other inadequate little wankers. Now it seems that it is normal for young men to express such hatred and desire to harm. I don't understand what has happened.

[SardineQueen]

No I understand that cinnamonnut

[SardineQueen]

I got a bit paranoid when the F 4 J stuff was going on. I know it seems silly but that's how I felt.

[FallenCaryatid]

I do wonder what has happened in the last 20 years to see so little advancement of attitudes to women, and so much that was won being undone.
From the 'Any hole is a goal' attitude of many young men to to being able to spot a female child at 100 paces due to the dayglow pinkness of everything she touches or wears.
WTF went so wrong?

[KalSkirata]

ds has noticed this at university

[JosephineCD]

There are a lot more people at university than there was in the early 90s. I don't think attitudes have changed at all. It's just that people who one would have been working in factories or building sites are now studying at university (and using facebook, twitter etc).

[TunipTheVegemal]

I was at Oxford from 1990 to 1994 and there was lots of it. I don't think this is about the expansion of higher education.
At one point, in my very male-dominated college, the JCR committee decided to get the Sun for the JCR. The boys would sit there and make loud comments about page 3 whenever a woman came in.
So a group of women got together and started cutting out page 3, and the JCR passed a motion of censure against them for damage to college property.
Around the same time a group of boys decided it wasn't fair that the college women's group got JCR money so the the JCR voted to fund the 'men's group' with 3 times the women's group funding because there were 3 times as many men as women.
However the JCR treasure was a very no-nonsense woman and simply refused to release the funds....

there was lots more stuff along the same lines. It was horrible.

[JosephineCD]

What is JCR?

[FallenCaryatid]

Junior Common Room.
Undergraduate meeting area and social centre.

[bringbacksideburns]

It's just that people who one would have been working in factories or building sites are now studying at university (and using facebook, twitter etc' - what an incredibly snotty remark.

Makes me think you are assuming anyone who dares to be anything but middle class is sexist and treats women like meat?

I was a Student in the eighties - there was a real 'rugger' lot who had competitions to see who could drink a pink the fastest and bed the most women. They were all well heeled.

Oh and this comment 'For me golf is a lot like women; if she isn't holding my wood, she should be holding an iron.' means he's a dick wherever he is. Building Site or Uni.

[MyleeneCrass]

The comments are shocking.

[SardineQueen]

I also disagree about the "class" idea here. These attitudes cross all society, and there are plenty of nice men across all society too.

Interestingly I was at a predominantly male university and the blokes there were as nice as pie, on the whole (science types with heavy metal t-shirts). Never had any trouble at all.

I have found though that people who are "alternative" eg rockers goths etc seem to have much better attitudes generally than many of the more mainstream people. Of course there is good and bad on all sides but still I have generally found this.

[AwkwardMaryHadAnEasterLamb]

Good God! I swear I havee to get my girls out of here. We will have to move to a more enlightened country! The boys on that thread were disgusting but at least the young woman was standing up to them...it's not affiliated with any particular Uni is it?

I hope the Uni's are aware of how dsgusting it is.

[Lovetats]

I have no sons and wonder if the mothers of this type of boy know what disgusting attitudes their sons display? If so, to what do they attribute it? Peer pressure??

[cinnamonnut]

Class is certainly completely irrelevant here. I go to a private school and the attitude is the same (if not worse) than it was at the state school I attended.

[BoysInCoatheads]

That is truly disgusting.

I was at uni only recently and I didn't see that kind of attitude, although as a mature student I didn't really enter into the social side of things too much.

I don't agree that it's a class thing though. Far from it in fact, of the men I know, the ones who are higher earners are far more mysoginistic as they seem to have an 'I earn money, I rule you' kind of attitude .

Disclaimer: I know that's anecdotal and I know not all men think that way, that's purely my experience recently.

[AwkwardMaryHadAnEasterLamb]

So who runs the thing? Let's have em'!

[OneHandFlapping]

My niece is in her 2nd year at uni, and hasn't had a single relationship, as all the boys seem to be purely bent on shagging a different girl every night.
I admire her for choosing not to buy into the prevailing culture.

There certainly does seem to have been a descent to the lowest common denominator. When we were campaigning for condom machines in the college loos we didn't think it would end up like this.

[cinnamonnut]

This is the website: unilad.com/
According to wikipedia it is run by a student from Oxford Brookes and a student from Plymouth.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uni_Lad

[flippinada]

The implication that working class man automatically = sexist oaf is pretty offensive.

There are plenty of well educated, middle/upper class misogynists out there. IMO these ones are often worse.

Unfortunately, the attitude has always been there (I was at uni in the early 90s).

[flippinada]

I think its more to do with the prevailing cultural norms than universities being 'opened up' tbh.

We seem to be going backwards in terms of how women are treated/viewed etc.

[AwkwardMaryHadAnEasterLamb]

Thank you Cinamon what a bunch of idiots! Imagine if we all started advocating attacking men physically? Imagine what the press would do with that??

Flip we DO seem to be.