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Original poster

Offensive posters for sale at freshers' week

215 replies

ImJustMadAboutSaffron · 21/09/2023 14:47

I'm a university lecturer. I have been out and about on freshers' week to different buildings and come across a poster sale that is on for a few days. There are several options for sale, Harry Styles, Blink 182, Stranger Things, Billie Eilish, Mabel, lots of different ones. But three I find really offensive, and I imagine some students would, too:

A Buddha with the wording "Don't be a Ct"
A poster with "Fk Off" in different coloured fonts
Another with the same words taking up the whole poster

Asterisks mine. Think I am repressed if you like, I don't care!

OP posts:
PenhillDarkMonarch · 21/09/2023 16:00

Posters and clothing with variations of FCUK have been around for decades. All officially referring to French Connection UK, all heavily playing on the similarity to FUCK. Often with other words leading the reader to that conclusion, e.g. Cool as fcuk.

SoShallINever · 21/09/2023 16:01

I don't like the word "cunt" at all, it's horribly misogynistic. The worst word we can find in our vocabulary is one that is used to describe female anatomy. 🙄. Fuck that.
We should all use "cock" instead.

TooBigForMyBoots · 21/09/2023 16:01

I had a Fuck You punk bib thing in the 80s. I'd bought it second hand. You are a very sheltered member of staff OP.

PenhillDarkMonarch · 21/09/2023 16:01

I had a ginger kitten dangling from a branch and it said 'OH FUCK' underneath it

I actually think I remember seeing that on someone's wall at uni too! Grin

itsmyp4rty · 21/09/2023 16:04

Reminds of the posters I used to see all the time back in the day of Jesus smoking a spliff and another one that said Jesus is coming...look busy. I can't get upset about these sorts of things.

justme2022 · 21/09/2023 16:04

I work away and have posters up on my bulkheads when I'm on ship. I'm 44 now and still have the choose life poster up. Think I was about 20 when I bought it. The nirvana corporate rock whores one was another favourite of mine at the time.
(Some) Students love to try to offend the older generations. It's the way it's always been.

JudgeJ · 21/09/2023 16:06

Prancingponytail · 21/09/2023 14:55

Students are so hypocritical. All of this crudeness on display, yet if you were to accidentally misgender one of these students they’d have a nervous breakdown on the spot and sue you for the trauma inflicted.

Because 'misgendering' is the current platform from which to perform, there'll be another bandwagon along soon. Re the posters I recall in the late 60s early '70s there were also racey posters of men!

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 21/09/2023 16:06

It's just swear words. University students are adults. Adults are allowed to buy, watch and read things with swear words in. Are you actually suggesting these things should be banned?

CheshireCat1 · 21/09/2023 16:07

I would find some of them offensive.

Inkpotlover · 21/09/2023 16:08

ImJustMadAboutSaffron · 21/09/2023 14:59

At a previous educational establishment I worked at, the shop sold newspapers and magazines. There was a campaign to ban Nuts and Zoo - and Loaded. It worked.

I find it quite strange a university lecturer on campus would come over all wide-eyed Bambi at a few choice swear words on t-shirts. Is this your first time working with students?

askmenow · 21/09/2023 16:09

Blueemeraldagain · 21/09/2023 15:03

Buddha is a religious figure and Buddhism is against foul or rough language, so I think a poster with him and swearing is offensive but I wouldn’t stress about the others.

I wonder were the same said about Muhammad, what the outcome would be?

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 21/09/2023 16:10

Fuck that. We should all use "cock" instead.

People do use 'cock' as a derogatory term. And 'dick'. Doing so will not alter where people rate insults on the offensiveness scale though!

ActDottie · 21/09/2023 16:12

They’re not for you and that’s ok. But some others will like them.

I thought by offensive you were going to describe something racist or sexist. I think they’re just not to you let taste.

Regholdsworthswaterbed · 21/09/2023 16:14

ImJustMadAboutSaffron · 21/09/2023 14:49

I'm asking if I am being unreasonable to find these offensive, or for thinking that some students would. We didn't have these for sale when I was a student in the ancient days of the 1990s!

Show quote history

Ah the 90s, when nobody swore or had rude posters in their uni halls! Not sure where you went to uni 🤔

somewhereovertherain · 21/09/2023 16:14

Really - with the standard of lecturers being so piss poor and this is what you worry about......

thatsnotmywean · 21/09/2023 16:15

LOL, I saw this and worse when I was a late 90s student!

TooBigForMyBoots · 21/09/2023 16:20

Dead Kennedys, Too Drunk To Fuck poster was popular amongst my friends back in the day.

Feeling old now.

Fallingthroughclouds · 21/09/2023 16:23

Sound fucking shit. What cunt designed them.

crosstalk · 21/09/2023 16:27

@MangshorJhol She may have been supported by a few at the university including the ?Vice Chancellor? but very tough for her to face the abuse of some of her peers and many students.

Nagado · 21/09/2023 16:28

I don’t think you’re being at all unreasonable by being offended. It’s not something that would bother me but you can be offended by whatever you like.

Whether you’re being unreasonable or not depends on what you want to happen next.

OnAFrolicOfMyOwn · 21/09/2023 16:28

When I was a student in the early 90s, it was posters of weed/Bob Marley and the lyrics of 'Stairway to Heaven' you saw everywhere.

ForTheLoveOfSleep · 21/09/2023 16:28

Nobody had the right not to be offended. I find religion offensive. I find smoking/vaping in public offensive. But I accept that my feelings of offense really only mean something to me l and move on.

tiagra · 21/09/2023 16:31

nothing changes

Offensive posters for sale at freshers' week
Mountaineer0009 · 21/09/2023 16:34

@ImJustMadAboutSaffron
i can understand your perspectives, it was similar at our fresher's fair, with the posters although it was ones more alluding to Tetrahydrocannabinol, related ones

Pix56 · 21/09/2023 16:34

Give it 3 months and you'll be finding sex dolls dressed up as santa with a traffic cone shoved up its arse in the communal areas. Such is student life.