uni club event/party - office hoes and CEOs

[beansmum]

Am I right to be bothered by this? (Yes, I am - you should see the posters). But is it worth complaining, and who would I complain to? And how would I word my complaint - I've never complained about anything in my life, but this has really annoyed me for some reason.

Does your institution have a Student Representative Council responsible for clubs and societey should advise.

Secondly, whoever in the institution is responsible for Equality and Diversity. Policies should apply to student events as well, I think.

In terms of wording, hoes is degrading to female students and the equation of CEO with male ,presumably, reinforces gender stereotypes and inequality?

Sorry on phone. It has eaten some of the first sentence. First bit should read SRC should advise.

I'd also suggest complaining to the Student Union, and if they have a Women's Officer / Officer for Equality and Diversity, so much the better.

The students' association doesn't appear to have anyone responsible for equality/diversity. Options are events coordinator - presumably responsible for clubs, or welfare coordinator. I might try going directly to the president of the club that organised the event and/or the president of the SA. Or just write a letter to the student magazine and wait for the responses calling me an angry, man-hating bitch with no sense of humour.

If all fails at your Union you could try The NUS Women's Campaign.

Yes you are right to be bothered by that.

Don't know what to suggest though.

Is there really not a women's officer? I think this is disgraceful, basically saying women are sluts and not worthy or capable of being the boss. Don't fear being called humourless, this is just demeaning and you're right to challenge it.

This is so fucking shit.

There was one of these last year and it got a whole load of flak, made mainstream media. And still colleges are promoting this.

It's so shit.

I've emailed the president of the students' association saying I wasn't sure if she was the right person to address my concerns to but there didn't seem to be anyone more appropriate.

I'm in NZ - maybe we have differently structured support services in unis. Or maybe there is someone I should speak to but I just can't find their details.

If these events are so abhorrent, surely no women will attend. This message will get through to the organisers, as the event will be a disaster, and they wont run any more. Problem solved.

When I was at uni, everbody had political views of one flavour or another. I have been told on here umpteen times that many, many young women are following feminism, so it is entirely possible that the students are fully clued up on the implications of the event. Uni students by definition are some of the brighter members of society.

I'd be surprised if anyone attended an event they found tasteless or offensive.

Many women will attend. Guaranteed. Kudos from the patriarchy for going along with their shite, isn't it?

I complained to my SU because they used a poster with two fully clothed men and two scantily clad women. Since then, all posters have been non-sexist.

Complain complain complain.

Men use the "well other women go along with it so you feminists are wrong" argument all the time.

So boring. And so useful. Set women up to do stuff men want them to (by making their lives more difficult of they don't) and then use those women's compliance as proof that there is no problem and feminists are just bitching about nothing

Lots of people went to this event, it was yesterday (or possibly the day before) and tickets were sold out. I don't know the numbers but I'm assuming there were plenty of women there.

I'm pretty sure most of the women who attended would disagree with the message the theme sends. The problem is it wasn't anything out of the ordinary - this kind of thing is so normal that you don't even notice or you convince yourself it's not worth bothering about. And sometimes you realise staying home won't change anything and will only make your friends think you're weird. Which is important when you're 19. It's still important to me and I'm 31.

SU ran a "Pull a Pig" night a couple of years ago in Freshers Week. Equality and Diversity Officer absolutely roasted them as did University big bods. This year the SU Exec team are mostly women and events have been considerably better (better organised, better promoted, more inclusive and better attended).

I do understand why some people find this distasteful (not that that is important). Would it matter if the women attending had gone dressed in business suits, and the men dressed in fishnets etc. a la Rocky Horror? Does anyone know if this happened? Students were never averse to dressing up in the old days.

And the point about 'other women go along with it, so feminists are wrong' is a moot point. The women going along with it are human being with reasons of their own. The men are irrelevant. If anyone has a problem with this stuff, the women are the ones you should be concentrating on. What about standing outside the event and talking to women as they enter? You may gain a better understanding of their motivations, and vice versa.

Re the video game thing, that isn't me.

Cultures can change. Perhaps the students don't see the culture that my generation grew up with as relevant to them. Perhaps they see your views as outdated. I don't know. However, unless you talk to these women, you will never know. So, in response to the OP, my suggestion would be to attend a similar event and talk to the attendees. Enquire, discuss, debate. It has to be more productive than sitting here arguing the toss.

NCG, I am in this environment, I'm at university atm and most of my course mates are in their early twenties. The way a lot of them (women and men) talk about women is horrible - if they're not ugly, they're slags. It's Rihanna's fault she got beaten up. Getting dressed up in a short skirt during the day = slut. Doing it at night = fine.

However, there are also plenty of women and men who do not talk about women like that.

You can't say that it is just a generational thing. I think that it is more polarised now - there is both a push against sexism and a pull towards it and less middle ground.

'I don't need to be told what's a productive activity to engage in, thanks all the same.'

My suggestion was to beansmum, who asked how she should complain. I thought it might be a bit productive than a letter. It wasn't directed at you, Promqueen.

Mech, is there a particular reason for this polarisation in your experience? Is it by class, region (I assume you are in the UK), educational background? Or is there no common denominator?