Sexism on campus

[fishdishwish]

It's 16 years this year since I graduated from uni, but I've been genuinely shocked by some of the stuff I've heard or read about recently concerning sexist behaviour. This kind of stuff wouldn't have been even remotely acceptable back in the mid 1990s, even at the height of 'ironic' lad culture, and it feels like we've taken a step backwards in terms of gender politics. As someone who was proactively involved in campaigning around gender issues back then, I feel really disheartened, and wonder if we should have fought a lot harder than we did.

So I'm just curious how those of you who are current students, or who have sons/daughters at uni, feel about the way things are now? Is there a reason why things have got to this state of affairs? And are there any real solutions?

I agree you can't separate uni campuses from the wider world, but it used to always seem that they were 'ahead of the curve' on issues like sexism and equality/diversity in general (e.g. you never got quite the level of toleration of boneheaded laddishness in SU bars than you might well have done in your average pub or club). I sometimes get the impression that this isn't always the case now (although in fairness, I think a lot of the more sexist student events have tended to be in clubs off-campus).

One of the things which struck me reading the comments on the article about consent classes was the number of people saying that many students were young and naïve when they started uni. So was I, but I certainly knew what counted as inappropriate behaviour towards women!

Surely all these sexist lads aren't getting to 18 without having somebody (parent, teacher, youth worker or friend) calling them out on their behaviour and attitudes?

Yes, maybe so, basil.

fish, I think some of them really don't know. Because there is such a huge culture of it being funny or parodic sexism rather than 'real' sexism.

Good point, LRD. I think it comes back to this whole culture of 'banter' again. And someone like Keith Lemon doesn't help - I appreciate he's a 'character', but Celebrity Juice seems to consist largely of him making unbelievably sleazy comments to young female celebs, and them being expected to laugh it off.

Plus I think there's a whole stratum of popular culture which shows young women finding some sexist man-child 'cheeky' or 'cute'.

As if to emphasise my point, another TSR thread which started as a debate about the breastfeeding row, has ended with a poster going through my profile and refusing to talk to me, because I'm an ignorant, uneducated moron because I've had a baby before finishing university.

He's conveniently ignored the fact that I've finished my second year top of my class despite having a baby on the last full day of the year, but hey. What was that 'I need feminism because...' campaign again? Because I think these attitudes are why I need feminism!

I'm an ignorant, uneducated moron because I've had a baby before finishing university.

I'm going to be screwed then, because I had 2. And a grand daughter before even starting this time around!

I've had a look at the feminist group for the Uni I'm hoping to go to. The 'about' bit on their Facebook page whiffles on about sex-positive feminism and has a male webmaster. Probably not for me then!

TSR always seems pretty toxic, TBH.

I do think I'd feel quite a bit more marginalised if I was at uni now. There seems to be more peer pressure than there was 20 years ago.