In March 2013 the NUS issued a report called ‘That’s what she said: women’s experiences of ‘lad culture’ in higher education’. Based on interviews with 40 female students, it was prompted by the NUS Hidden Marks research report, which found that one in seven female students had experienced serious physical or sexual assault during their time at university. Half of the interviewees who took part in research for the most recent report identified “prevailing sexism, laddism and a culture of harassment” at their universities.
The ‘That’s what she said’ report defines ‘lad culture’ as “a group or ‘pack’ mentality residing in activities such as sport and heavy alcohol consumption, and ‘banter’ which was often sexist, misogynistic and homophobic”. Based on its findings, the NUS, backed by organisations such as The Everyday Sexism Project and Equality Challenge Unit, has asked the Women and Equalities Minister to convene a summit in order to try and tackle the problem.
Leeds Student has conducted a survey of over 200 students in order to find out whether ‘lad culture’ is as widespread and problematic an issue as the NUS report suggests. Based on the NUS definition of ‘lad culture’, More than two thirds of female respondents and more than half of male respondents said they felt lad culture was a problem at the University of Leeds. Fewer than 10 percent of respondents said that they did not feel lad culture exists at the University.
“I’ve been sworn at and been called a ‘slut’, ‘whore’ and ‘frigid’ on numerous occasions”
Forms of sexual harassment described by students included lewd comments, groping and wolf whistling; several female students said that they had experienced men grabbing them or putting their hands up their skirts. One wrote: “I’ve had a guy (who was a student) stick his hands in between my legs in a club in town.” Another said “I’ve been sworn at and been called a ‘slut’, ‘whore’ and ‘frigid’ on numerous occasions”. These responses reveal that sexual harassment is no small matter for students in Leeds, both on- and off-campus. Several students said that they feel that lad culture is a significant part of the problem, with one describing it as “terrifying”.
Almost two thirds of female students said that they had experienced verbal sexual harassment on campus, compared with under a tenth of men – with a fifth saying that it had happened several times. 10 per cent of women said that they had experienced physical sexual harassment on campus. Several gave details of incidents at Fruity and other Union events, despite the Union’s strict zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment and assault.
A higher proportion of students said that they had experienced verbal or physical sexual harassment on nights out off-campus and again the figures were far higher for women than for men. 86 per cent of female students who answered our survey said they that had experienced some form of harassment on more than one occasion, and 28 per cent said that this was a regular occurrence. In contrast, only 20 percent of men said they had experienced either form of harassment on a night out.
“It’s actually pretty sickening what misogynist and homophobic things are said and liked online”
Several people who took part in our survey said they felt that ‘lad culture’ – specifically, misogyny and rape humour – is more prevalent online than on campus. When users are allowed to comment anonymously, often unregulated, things can often turn nasty. The most extreme examples of this are sites such as UniLAD and True LAD, which allow people “to share your stories, texts, jokes and general ‘Lad Banter’”.
True LAD’s founders allow their users anonymity “so you can share your epic banter without fear of rebuke”. Instead, they allow other users to rate the stories on the website as either ‘Good LAD’ or ‘Shit LAD’. This allows other users to give feedback, but content that could be considered highly sexist or misogynistic is often applauded. This is despite claims that the site does not to want stories that are “exceedingly offensive to any individual or group of people”.
While these are extreme examples, some of the same attitudes can be seen in ‘Spotted’ pages on social networking sites, where objectifying comments are posted anonymously online. One student said “before the advent of facebook pages like Leeds Confessions and the like, I would have said there isn’t a problem with it at Leeds, as I’ve rarely seen it on campus, but on the internet is another story.
“It’s actually pretty sickening what misogynist and homophobic things are said and liked online, while anyone writing articles that acknowledge this truth are berated and patronised in the comments below.” Often underlying in this kind of humour is the attitude that calling people out on offensive or threatening behaviour is unacceptable; that in so doing, you are ruining the joke.
The issue, however, does not only affect students online. One male student, who chose to remain anonymous, told Leeds Student that he feels there is often considerable pressure to ‘man up’ when in a group: “Most of the time it’s not too bad, but it does sometimes cross the line. Some ‘banter’ makes me pretty uncomfortable. I don’t really think it’s OK to say something’s ‘gay’ or that someone’s a ‘pussy’ because he didn’t finish his pint quick enough, but when you’re with a big group of lads who all think it’s funny it can be difficult to pull people up on it.”
The attitude that ‘banter’ is merely a joke and should not be taken seriously can mean that students sometimes feel unable to answer back, for fear of being stigmatised or being labelled prudish. They are often left feeling threatened or intimidated because they are afraid to speak up, which in turn means that such behaviour often goes unchecked. Some female students said that they had received hostile reactions when they objected to sexual harassment. One said that she has been “insulted very aggressively” when she has ignored unwanted attention on nights out.
“The ‘all in good fun’ argument is a very good way of coding out the objections of those ‘lad culture’ targets. If people tell you that their ‘joke’ doesn’t mean anything’, that itself means quite a lot.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a higher proportion of men than women said that they felt lad culture – as it is defined by the NUS – is prevalent at the University of Leeds, but not a problem. However, it is important to note that it is by no means only women who are affected by lad culture, or object to the kind of behaviour outlined in the NUS report.
One male student said “I would not say that lad culture at the University is all in ‘good fun’. Lad culture is obnoxious and taken too far, potentially harmful.” Another went further, saying “I think that the ‘all in good fun’ argument is a very good way of coding out the objections of those ‘lad culture’ targets. If people tell you that their ‘joke’ doesn’t mean anything’, that itself means quite a lot.”
Sexism, casual homophobia and the pressure to conform are nothing new; many would argue that ‘lad culture’ was around long before the phrase was coined. Others argue that not all ‘lads’ should be labelled sexist or homophobic. James Cunningham, a student at the University of Leeds, said that being part of a group can be very positive and need not involve victimising others. “I love being a lad. It’s part of my identity. Boys love the sense of belonging that comes from being one of the lads. How this has managed to translate into us all being sexist or homophobic all of a sudden is beyond me. Yes, we go out looking for women. Yes, we drink until we drop. Yes, we’re often loud and full of testosterone. Is this really a new phenomenon? Seems to be a case of trying to label a culture that has existed for centuries. Speaking on behalf of my group of friends, we don’t harass girls… I’m aware that some boys aren’t familiar with the basics of politeness, but then again, they would fit the description of a shit LAD!”
Another student suggested that the definition of ‘lad culture’ used by the NUS actually describes a subculture. As with any group, ‘lads’ cannot be considered a homogeneous entity; while some men who call themselves ‘lads’ – and, no doubt, some women – may be guilty of the behaviour described in the NUS report, others may be quick to object to offensive remarks made by others. Cunningham told Leeds Student: “We call each other out on shitty behaviour all the time. It makes us better LADs. If your banter hurts someone’s feelings, it’s shit banter.”
The Leeds Student research indicates that students are concerned about the “culture of harassment” described in the NUS report. However, students did make positive comments about campus staff’s response to incidents of sexual harassment. When this paper reported on two cases of indecent assault in Union venues last December, we found that in both cases, Union staff responded quickly: one man was arrested and released with an adult caution, and the other was barred from the Union building. One female student who has experienced sexual harassment at Fruity “on a number of occasions” said “every single time the bouncers were absolutely amazing when I reported people groping my bum and offered to call the police, along with having the guys thrown out and generally being lovely.” Another said that they felt the Union and University are “a generally safer space” than the city centre.
Katie Siddall, LUU’s Welfare Officer, told Leeds Student: “Sadly we do know that some cases of harassment have occurred in the Union… if a student reports an incident to a member of our staff or indeed if a member of our staff witnesses this, we will take the matter seriously. We have begun more thorough training for our staff in dealing with this. The mere fact that members of the public have been banned from our venue following one event highlights how seriously we take this.
“Our student advice centre is here to support anyone who is affected by issues of assault and harassment. Alternatively, the Student Counselling service is another service we would recommend.”
Words: Beckie Smith. Photo: Leo Garbutt. Click here to see the accompanying comment, written by Freya Potter, History student and member of LUU’s Feminist Society.