But Dave Llewellyn, founder of The Good Lad initiative, warns that “blaming lad culture for all misogyny shuts many young men out of a conversation they need to be a part of.”, And Universities UK says the term Lad Culture is problematic: “It could create the impression that what was being referred to was trivial and not serious, or lead to an assumption that misogyny, racism and homophobia are specific to an alcohol/sporting culture when they are present across all cultures and demographics.”. “Lad culture” that can result in sexual harassment is being allowed to fester at British universities because of a lack of action by institutions, the National Union of Students (NUS) has warned. She cites the example of the Athena SWAN Charter, administered by the Equality Challenge Unit. ‘Lad culture’ was seen as centred on the social side of university life, but what is clear from the research is that these different spheres of university life are actually intricately intertwined. It is suggested that they hinder not just their own … Key themes/findings 4. This is “lad culture” 2014; a litany of slags and sluts and whores, of ugly sexist incident after ugly sexist incident, occurring in the main part within a school or university context. Lad culture has been much talked about as an element of British Higher Education (HE). Investigating the role that social media networks, particularly digital infrastructures, play in the development of young masculinities, particularly those associated with ‘laddish’ identities. “We found that lad culture is evident across all six institutions and that most staff are aware of it,” says Dr Sundaram. The initiative’s goal is to “enable men to deal with complex gender situations and become agents of positive change within their social circles and broader communities”. A relationship between involvement in lad Lad culture is the lovechild of misogyny and male arrogance. What processes did we have in place? ‘Unfortunately lad culture is an intrinsic and subtle part of English culture, most pertinent in student life. Sadly, lad culture has taken precedent for student behaviour. How can we avoid feeling low during lockdown? The NUS is launching a social media campaign to highlight "lad culture" on university campuses and has asked students to tweet their experiences. Responding to increasing concerns about the harmful effects of so-called ‘lad culture’ in British universities, and related ‘bro’ and ‘frat’ cultures in US colleges, this book is the first to explore and analyse the perspectives of university staff on these cultures, which students suggest foster the normalisation of sexism, homophobia, racism, sexual harassment and violence. “Examples cited included sexist language and demeaning behaviour towards women students – and, in a few instances, towards female staff. A public sector equality duty (PSED) which came into force in April 2011 requires institutions “to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Act”. Perhaps it could even be awarded at institutional level too, if the institution can show that they are tackling the problem across campus.”. Initiatives to combat lad culture must involve men. Dr Sundaram is now calling for this to change, and believes that using a charter mark could help. United Kingdom, © University of York Legal statements | Privacy | Cookies | Modern slavery statement | Accessibility, Study calls for new approach to tackle student 'lad culture' in higher education, Environmental sustainability and resilience, “You can try but you won't stop it. Articles about university ‘lad cultures’ are currently pervasive in the UK media. Lad culture is a British subculture initially associated with the Britpop movement. Yes we said it: men too. Some see laddish behaviour as a ‘pack phenomenon’, where young men ‘take a joke too far’. ׁLad culture (oder laddish culture und laddism) ist eine Bezeichnung für eine britische Jugendkultur, die mit dem Britpop der 1990er aufkam. To add weight to their call, Dr Sundaram and Professor Jackson are planning to roll out their research more widely, to gather data from both students and staff and gain a better definition of what constitutes lad culture. Also set up by the Equality Challenge Unit, this award recognises efforts to address gender inequalities and imbalance in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Innerhalb der Lad culture nehmen junge, männliche Angehörige der Mittelschicht Haltungen … Lad culture is a misplaced view of "manliness", and so can create a multitude of vulnerabilities and problems. LAD Bible and UNILAD are now some of the most visited sites in the UK, but have both been criticised for content trivialising rape and for acting as platforms for sexist “banter”. “Finally, we found that none of the six universities involved in the study have any explicit policies to deal with the issue.”. As Good Lad advises, male students have to be a part of the solution. 5. Our education experts are calling for a new approach to tackle so-called ‘lad-culture’ in UK higher education following a pioneering study which explored the attitudes of university staff to the problem. Some see laddish behaviour as a ‘pack phenomenon’”. Anecdotal accounts of lad culture include things like ‘slut dropping’ (offering female students a lift home but then leaving them stranded a long way from home), ‘hazing’ (initiation ceremonies usually linked to male sports teams) and fancy dress parties with themes such as ‘pimps and hoes’ and ‘geeks and sluts’ (University of York, 2017). It’s not optional for universities to take this action either – it’s a legal requirement under The Equality Act 2010. Lad culture (also laddish culture and laddism) is a British and Irish subculture initially associated with the Britpop movement. York They would also like to explore equivalent phenomena overseas. SR: Lad culture is obviously a huge threat to the experience of women at university, but I think the effect lad culture has on men is often overlooked. We found that although laddism is only one of various potential masculinities, for our participants it dominated the social and sexual spheres of university life in problematic ways. In response, we ask if we might foster dialogue and partnership between feminist and anti-marketisation politics. It'll always be there”: Youth perspectives on violence and prevention in schools, Centre for Research on Education and Social Justice. Exploring the extent to which gender-making practices associated with lad identities in UK contexts influence young people’s behaviour both online and offline. Growing attention is being paid to “laddism” or “lad culture” and the difficulties this apparently poses for all in universities. Students, as exemplified by my own experience, are targeted by … However, their objections to laddish behaviours … “In our Department, this award really made us think about what we actually do. However, research on the phenomenon in university environments, and its impact on women, is scarce. Similarly, UWS (University of the West of Scotland) student Heather Armstrong says ‘I’d say lad culture is a negative part of the socialisation of young people, especially young men’. Research by Rape Revolt found that 8% of female students said they had been raped at university which is double the 4% of all women in England and Wales. Research by the National Union of Students, for example, has uncovered lots of examples of gender-specific harassment and violence among students. While lad culture is a big issue, we need to consider harassment on a larger scale in university towns. Everyone should be listening, because solutions can’t be found without knowing the extent of the problem. University lad culture: what the hell is ‘positive masculinity’? There’s the famous case of LSE male rugby team producing and circulating sexist and homophobic emails and leaflets. For now, though, Dr Sundaram’s priority is finding a way to tackle lad culture in UK academic institutions: “Tackling lad culture is a key means of recognising and challenging gender inequality. What policies did we have if, for example, someone put up sexist posters in the building? In 2012 the NUS produced a report describing lad culture as “a group or pack mentality residing in activities such as sport and heavy alcohol consumption and ‘banter’ which was sexist, misogynist, or homophobic.” Thought to originate in the 1990s alongside the Britpop movement, lad culture has been on the rise since. As Herald Scotland pointed out, lad culture can seriously inhibit male students’ ability to speak out about mental health – and get the support they need. Lad culture does nothing to promote the integrity of individual men” the paper writes. This video was made for one of my marketing masters modules at the University of Exeter. The fact it's at the forefront of the media now doesn't mean anything has changed. In 2014 our Department of Education became the first Education department in the country to win the Gender Equality Charter Mark. “But we also discovered that not all staff consider it to be problematic. 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