Student writes ‘I do it for the girls and the gays’ in her diss acknowledgements

Did you know you can, in theory, write anything in the acknowledgements of your dissertation – even, say a joke about a TikTok format – and you won’t lose a single mark?

Coventry journalism student Yasmine Summan tested that theory by asking her supervisor if she could write at the end of her dissertation about queer people in media: “I do it for the girls and the gays, that’s it,” a line from a song anyone on TikTok will recognise, and the supervisor responded to say he was down with the idea.

“They’ve always encouraged me to incorporate my sexuality and who I am in my work so this is nothing new,” Yasmine told The Tab.

@yasminesummanxI did my dissertation for WHO? FOR THE GIRLS. AND. THE. GAYS. ##idoitforthegirlsandthegays ##queer ##uni ##dissertation ##fyp♬ original sound – heteronegative

In an email to her supervisor, Yasmine asked: “Just checking, hypothetically what can you *not* include in acknowledgements?

“Because hypothetically, and I stress hypothetically, I considered putting ‘I did it for the girls and the gays’ in my acknowledgements.

“But if I can’t, you know, I won’t be upset.”

Her supervisor replied: “The great thing about acknowledgements is that it’s for whoever you want!

“If it’s for the girls and the gays, then acknowledge away.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrBojx_SGh4

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Skip to 2:04 to hear *the line*.

The song being referenced is Yummy (by Ayesha Erotica not Justin Bieber), a track you have probably never heard in real life but is having a bit of resurgence on TikTok.

Yasmine told The Tab her dissertation looked into the representation of queer people, “especially queer women, in media and magazines,” adding: “I really did do it for the girls and the gays”.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_iJW6Wg1-0/

“I saw the meme on TikTok and thought meh, if lockdown is going to postpone my graduation and prevent me from finishing my project fully, I might as well go out with a bang,” she said.

She said she only submitted the dissertation “a few days ago,” but hopes the project will net her a pass.

Think your dissertation story is madder than this one? Email [email protected].

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