Spectrum steps on clubbers’ toes in ‘binarist’ status cock-up

Playing host to Cambridge’s official LGBT+ night, Revolution appears to have got into trouble with this particular set of partygoers.

At the heart of what spiralled into a Facebook storm was a careless status made by the new-named Fusion’s page.

It put its first foot wrong when a status published from the Spectrum Club Night page declared “thanks guys & girls” for all the likes it had received, apparently unaware of its use of, as one Facebook commenter quickly pointed out, “binarist language”.

The original status, now deleted

The club’s disturbingly debonair attitude was then reinforced by its response to this accusation: “Would you rather we address everyone as ‘males and females?'”

This was soon branded as “sarcastic” by one commenter while another told them it was “basic stuff” they were getting wrong.

But the club seemed to think its earlier response incontestable: “we’ve responded and won’t go further into conversation.”

NUS, fighting for equality since 1922 (probably)

Unsurprisingly, this triggered a chain of angry comments.

One member of the Facebook group thought that CUSU’s Ents reps had meetings with Revs “to relay suggestions and it doesn’t seem to have much success.” But a member of the Ents team later admitted: “[we] haven’t met up with them [Revs] yet.”

By evening, the original comments had been deleted and a new status put up ‘on behalf of the night manager, Paul’, apologising for an ‘unfortunate’ comment and requesting all CUSU LGBT+ Committee officers to come in for a meeting later today ‘to make sure all members of the community are included’.

Fusion is the most recent re-vamp of Spectrum, until recently the only LGBT+ night out in Cambridge

As the Ents officer made clear, the exclusivity of the terms used by Spectrum’s status is sure to have affected only a small minority of the weekly event’s attendees.

They said: “There is a large group of people who do enjoy Spectrum. This quite possibly is a group in which issues of gender-identity, gender normativity and most LGBT+ relevant issues which go beyond homosexuality are not necessarily discussed.”

In a statement to The Tab, CUSU LGBT+ President Brendan Mahon said: “CUSU LGBT+ regularly meets with representatives from Revs; a while ago we scheduled a meeting with them, independent of this facebook post, which is happening soon.

“We look forward to working together to put on a great, inclusive night for all of Cambridge’s LGBT+ community.”

Mahon stressed committee members commenting on the Facebook post were not doing so in an official capacity.

Guess you can’t please everyone, Revs