Lads on tour

LAD. Secretly, that’s what we aspire to be called by our peers. If you’re a lad, you have conquered and are the epitome of masculinity. Even women can earn the title of ‘lad/ladette’ if they work at it hard enough. As an ardent feminist, I probably ought to condemn this outright, but try as I might, I cannot help but be fond of lad culture.

Too much weight has been put on the offensive nature of ‘Lad culture’, as shown by the University’s decision to close the Exeter Uni Confessions Page. Am I the only one who found themselves laughing at some of the stupidly hilarious stories? Some of them were true displays of lad banter including various sexploits and Estate Patrol. Some were farfetched and clearly didn’t happen. But all of them provided a light relief from essays. It’s no secret that students are known for wild behaviour, yet the University seems to want to pretend that such things that may happen at other universities couldn’t possibly happen here.

University life wouldn’t be the same without lad culture. There’s something about the prospect of being labelled a lad that spurs us on to do stupid things which our sensible judgement would usually stop us from doing. It encourages sex, drinking and pranks. It makes for memorable nights and photographic evidence which is plastered on Facebook. Without it, partying would feel too…docile. Being deemed a lad gives a sense of belonging to something, albeit a movement which promotes selfish but amusing behaviour. You feel a sense of achievement.

Lad Culture often celebrates the objectification of women – but is this really such a serious issue?

However, there are some sinister aspects to this culture which disgruntle me. Lad culture seems to accept sexism, as displayed by many promotions for student clubbing nights. 4play often present pictures of naked women with the company’s name beneath. This is somehow acceptable. Unfortunately, lad culture also supports the objectification of people, mostly women, showing them as bodies rather than individuals. It wouldn’t be such a problem if men were also objectified; in this sense, Original Sin is slightly better as quite a few topless men feature in their advertising. Objectification is never a positive thing, but if you’re going to do it, at least make sure both sexes are subjected to it.

I guess being a lad also means taking things such as the above example of sexism in jest. After all, the lad culture in Exeter is just reflecting an on-going trend occurring all over the country. Having said that, it does not mean it is right. Lad culture could do with losing such sexism and emphasis on people as objects because it means that it becomes an exclusive trend, one solely for heterosexual males.

Seriousness aside, the lad culture brings light-hearted relief and generally encourages socialising, giving a sense of togetherness. You can bond with people over drunken antics and break the ice, even if you have nothing else in common. Besides, the ‘lad’ tag gives you bragging rights and sets every night out to be rather interesting. And, as we trawl the Confessions pages and stock up on Jager, that’s all we’re really after, isn’t it?