T-Shirt Party Twats

Confession, Freshers, I nabbed one of your T-Shirt Party tickets.

I’m ashamed and embarrassed that I haven’t quite let go of my youth, but I couldn’t resist one last night in the LCR proudly screaming to everyone via dodgy highlighter pen that ‘My favourite things are Downton Abbey and cheese.’ Unfortunately, it seems that I was the only person bothered about telling the truth. Maybe someone slipped some Veritaserum in my tequila, or maybe there really are a thousand UEA students that are named ‘Princess Consuela Bananahammock’.

A Cardiff advert… so it’s not just UEA.

The innocent T-shirt lies are at best, funny, at worst, pretty boring. However, there were plenty of LADS in the LCR with words on their T-Shirts which were degrading, offensive and made me feel embarrassed that they were part of the same uni as me.

‘HUNTING FOR CLUNGE’, ‘PROFESSIONAL TITTIE MILKER’, ‘ONLY HERE TO FUCK A FRESHER’. These were just three of the hundreds of sexist messages plastered all over these T-Shirts. And it’s not funny or clever. It’s disgusting. It promotes a culture that believes that men have the right to walk into clubs and pull whichever girl he wants to- a culture that doesn’t rely on consent. It promotes rape culture.

If you’re reading this, and you wore one of those T-Shirts, you might be horrified that I’m ‘calling you a rapist’. I’m not. I’m saying that those statements can make women feel incredibly unsafe. It’s ironic that less than a week after the Union announced that non-students would no longer be able to attend the LCR, it is students themselves who are promoting these horrific ideals.

We bet Robin Pricke would love The T-Shirt Party…

It’s not harmless, it’s not banter. I, along with every woman in the LCR, am not there solely for a LAD’s ogling enjoyment. And I want our Union to do something about it. Student Unions around the UK are currently up in arms on the ‘Blurred Lines’ issue- many having banned the song, and many considering it. Isn’t something like this more important? What can censoring a song really achieve, except to prove a point? But what can banning T-Shirts like the ones I’ve mentioned do? Well, it could send out a clear, pro-active message that the Union does not accept sexual harassment perpetrated in its venues in a much stronger way. It could make female students feel safer in the LCR. Banning ‘Blurred Lines’ would be relatively easy, banning people from coming into the venue wearing offensive clothing less so. But, ask yourself, what would make you feel safer? One less misogynistic song on the playlist, or the knowledge that anyone advertising the fact that they want to ‘fuck a fresher’ will not be allowed into the LCR?

We can’t change Lad Culture overnight. But we can send out a clear message that its sexist side will not be tolerated on campus. We can ensure that, after the bouncers have dealt with them, these sexist jerks won’t be hunting for CLUNGE at the T-Shirt Party next year. They will be hunting, tail between their legs, for a taxi home.