Feminist DEMANDS SUSU "Censorship"

Should Lad Mags be banned from the SUSU shop?


Earlier this week on the Southampton University Feminist Society Facebook page one member, Laur Evans, stated that she wanted to put together a motion to Union Council that all so called ‘Lad’s Mags’ be banned from the SUSU shop. Not moved or covered like in other shops, BANNED.

Apparently Laur feels that they should be banned as they are to blame for rape culture within the UK. And being smart, grown up students we are unable to make this decision on whether we buy them ourselves. No sorry, other people feel that the right to free speech, which our grandfathers and great grandfathers fought for, is too much for us poor students to get through our testosterone addled brain when deciding what magazine to buy!

By requesting a ban for the reasons currently stated, i.e. soft porn results in rape, Laur is in a way saying that by purchasing a magazine or paper that contains a picture of tits said student is going to then attack the next woman he sees. This is a crass and insensitive statement against the males on campus. If this was a male saying Vogue should be banned as it makes women bitchy the outrage from the people supporting this motion would be through the roof. Equality works both ways after all!

If you are going to ban ‘Lad’s mags’ then why not be equal between Men and Women. Any magazine within the SUSU shop that is demeaning towards Men should be removed. That takes away Cosmo, Glamour, Mens Health, etc. So if we are going to be fair, and isn’t the ultimate aim of feminism that men and women are equal, why don’t we just ban every magazine that was ever written. After all there are more studies proving that magazines cause body confidence issues in young women then studies proving that a magazine purchased mainly by young men is the cause for all the rape and sexual assualts in the UK.

As with the Nestle motion the Soton Tab feels that this is an attempt by the few to tell the many what they should or shouldn’t do and fingers crossed will come to a head very quickly.