Do Lads Mags Really Promote Rape?

Last week, SUSU announced they would be removing lad mags from the Shop, due to diminishing demand and sales. Research from the University of Surrey and Middlesex University reveals that this move may be more beneficial than simply having more room for Cosmo on the shelves!

Research has found an unnerving overlap between quotes from lad mags and quotes from rapists. The study, published in the British Journal of Psychology, found that people presented with quotes from either lad mags or rapists could only correctly identify quotes as being from rapists 55% of the time, and from lads mags 56% of the time. That means 44% of participants thought quotes from lad mags were from rapists, and 45 % thought quotes from rapists were from lad mags. Quotes included:

“I think girls are like plasticine, if you warm them up you can do anything you want with them.”

“Girls ask for it by wearing these mini-skirts and hot pants ..they’re just displaying their body …Whether they realise it or not they’re saying, ‘Hey, I’ve got a beautiful body, and it’s yours if you want it.’ ”

“Mascara running down the cheeks means they’ve just been crying, and it was probably your fault…but you can cheer up the miserable beauty with a bit of the old in and out.”

“You’ll find most girls will be reluctant about going to bed with somebody or crawling in the back seat of a car… But you can usually seduce them, and they’ll do it willingly.”

Quotes were taken from popular lad mags such as Zoo, FHM and Nuts, and from interviews in “The Rapist Files”, a book about convicted rapists. Can you tell the difference?

The research highlights the increasingly blurred line (yes, that was a Robin Thicke reference) between lad culture and rape culture. At what point does banter become harassment? Most people would agree men looking at page 3 girls isn’t really hurting anyone. However, when men are subconsciously being fed the mentality of a sex offender, harmless boob appreciation becomes more of a problem. This begs the question, should lad mags be more responsible with what they publish? Should they promote appreciation for women (and their bodies), rather than entitlement? Personally, I’d say yes.

However, as our own SUSU shop has shown, sales of lad mags have been falling rapidly over the last few years, with Zoo reporting 23% decrease in sales this year, and Nuts reporting a 34% drop. With the popularity of these magazines on the decrease, as people ditch mags for the internet, the issue could be considered outdated. Unfortunately, it’s less straightforward to see if similar patterns are occurring online. Let’s hope not!

What do you think? Are lads’ mags harmless or dangerous? Let us know your thoughts in comments.