A WORCESTER graduate has launched a campaign to eradicate the so-called ‘lad culture’ in the city’s pubs and bars and claimed it is damaging for both men and women.
And Maisie Jenkinson has already secured the support of city’s bars to challenge the sexist attitudes and ‘laddish’ behaviour she feels is rife among students at university.
As well as a campaign film, another way Miss Jenkinson is tackling ‘lad culture’ is by distributing beer mats to city pubs and other drinking establishments around the county to promote her campaign.
“Lad culture fuels this idea that it’s okay to make jokes about rape and sexual assault and that it’s okay to harass women in nightclubs, and as soon as you get to university I think you are bombarded with an expectation as a young woman to dress and behave in a certain way,”she said.
“It’s all about conforming to quite a sexualised image, men become valued for having sex with as many women as they can.
“My motivation for doing this project came from my own experiences at university, I wasn’t able to go on a night out without being harassed or walk through campus without having comments thrown at me.
“I hope my film will make people think twice about their behaviour, because it’s currently very hard to speak up against it.”
The 23-year-old has worked with young people’s social action charity Fixers to create a film to address ‘laddish’ behaviour and challenge what some people think is acceptable.
Fixers work with young people across the UK, who are supported by the charity’s team to produce a resource to get their chosen message across, with many like Miss Jenkinson choosing to create a short film, website, campaign, event or flash mob.
Visit www.fixers.org.uk to view Miss Jenkinson’s campaign film or to learn more about the work of Fixers.
