Lad Culture in Higher Education Responding to increasing concerns about the harmful effects of so-called ‘lad culture’ in British universities, and related ‘bro’ and ‘frat’ cultures in US colleges, this book is the first to explore and analyse the perspectives of university staff on these cultures, which students suggest foster the nor- malisation of sexism, homophobia, racism, sexual harassment and violence. Drawing on in-depth interviews with a broad range of staff and faculty across different types of universities in England, the book explores the following key questions: • What is lad culture? • How and where is it manifest in higher education and what are the effects on students and staff? • How can ‘laddish’ behaviour be explained? • How can we theorise lad culture to enable us to better understand and challenge it? • How do dynamics in the United Kingdom compare to so-called ‘bro’ and ‘frat’ cultures in US colleges? By examining the ways in which lad culture is understood and explained, the authors illustrate that current understandings of lad culture obscure the broader processes through which problematic attitudes, practices, and educational climates are fostered. This analysis enables a theorisa- tion of lad culture that makes visible the gendered norms and intersect- ing structural inequalities that underpin it. This timely and accessible volume will be of great interest to anyone looking to understand and tackle sexism, sexual harassment and violence in and beyond university contexts. It will be of particular significance to researchers, undergraduate and postgraduate students, academics, and policy makers in the fields of gender and sexuality in education, higher education, and sociology of education. Carolyn Jackson is Professor of Gender and Education at Lancaster University, UK. Vanita Sundaram is Professor of Education at the University of York, UK. Routledge Critical Studies in Gender and Sexuality in Education Series Editors Wayne Martino, Emma Renold, Goli Rezai-Rashti, Jessica Ringrose and Nelson Rodriguez 13 Learning to Live in Boys’ Schools Art-Led Understandings of Masculinities Donal O’Donoghue 14 Starting with Gender in International Higher Education Research Conceptual Debates and Methodological Considerations Edited by Emily F. Henderson and Z Nicolazzo 15 Women, Islam, and Education in Iran Edited by Goli M. Rezai-Rashti, Golnar Mehran, and Shirin Abdmolaei 16 Gender and Care in Teaching Young Children A Material Feminist Approach to Early Childhood Education Denise Hodgins 17 Gender, Definitional Politics and ‘Live’ Knowledge Production Contesting Concepts at Conferences Emily F. Henderson 18 Girls, Single-sex Schools, and Postfeminist Fantasies Stephanie D. McCall 19 Latina Students’ Experiences in Public Schools Educational Equity and Gender Susan McCullough 20 Lad Culture in Higher Education Sexism, Sexual Harassment and Violence Carolyn Jackson and Vanita Sundaram For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com Lad Culture in Higher Education Sexism, Sexual Harassment and Violence Carolyn Jackson and Vanita Sundaram First published 2020 by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2020 Taylor & Francis The right of Carolyn Jackson and Vanita Sundaram to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this title has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-57131-0 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-70290-1 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by codeMantra Carolyn dedicates the book to Steve Dempster (1970–2017), a valued colleague, friend and scholar. Vanita dedicates the book to Kamala, her mother and first feminist teacher. Contents Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 1 ‘Show Us Your Tits and We’ll Buy you Shots’: Lad Culture, Sexual Harassment and Violence in Higher Education 14 2 ‘But Most of It’s Banter’: What Does Lad Culture Look like in Higher Education in England? 33 3 ‘They’re Mainly Private School, White Boys’: Who Are the Lads? 61 4 ‘But They’re Not Really like That’: Explanations for Laddism 86 5 (Re)theorising and Addressing Lad Culture 109 Conclusion 131 Appendix 137 References 139 Index 149 Acknowledgements Lots of people have supported our research project and book. We are both very grateful to the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) for funding this research and to Louise Morley who was an advisor for the research project. We are indebted to the interviewees who gave their time and support so generously, and in some cases also facilitated access to their institutions. Thanks are due to Dee Daglish who provided administrative support, Maggie Lackey who transcribed all of the interviews, Rebecca Marsden who constructed and supported the project website, and Annis Stead who undertook data coding. We are also extremely grateful to our network of feminist colleagues and friends who offer ongoing support and help us to develop our ideas and work. Specific thanks are due to colleagues who read and provided help- ful feedback on chapters: Chris Marlow, Alison Phipps, and Jo Warin. Special thanks go to Wayne Martino who encouraged and supported this book throughout. In sections of the book we have drawn upon our article – ‘“I have a sense that it’s probably quite bad … but because I don’t see it, I don’t know”: staff perspectives on “lad culture” in higher education’ – which was previously published (2018) in the journal Gen- der and Education; we are grateful to Taylor and Francis for permission to do this (https://www.tandfonline.com). We also have some personal acknowledgements. Carolyn’s – There are lots of references in this book to the work of Steve Dempster who was one of the first scholars to undertake research on lad culture in higher education. I had the pleasure of supervising Steve’s PhD (with Jo Warin) and subsequently he became a very valued colleague and friend. Steve died in 2017 at the age of 46. I miss him tremendously. I have lost count of the number of times while writing this volume that I wanted to talk to him about lad culture. I am pleased, though, that our use of his written work means he is part of this book. I have dedicated the book to Steve. I would like to thank colleagues/friends in Educational Research at Lancaster University for their ongoing care and support, as well as friends outside academia. Jan Lees and Paula Shakespeare deserve spe- cial thanks – they are such generous friends who are always there, often x Acknowledgements with food, help, and even furniture! My mum and dad – Brenda and John Jackson – remain a constant source of love, support, and encour- agement. I cannot thank them enough. Part way through the project I fell in love with Heike Horsburgh. Heike enhances and enriches my life in countless ways, every day. She is an inspirational woman and I have learned so much from her. Words cannot convey my love and gratitude. Vanita’s – The process of writing this book has been revelatory for me in a number of ways. The entrenched misogyny, classism, and racism of higher education institutions have been starkly revealed through our fieldwork, through our analysis of our participants’ experiences, and of institutional practices and policies. Much has been revealed about the intersectional nature of sexualised violence in higher education and the need to consider how homophobia and transphobia are layered upon racism, classism, hetero-sexism, and other forms of marginalisation and oppression. I am so grateful to our participants for sharing what were sometimes painful experiences, for being honest about their personal and professional navigations through institutional processes, and for talking openly with us about gaps and failings in these. Personally, the process of writing this book has revealed to me the power of community, the importance of friendship, and how lucky I am to be working within an incredible community of feminist scholars, so many of whom I consider close friends. A prolonged period of ill health during the writing of this book revealed the strength of these friend- ships, which sustained me, gave me hope, nurtured me, and reassured me during a time of uncertainty, fear, and self-doubt. In particular, I would like to express my gratitude to Deb Ollis, Alison Phipps, Tiffany Page, and Jessica Ringrose. This book would not have been completed without the drive, vision, and labour of Carolyn Jackson. She is gener- ous, caring, thoughtful, and has been a huge source of support during my illness, during this project, and in the many years leading up to it. She is an incredible mentor, from whom I have learned so much about the practice of feminist ethics and research. Thank you, CJ. I lost my mother during the period in which we were writing this book. She was a pioneer of her generation: moving across continents to marry my father and, eventually, to have her two children; learning to speak a fourth language (a notoriously difficult one to master at that!); re- training and carving out a successful career; learning and adopting new customs and norms; and passing these on to her daughters. Through her own life experiences, she taught us to be outraged; she taught us not to accept the status quo; she taught us that we needed to play a part in dis- mantling systems and structures of inequality.