University cancels its annual jelly-wrestling contest after feminist complaints

A jelly-wrestling contest that has become an end of exams tradition at Cambridge University has been cancelled after complaints from feminist students.
The half-naked wrestling competition sees bikini-clad female students fighting in a paddling pool of jelly for a cash prize.
But the annual celebrations were cancelled today after a petition calling for a ban on the ‘misogynistic’ event at the Wyverns drinking society post-exam garden party, gained over 1,000 signatures.

The online petition, supported by the Student Union Women’s Group, demanded a complete end to the event, which sees two girls wrestle in front of hundreds of spectators.
Nina de Paula Hanika, the creator of the petition, said: ‘This particular event is not “just a bit of fun”.
'To use that tired excuse is to ignore the huge number of women who have contacted me to tell me how personally degraded, devalued and marginalised even the idea of this has made them feel.’

Miss de Paul Hanika, a student at Magdalene - the college with which the Wyverns society is associated - added that men had also complained that they felt uncomfortable with the event.
The petition, which received 1,176 signatures, described the competition as ‘clearly sexist, misogynistic and completely inappropriate as entertainment for 2013.’
The complaint claimed that the jelly fight portrays women as ‘only good for their bodies, and that in order to contribute socially they must be sexualised objects.’

In a statement cancelling the jelly wrestling, the Wyverns drinking society said: ‘The Wyverns regret to announce that this year they will be unable to hold the annual Jelly Wrestling tournament at WGP13 (Wyverns Garden Party 2013).
‘Having never received formal complaints in the past, we were reluctant to take immediate action on the recent petition. However, the anti-jelly vitriol with which the campaign was conducted forced us to take the threats that we received seriously.’
But the society added: ‘We are keen to maintain our reputation as the biggest, loosest, naughtiest, silliest party that Cambridge has to offer’
The Student Union Women’s Group welcomed the cancellation as ‘wonderful news’.
However, students have already started a counter-petition calling for the jellywrestling to be reinstated.

‘To cancel this just because of a bit of complaining from people, the majority of whom have probably never attended the event, is ridiculous,’ the petition states.
‘The contestants participate of their own free will and are observed by both male and female spectators who enjoy the event for what it is - harmless fun.’
It suggests that in the interests of equality that male jelly wrestling could be introduced.
The Wyverns drinking society celebrations have become the most popular of the university garden parties organised on ‘Suicide Sunday’, which marks the end of student exams.
But it caused embarrassment for the university five years ago when a 23-year-old student was arrested and cautioned for assaulting a spectator after apparently losing a jelly-wrestling match.
The celebrations have since been banned from being held on university property.
The news comes just days after hundreds of Cambridge University students descended on a family park and stripped off for a riotous pre-exam party as part of Caesarian Sunday this weekend

Full article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2320909/Cambridge-University-drinking-society-cancels-annual-jelly-wrestling-contest-complaints-feminist-students.html#ixzz2SuYH6972

So what do the people of TSR think of this?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

L i b

The girl that decked her opponent five years ago used to post on here. Was quite funny at the time.

I don't really care what people get up to amongst themselves. I certainly don't give a toss about the view of some up-their-own-arses SU women's officers. If the group wants to do it, go for it; if they don't, then don't.

Reply 2

samleigh

This sort of event should have been more publicised - applications would have shot through the roof!

Reply 3

simon_g

I bet most of those 1000 people were far too ugly/flat to join it, so they've banned it out of jealousy :smile:

Reply 4

rcummins1

Equality for women by banning them from something they're eagerly willing to participate in? Makes sense, boring feminist scum.

Reply 5

TheHistoryStudent

Original post by MancBoy

I think that if they don't like it, they don't have to go, or participate. Same goes for males who don't like it too.

So long as the women participating are making up their own mind to do it, the argument that it should be banned because other women find it offensive just doesn't stack up to me.

Perhaps an alternative would be to set up a male version of it instead... I wonder how many people would complain about it to be honest...

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 6

squeakysquirrel

Original post by MancBoy

I can see why they cancelled it - it is a bit childish - but I am sure it was great fun and nobody was forced into doing it. Where is the difference in that from female wrestling or boxing - apart from the jelly bit.

Right now just off to fill in my application for the bog snorkelling championships

http://www.green-events.co.uk/events.html?id=57

Reply 7

ArtGoblin

That it is a competition for bikini wearing women only and men do not take part shows why it exists. I do think it is insulting to the women attending this party to show women as objects for men's entertainment. I am glad that the opposition was listened to and they decided to cancel the event, even if they did try to pin it on feeling threatened by them.

Reply 8

SleepySheep

Original post by rcummins1

Equality for women by banning them from something they're eagerly willing to participate in? Makes sense, boring feminist scum.

....how is it equality if there's no men's version?

Reply 9

ArtGoblin

Original post by rcummins1

Equality for women by banning them from something they're eagerly willing to participate in? Makes sense, boring feminist scum.

Not banning; they pressured them to cancel. They were not forced to make that decision. And the argument isn't about the women who take part but the impact on the way people perceive women.

Reply 10

Dragonfly07

It does seem a bit sexist if men don't participate in it.

Edit: I actually think that it was a stupid idea to ban it.

Surely then what the feminists are doing is to actually strengthen sexist objectification of women by forcing them to be ashamed of any activity that supposedly "objectifies" them. Sure the male spectators watching the show may be enjoying it, but I'm sure that by enjoying the show, 99.9% of them are not thinking to themselves"those women are so attractive they can't be worth anything other than their appearances despite the fact that they just graduated from Cambridge!!".

By banning it, the message that's taken across IS in fact that women who flaunt their body SHOULD be objectified, because otherwise what's the problem? Surely as feminists they should be happy to be able to prove that attractive women in bikinis wrestling each other are also something other than objects because the only participants are women who have established themselves quite well in society.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 11

MangoFreak

Original post by SleepySheep

....how is it equality if there's no men's version?

I doubt the women were forced into wrestling.

Reply 12

Akkuz

I bet if it was two men wrestling in a pool of jelly, it wouldn't get banned.

#Equality :^_^:

Nobody is forced into it. They should have a pool for men and one for women.

Reply 13

Thriftworks

Do they charge for this event? This would change the whole complexion of the debate.

Reply 14

the bear

i think that it would be OK if blancmange were used, to preserve the young ladies' modesty

or baked beans

Reply 15

aoxa

It's a bit of a stupid idea to ban it, especially as it was such a 'tradition'.

Men should be able to participate in it as well… for equality and all that.

And besides, women aren't forced to participate in as well, so if they don't want to participate, they shouldn't complain.

And it's the daily mail. Enough said.

Reply 16

Felix Felicis

Original post by DJMayes

I personally think the idea of the competition sounds repulsive ...

I have some bad news for you...

Spoiler

I don't see the problem here, no one is forcing these fine ladies to engage in the competition. Silly feminists.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 17

SleepySheep

Original post by MangoFreak

I doubt the women were forced into wrestling.

I didn't say that they were :confused:

Another poster indicated that female-only jelly wrestling is an example of gender equality. I was pointing out that it clearly isn't.

Reply 18

SleepySheep

Original post by Akkuz

I bet if it was two men wrestling in a pool of jelly, it wouldn't get banned.

#Equality :^_^:

Nobody is forced into it. They should have a pool for men and one for women.

But they don't. That's the point.

Reply 19

username129099

Its a sexually bias event no doubt, I'm sure plenty of girls wouldn't mind seeing the rugby guys wrestling the rowing boys or the swimmers in jelly. The thing that concerns me, it that you can ban an event that people volunteer for that you aren't even involved in based on the fact you find it offensive that people want to participate in such an event.

The whole objectification thing is such bull**** anyway, just because I enjoy seeing a girl near nude doesn't mean I then automatically cannot see her in any other light. The idea of being sexy and intelligent somehow cannot coexist. The objectification is temporary, only specific to that event, we all temporarily objectify people.