The Student’s Union at the University of York has decided, by a margin of one vote, to include copies of FHM in the Fresher’s bags which will be distributed this Saturday at the Fresher’s Fair. All of the Liberation groups in the Union are unhappy about this controversial decision which will imply that the Union does not take gender equality seriously.

If you object then please either write to the Union yourself including the Services Officer at services@yusu.org or use the model letter below which is addressed to the Student’s Union President.

Dear [     ],

 I am writing to complain about the controversial publicity which will be distributed by the Student’s Union at the YUSU Fresher’s Fair this Saturday 13th October.   I understand that YUSU have received 3000 bags to distribute at Fresher’s Fair from a commercial distribution company, filled with student-aimed advertising and samples, half of which are pink and half of which are blue. The blue bags contain a full-size tin of baked beans, a chocolate bar and a copy of FHM magazine.  The pink bags contain cellulite cream, female deodorant, moisturiser and a half-size tin of beans.  Both bags also contain a packet of instant mashed potato, powdered chicken sauce mix and various leaflets for mobile phone companies, films and a clothing website.  Clearly there are several important issues which have arisen from the content of these bags.   Firstly, the separation of the bags into clearly designated ‘male’ and ‘female’ bags is unacceptable.  Both the University and the Student’s Union pride themselves on their Equal Opportunities policies and to so clearly discriminate men from women is surely against both University and Union policy in its perpetuation of male and female stereotypes.  Secondly the inclusion of a sample copy of FHM in the blue ‘male’ bag is highly discriminatory – this is a sexist magazine which portrays naked or semi-naked women and girls in sexually explicit poses and contains material of a sexist nature – a recent edition of FHM magazine published a topless photograph of a 14 year old girl without her consent.  Although this sample edition is not as explicit as the usual edition, the blue ‘male’ bag also contains discount vouchers for further editions.  Furthermore, the brand of FHM is already associated with sexist and sexually explicit material, thus even though this edition may be ‘tamer’, the brand association is still present.  I do not feel that the association of such a sexist publication with the Student’s Union or the University of York is appropriate.   When this issue was discussed in a meeting of YUSU Executive Committee on Wednesday 10th October, problems were raised by the LGBT Officers on the hetero-normative nature of including FHM in bags intended for male interest.  The assumption that all male students are interested in viewing sexually explicit photographs of women completely ignores and discriminates against gay men and could also be offensive to those men who are not interested in such materials.  From a welfare point of view, the inclusion of unhealthy, stereotypical student foods such as instant mashed potato and baked beans undermines the recent YUSU drive to encourage healthy eating amongst students.  There appears to be no material in either bag which could be of any beneficial welfare use to students.  Finally, from an environmental point of view, the distribution of 3000 plastic bags is highly damaging for the environment and could reflect adversely on YUSU’s strong environmental reputation.   The final decision to distribute the bags as they currently are was passed in a YUSU Executive Committee Meeting on Wednesday 10th October by a margin of one vote.  However I feel that this entirely commercial venture could seriously damage both YUSU and the University of York’s reputation, coming as it is in the first week of term.  Therefore I urge you, as the primary representative of the Student’s Union, to reconsider the proposal made during the Executive Committee Meeting and request that the sexist commercial materials are not distributed at Fresher’s Fair this year, but are disposed of in an environmentally sound way.   Yours Sincerely,  [Your Name]