Sexism you have personally experienced or have heard of? *READ POST 1*

A Plymouth University student has been denied the chance to set up a "men's rights" forum - because they do not suffer discrimination.

Will Styles, 21, says there is a women's forum on campus but no equivalent space for male students to seek advice and guidance.

He applied to set up such a platform, but the University of Plymouth Students' Union (UPSU) said equal opportunities legislation only applies to groups which have suffered "historic and ongoing discrimination", adding "those groups do not include men".


Will, a third year architecture student, said: "I spent the last year and a bit collecting signatures and writing to the board of trustees.

"Then I referenced the university's equal opportunities policy, which is based on the equalities act. I felt they were denying opportunities to a group based on their gender.

"They said the policy was not written with men in mind. That sent me through the roof.

"On the most basic level it's about academic representation. The number of men in education has been declining since the 1990s, particularly in subjects like nursing.

"Then there are campus issues like men's mental health and male suicide. There is not a lot happening on campus for that, or for sexual harassment of men or false sexual harassment accusations."


The petition attracted 220 signatures, but UPSU says it stands by its decision.

Will said: "When did it become about who has the worst issues? Why don't we help all people? When did it become a competition about who has it worse?

"That's not how equality or equal opportunities works. Even if men only had one single issue, why would we not want to help them?"

Fellow student Will Mason says he is supporting the cause.

"There should be a men's forum for the same reason there should be a women's forum: there should be a dedicated group of people facilitating a place for issues and concerns facing those from a certain sex," he said.

"These include issues such as the shockingly high male suicide and depression rates, False sexual assault accusations, and rising gender employment inequality."


In a written response to Will Styles, a students' union spokesman said: "The UPSU trustee board noted that references in the UPSU constitution to equal opportunities and the UPSU equal opportunities policy must be read in the context of the relevant equal opportunities legislation.


"That legislation, both in its initial form and as subsequently amended, is specifically designed to address equal opportunities for groups which have suffered historic and ongoing discrimination.

"Those groups did not, and do not, include men (other than in the context of equal pay, which is a qualitatively different issue.)

"As a consequence, the UPSU trustee board does not consider that the fact that the UEC did not vote in favour to establish a men's forum was in breach of the UPSU constitution or equal opportunities policy.

"Nor does the board consider that this was an act of discrimination, for the reasons stated above."

This week a UPSU spokesman told The Herald: "UPSU's trustee board stands by the decision made.

"Further to our written reply, representatives personally met with Will regarding this matter and clearly explained the democratic process he needs to undertake if he wishes to take the idea of a men's forum back to the union council."

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

We have had a number of complaints over the years about the existence of a forum called the Gentlemens Club

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

We have had a number of complaints over the years about the existence of a forum called the Gentlemens Club

Wibbs wrote: »

Having modded the place for a long time, I can tell you quite the few and regularly.

“The other week, I gave a talk at Wellesley [a private, liberal women’s arts college in Massachusetts],” she says, when we talk on Skype (sitting at her desk, she is by turns thoughtful, angry and, sometimes, slightly gleeful). “When I was there, it went fine. There was a great discussion, and I went out to dinner with a group of students. But a group of women made a video denouncing me before I even arrived – they attacked me for being a white feminist – and afterwards six faculty members at Wellesley wrote an email [to their colleagues] saying, in effect, that I shouldn’t have been invited to speak and that students need to be protected from views that are injurious to them.” The letter in question was posted on the website of Fire (the Foundation of Individual Rights in Education). As ridiculous as it is, it makes for sobering reading. Among other things, its signatories lament the fact that so-called controversial speakers negatively impact students by forcing them to “invest time and energy in rebutting the speakers’ arguments”.

Widower staying with his own daughter, 13, is accused of being a PAEDOPHILE by Travelodge staff and interviewed by police all because he booked a double room
Staff asked Craig Darwell, 46, to show ID for his daughter Millie, 13, at check in
He showed images of them together when she was a baby but they called police
Mr Darwell, who lost wife ten years ago, and Millie were questioned separately
Millie was 'distraught' and left in floods of tears after interview with the officer


A widower who lost his wife to cancer was accused of being a paedophile by Travelodge staff because he booked a double room for him and his daughter.
Craig Darwell, 46, was taking Millie, 13, to visit Thorpe Park and was forced to book the double room in Chertsey, Surrey, because there were no others available.
But when he checked in, suspicious staff demanded that he show them his daughter's ID.
Mr Darwell, who lost his wife to leukaemia when Millie was just four, explained that he did not have ID for his daughter and instead showed staff pictures of them together when she was a baby.
But even after seeing them, staff called the police and he and his daughter were forced into separate rooms and interviewed by a police officer.

Mr Darwell, who felt 'knotted inside' after the accusation, said his daughter was 'distraught' and refused to leave the room after the ordeal.
'My little girl was in her room crying her eyes out when we were supposed to be going out for tea for a special weekend,' he told MailOnline.

Sleepy wrote: »

Presumably she'll be getting a very nice present for her next birthday since Dad should be coming into a nice settlement soon?

silverharp wrote: »

seriously? for wind up purposes you should get a male only sub sub forum, it will fry their minds worrying about what the patriarchy is cooking up absent female oversight