Women’s officer launches complaint on ‘offensive’ radio show
Warwick SU women’s officer, Louisa Ackermann, has launched a complaint on the ‘The Cool Boy Radio Show’ for ‘sexist’ remarks made on air by one presenter and a guest last Thursday, March 6.
The show was taken off air after it received two formal complaints.
The part of the show which sparked the complaints came when the presenters recalled a party with their friends:
B: “No, we love girls, we love our shawties. We love animals as well. We love dogs. Just thought I should mention them as they go hand in hand.”
The presenters of the show responded with the statement: “We apologise unreservedly for any offence made. The comments were very much a one off, thoughtless mistake, and not within the normal nature of the show.
“The premise of the ‘Cool Boy’ radio show is deeply ironic throughout, and in this instance the comments were intended to mock those who hold sexist views.
The sense of entitlement in broadcasting a comparison of women to ‘dogs and animals’ across campus highlights how prevalent sexism is
Louisa Ackermann, SU women’s officer
“We are distressed that our tactless, ironic comments have resulted in us being misrepresented as sexists when this couldn’t be further from the truth. We appreciate the insensitivity of what was said, especially during International Women’s Week, and are deeply sorry.”
Ms Ackermann insisted that “it wasn’t a role play” of irony.
She continued: “To the credit of the other two [show contributors], they did sound a little bit shocked at that one, but they still laughed and they certainly didn’t call him out on being offensive. The show moved on to another topic after that and I stopped listening.
“It was incredibly demoralising to hear such sexist remarks from The Cool Boys radio show, especially in the context of International Women’s Week.
“The sense of entitlement in broadcasting a comparison of women to ‘dogs and animals’ across campus highlights how prevalent sexism is, and the continuing necessity of a women’s movement.”
Scott Henderson, station manager at Radio at Warwick (RaW), released a statement saying: “RaW received two complaints about the Cool Boy Radio Show regarding the use of sexist language.
“After listening back to the incident, the executive committee decided to remove the show from air for the rest of the term as the comments said are in violation of RaW’s guidelines and potentially the Ofcom broadcasting code. From our standpoint the issue has been resolved.”
The radio show’s online description states that it provides listeners with a “weekly dosage [of] humour filled chat… musings, tales and adventure from your favourite post-modern cool boys as they talk all things quirky and trivial for your fun-filled entertainment”.
Comments (5)
Good article, alot more factual than the Warwick tab one. Obviously the comments made were awful, but the women’s officer using this isolated incident to claim that sexism is prevalent across campus is nothing short of sensationalist.
It’s really weird that the DJs themselves get a shield of anonymity, while the listener does not. It wasn’t that Louisa received complaints and then acted upon them as an officer – she was just listening in, and complained like anyone listening to an Ofcom-regulated radio station is entitled to. I would have made the same complaints if I had been listening.
I think you just have to go on ‘Sexism at Warwick’ to see that this is an *example* of an unwelcome level of sexism, rather than standalone evidence of a sexist culture. I agree that her wording would suggest she meant the latter, but there are plenty of other examples. This isn’t Louisa’s project, but rather something started by WASS that anyone can contribute to – she isn’t a member of WASS.
https://www.facebook.com/SexismAtWarwick?fref=ts
It’s worth noting that the show had already broken RaW’s guidelines before and was on their last chance!
NUS studies show 1 in 7 women will be severely sexually assaulted during their time at university, 68% will be sexually harassed to any degree. It’s not sensationalist, it’s happening.
And that is directly related to the casual sexism broadcast by RaW FM.