An attempt to affiliate a ‘Gentlemen’s Society’ with Goldsmiths SU has been blocked at a meeting of the College’s Student Assembly on the grounds that the society as proposed does not meet the requirements of the Student Union’s equal opportunities policy.

In minutes of the Assembly’s November 10th meeting, seen by London Student, the Society’s request for affiliation is objected to by an Assembly member as their constitution indicates, “that members of the society would need to wear smart clothes, which prevents students from lower socio-economic background from joining.”

The minutes also state that the society, “did not indicate whether or not  they where accepting of women.”

The Society was subsequently asked to resubmit their constitution to the Assembly by December 1st, amended to address the Assembly’s concerns over their dress code and policy towards female members.

When contacted by London Student about the decision, Gentlemen’s Society founder Robert Simpson said: “The society is mainly leisure based and we just wanted to do some things that we wouldn’t normally do, so instead of the usual student going out and partying and drinking, we wanted to promote events that we wouldn’t normally partake in, such as attending the varsity boat race, going to the dog tracks and having a poker night.

“Unfortunately people completely misunderstood this and saw us as some form of political/sexist group when we are not in the slightest.

“We are in fact completely open to all, with 14 paid female members.”

The Goldsmiths Assembly’s decision reflects a wider debate over the formation of men’s societies at campuses across the UK, which has centred on whether such groups offer a legitimate forum for students looking to explore concepts of masculinity, or merely provide an outlet for activities that serve to perpetuate gender stereotypes.

Earlier this year the University of Manchester saw the founding of the MENS Society (Masculinity Exploring Network and Support). The group was granted society status only after changing its name from ‘Men’s Society’, a name deemed unacceptable by the Manchester Student Union’s Societies Committee as it suggested a discriminatory membership policy based on gender. Oxford has subsequently followed suit with the
creation of ‘Man Collective – Oxford’ (MC-O).

Commenting on the rise of such societies, Goldsmiths Student Activities and Services Officer Rheem Al-Adhami said: “I think any group that brings people together to question the received wisdom associated with
gender stereotypes can be a positive thing.

“Whilst I think feminist groups and women’s rights groups are right to be concerned and possibly even critical of these new societies, we should be willing to be open to the possibility that they are a progressive move.

However, there is sometimes a very thin line between such groups and those men’s rights groups who are founded to counter any moves by feminists.”

Addressing the case of the Gentlemen’s Society, she stated “My concern at Goldsmiths, and something shared by many fellow students, about the new society stems from their apparent disregard for conceptions of masculinity and gender identity.’

“These notions are not in line with those of the Manchester MENS group or the Oxford group at all and do not ground themselves in the need to question gender categories.”

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