A poster put up around campus has sparked controversy because of its provocative message.
The poster, titled ‘Always Pulling Whales’ reads “Like what you see? You could be the whale for me. “Set my willy free”. Apply early to avoid disappointment” with contact details to follow. The University rugby club was named on the poster. Vision contacted the individual shown on the poster who declined to comment.
The message of the poster has come under fire from feminists on campus. On the poster, President of the University of York Feminists, Alex Wilson, said; “‘Whale’ is a common piece of slang used to mean a fat woman and this poster is a crass and objectifying joke at their expense…
“It plays on the idea that fat women are desperate and will sleep with any man that will have them and that they should be grateful for any sexual attention they get, because they are fat and therefore undesirable and worthless.
“Fat women are not a joke and the idea that they might be considered desirable and worthy of love and affection is not a joke.”
The rugby club has come under criticism from the student body in the past for smashing glasses in campus bar, The Courtyard. Meanwhile a commenter who wished to remain anonymous stated that;
“It’s pretty funny, but yeah, it’s a bit mean and I can see that it’s crossed a line – I mean we’ve all joked about people we’ve got with, but keep it among friends!”
A member of a college football team told Vision their views on the poster; “This is f**king brilliant, he should try Koh Samui on a Friday, its like being on the coastal reef after a drought.”
At no point on the poster does it specify gender – get a grip people.
The poster was actually made by girls and does not specify which gender the poster is seaking and therefore is targeting larger males as well as larger females
As a larger woman myself I am not offended by this and would be honoured to go to captains with such a hunk.
ALWAYS PULLING WALES
Nobody wants to pull me because I stink
*WHALES
But at the same time.. anyone like what they see and want to come to Captains with me?
The whale is an endangered speicies in many respects. Your typical Blue can be seen drifting through the oceans of desperate men on your typical yusu night. The Hump Back is a far more scarce species and tends to rear it’s head on the more edgy of nights siphoning their prey threw littered shoals of snap backs and sweater vests. The Orca, is far more aggressive and is seen mainly on Wednesday. Catching it’s prey in the cove that is the rugby booth. Please do not criticise us for our concern for the well being of such special creatures.
Come on. Why do we pander to fat peoples needs and feelings. They are fat, its gross and they should do something about it. men and women. Come on it aint that hard, just lose some weight, eat less exercise more. No mans gonna bang some whale, and no chick is gonna wanna get pounded by a male whale. Sort it out. DEEEENNNCCCCHHHHH
Jesus Christ.
Do student journalists actually ever talk to feminists on campus? Do student journalists actually ever talk to anyone on campus and have any clue of what’s going on?
There is no ‘feminist outrage’. The journalist in question merely asked Alex Wilson for a comment, and so she gave one.
For fuck’s sake.
Finally the UYRUFC lads are looking outside of their usual pool of slutty netballers. Too long have the Hornets been ignored because of our lack of sporting talent or looks. Can’t vision post the contact details so we can get in on the action?
Good show! lol!
I’m a little confused about Alex Wilson’s phrasing when she says “Fat women are not a joke and the idea that they might be considered desirable and worthy of love and affection is not a joke.”
To me this reads that fat women are not desirable or worthy of love, and to even consider this idea is not something to joke about. I can only hope this was a poorly phrased quote from someone claiming to represent women across campus.
What the fuck is this shit?
The designer of this poster looks exactly like the kind of man we need on our PR team.
Though it is certainly not a niche, the “whale” market in York is very hard to approach given the sheer “size,” however someone like this could really help us attract the “weighty” customers to our enterprise. The larger specimens always take that little but extra to “reel in.”
We have a large amount of job opportunities at JEEPglobal so take this offer seriously. Please could the author of this poster contact [email protected] and you will be forwarded to relevant assessment centre.
For graduate opportunities visit http://www.JEEPglobal.com/graduateplaces-2014
Alternatively, follow us on twitter @stashJEEP
BUT WHAT DOES HELENA HORTON THINK ABOUT THIS?!
I’m gonna punch you in the ovary, that’s what I’m gonna do. A straight shot. Right to the babymaker
Kids these days
@Concerned Woman, Alex was saying that women are desirable and worthy of love regardless of their weight, and that fat shaming is not a joke and not acceptable. I don’t really see how that could be misunderstood.
@FatHater, I reeeally hope you’re trolling. Fat shaming and body policing are not ok. You are not a divine wisdom on what is sexy and what isn’t. I’m overweight and if you think I’m gross then that’s fine, I don’t care, but keep it to yourself. My body doesn’t exist to please you anyway. And my partner thinks I’ve very sexy (I value their opinion waaay more than yours) And there’s more to a woman than her appearance.
@ManWhale98, the poster is objectifying and criticising people based on their body, so its safe to assume its aimed at women, even if it isn’t specified on the poster. The word “whales” is almost always used to describe fat women. Plus, it seems like the poster was made by members of the rugby team, which is a sport that’s part of a male dominated, heteronormative culture. I don’t think there’s any doubt that this poster was aimed at women.
Omg for the last time, 3 girls made it. Seriously. Not even joking.
As a fat girl myself, I find this distasteful.
Why isn’t fat shaming ok? Because you are fat? You said it yourself you are ‘over’weight. Implying that you carry too much weight. Fat people are a burden on society, and this bullsh*t ‘fat pride,’ is beyond ridiculous. Obviously, everyone has a different opinion on sexy, but if you are obese, that is a health risk.
Attempting to normalise fatness is as detrimental society as attempting to normalise thinness, can we please just move on from this justification of laziness and overindulgence.
what the fuck is this. what the hell does “The rugby club has come under criticism from the student body in the past for smashing glasses in campus bar, The Courtyard.” have to do with anything in the rest of the article. why did you include an obviously troll comment from a football player. like don’t me wrong, I agree with the general argument, fat shaming is fucking scummy and those posters are tiresome and crude, but how the hell did this article get through proofing?
What’s wrong with fat shaming, they say?
I have no idea, what could possibly be wrong with bullying people on the basis of their physical appearance and weight?
What on Earth is wrong with a load of vitriol (that whether people like to admit or not, is a load of misogynistic bollocks aimed mainly at women) implying that larger women are in some way ‘easier’ to get with or less worthy of affection or whatever.
Seriously, are you guys all university educated or what?
The people advocating this ‘fat-shaming’ culture are merely degenerates with a sadistic streak.
Sure, being overweight isn’t healthy and it isn’t considered beautiful by most people (in this culture – see examples were being larger was considered more attractive http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/8286/were-fat-women-considered-as-the-norm-of-beauty-in-the-past), but anyone who thinks it is their right to publicly ridicule someone on that basis is beneath contempt.
I have, unfortunately, encountered plenty of these ‘fat girls are easy’ sort of views. It is disgusting that a culture should arise where people (usually men) try to exploit others who are assumed to have low self-confidence from their appearance.
If you are so lacking that you can’t aim for anyone who you don’t feel is inferior to you then that is your choice – but advertising it is crude and abhorrent and I hope it isn’t just feminists who are appalled by this.
@FatHater, why do we pander to fate people’s needs and feelings? I would ask you why you feel the need to hurt people’s feelings. Just because someone’s fat doesn’t mean you have the right to be nasty to them.
@ @Rae, why do you feel its your personal responsibility to protect the health of the nation by being nasty and hurtful to people? And why is obesity the one health problem you’re picking on? Bullies and online trolls are also detrimental to society, but you seem to be ok with that. And comments like yours contribute to depression and eating disorders. And saying that it isn’t ok to bully people because of their weight and how sexually attractive they are to you personally isn’t the same as “justifying laziness and overindulgence”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_jGgZ35W5s
Look up the lyrics
Why don’t you go to bed. I would put my life on it that you;re fat. Smokers get treated like the scum of the earth and pay the price in extortionate taxes, fat people don’t. they just take up extra room on planes . i have to pay more money for every kilo extra on my flight. fatties who are twice my weight don’t.
It makes me sick. fat people need to just lose weight, no wonder they don’t get laid.
Yes, bullies and online trolls are detrimental to society. However, obesity is the number one health problem in Britain and the Western World in general, and the WHO and UNO have just released a report saying obesity is even worse for your health than smoking. People have no problem hating on smokers or people who drink alcohol, yet for some reason being fat is totally okay, even though obesity is a MASSIVE problem for the people affected by it and for society in general.
Yes, some people are obese because of illnesses. Most people, however, are fat by choice. People who make a choice which results in them being in an unattractive state must accept responsibility for their actions, not blame society for their faults. So while I agree that bullying people is wrong, I find it ridiculous that people think they can do whatever they want without other people having an opininon on that, even if that opinion is voiced in form of a joke, as is the case here. If you’re offended by everything that is happening outside, stay at home.
@ @RAE, you’re assuming that overweight people never have sex? What, because you don’t have sex with them? I’ve had sex the last three nights in a row, and it wasn’t pity sex or a one night stand. Just because you’ve never found an over weight person attractive doesn’t mean nobody does. Some people find curves and fantastic breasts very attractive. Personally, I find you incredible unattractive, but I’m not going to bully you because of it. Grow up.
I am the former captain of derwent rugby and I have a girlfriend.
@ @Rae, clearly people do hate on fat people. This poster isn’t the first time its ever happened. And I don’t think hating on fat people is ok, or that obesity isn’t a health problem. But picking on over weight individuals and being nasty to them isn’t going to help anyone. Plus, this assumption that people deserve abuse because they’re unattractive is absurd! “People who make a choice which results in them being in an unattractive state must accept responsibility for their actions…I find it ridiculous that people think they can do whatever they want without other people having an opininon on that” Why assume anyone cares about other people’s opinions on their appearance? People’s bodies aren’t anyone else’s business to comment on. Nobody deserves ridicule for how sexually attractive they are, whether its by choice or not. It also creates the impression that people’s worth depends solely on their physical appearance.
And “ff you’re offended by everything that is happening outside, stay at home”. Well, you’re being nasty on the internet, so staying at home won’t really help me. And I thought it was incredibly important to you that I go out and get exercise more? I can’t believe people so stupid are at this university
I am the current captain of derwent rugby and as I don’t have a girlfriend I love a fat bird.
my names matthew and this isn’t funny
Even if being overweight is a health risk to the individual and a potential burden on the NHS, why should that be the only aspect of a person that anyone notices? And why is fat shaming almost always directed at women?
One example: http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/05/20/314007632/in-2014-the-classical-world-still-cant-stop-fat-shaming-women?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140520
MAH CURVES I’M SO SEXY LOOK AT MAH CURVES