Laddish culture in elite drinking clubs
It is a story that is guaranteed to make everyone emotional. All of us have been looking at selfies, newspaper articles and YouTube posts concerning a young man, Stephen Sutton, who was just 15 when he was diagnosed with cancer. An athlete, Stephen decided he would make a bucket list of things he would do before he died. Out of the 46 things, he was able to achieve about 34. Among these was his desire to raise around £ 10,000 for a Teenage Cancer Trust, for which he set up a fundraising page. By the time he died, last week at the age of 19, his charity page was able to garner four million pounds. No mean feat, for someone who was terminally ill with a negligible hope of recovery. Yet all the photographs have him smiling, as though he did not even know the meaning of pain. He’s a real hero.
Now, it’s not often that universities like Oxford and Cambridge are involved in a sex scandal, but to everyone’s shock, the president of the Oxford Union was recently arrested for alleged rape and attempted rape. Both the incidents date back to last year. Many were taken aback by the accusation because Ben Sullivan was an unlikely offender, with a perfect pedigree. Besides, he held a prestigious post, which in the past has attracted many would- be politicians and Prime Ministers — and Sullivan was no doubt on track for some future public position. He was also a member of an elite college drinking club. With his arrest there have been a few intriguing reports about the activities of these societies which seem to be hopelessly sexist and laddish in their agenda. These seemingly outdated men- only associations are particularly known for their hard- drinking rituals. For example, one particular club, Millers, serves a cocktail to their members which comprises just half a bottle of vodka, swigged in one shot. Phew!
The idea, as one member put it, is to get together, party and get “wasted”. But while it might be “fun” for the boys, the girls who are sometimes invited to join in the revelry are obviously less impressed, and report some unpleasant experiences, including being asked to eat without using their hands etc. It is alleged that members of some of these clubs often delight in denigrating women. Alison Phipps, the director of gender studies at the University of Sussex has said in an interview to the Times that “Many young men are threatened in an environment filled with high achieving women, so sexual conquests and female humiliation become a status symbol.” Also, sexism thrives thus all over in the world even in the most exclusive environments.
He has plenty of admirers as well as detractors, even in the UK, but Narendra Modi has somehow managed to appear on the front pages of newspapers in London — with a continuous coverage of the election. Even the TV channels are covering him quite thoroughly. Most of the stories now are beginning to look beyond the events of 2002, and some are even flattering. They are examining what kind of policies he is likely to follow. In fact, last Sunday we participated at the vibrant Jaipur Literary Festival in London at the Southbank — and we — including I — discussed, unexpectedly perhaps, whether dynasty and democracy are incompatible.
Meanwhile, one person who is definitely having a great time, looking relaxed and happy even though she is back at work in London is George Clooney’s fiancée, Amal Alamuddin, the tall and elegant human rights lawyer. And the good news for us Londoners is that Clooney is now looking for a home in the city, ( in Richmond perhaps) as he would like Alamuddin to carry on with her career. Clooney has bought her a seven carat diamond ring reportedly worth £ 450,000. Obviously he hasn’t lost his romantic streak even though he had once said he is not the marrying type. He was, however, married before and his girlfriends have included Charlize Theron and Lisa Snowden… He also has plans of working with Alamuddin, who at 36, is 17 years younger than him.
And another very talented man who has just got married again is 76- year- old Tom Stoppard. It is his third marriage — this time to Sabrina Guinness, the “brewery” heiress. Good to know that there is life after life! And marriage is in the air!
And last but not the least, it was interesting to see the Hinduja brothers with 11.9 billion pounds between them heading the Times Rich List. With a varied early career, today the family business has diverse interests from oil to media.
Among other rich people of Indian origin, sandwiched between two Russian billionaires — as well as a little lower down on No 3, was Lakshmi Mittal whose fortune is recorded at 10 billion. Of course, the wealth of these individuals is unimaginable but compared on the global index — amongst even wealthier billionaires ( including Mukesh and Anil Ambani at 17 billion pounds) — the Hindujas slip to number 44. The reality is that richest four men in the world are all American.
Kishwar Desai is an award- winning author