Statement by the Young Socialists on the "male Chauvinist Pig Competition".

Most students will be aware of the 'male chauvinist pig competition' which was organised on campus as part of the Vietnam Medical Aid Appeal. The Young Socialists stands opposed to this competition, and believes it has a responsibility to explain why.

No doubt the organisers of this competition believed it was both a progressive and radical venture. In reality however, the manner in which the whole competition was conducted indicated an incredible lack of understanding of what the feminist movement is all about, and/ or a total failure to think through the real implications of this competition.

The competition was conducted in an entirely frivolous manner, with many people randomly nominating friends, political enemies, and in some cases even women! The atmosphere of hilarity which surrounded the voting table throughout the competition (and this came from those staffing the table, as well as from passerbys), gave the whole venture the overtones of a sick capping stunt.

To any feminist, or any man who fully supports the feminist movement, male chauvinism is not something to joke about; and any venture which tends to treat sexism in such a manner deserves to be vigorously condemned. Of course it is no longer acceptable to joke and laugh about racism; but it appears that some people are still so politically backward as to joke about sexism.

The Young Socialists does not condemn such competitions in principle. A competition aimed at male chauvinism, and organised by women in the feminist movement, could be a valid method of explaining the ideas of the movement and raising people's consciousness as to how disgusting sexism really is. The competition in question, however, did very little in this direction. In fact, from our observations the majority of the organisers and participants in this competition were men, a point which compels us to indicate how farcical it would be for white people to claim (and in a joking manner at that) that they could legitimately select the 'racist pig of the year'.

There are even indications that some people are so unscrupulous as to use this competition as a means of furthering their factional ends. Some rabid 'Trot'-baiters, for example, appear to have been having a field day nominating leaders of the Young Socialists and Socialist Action League- a fact which is really a condemnation of their own infantile politics, and their ignorance in relation to the feminist movement, rather than the 'exposure' of any outstanding male chauvinists among the leaderships of these two socialist organisations. Nevertheless, the use of this competition by some people as a means of furthering their factional interests, should be roundly condemned by all supporters of the feminist movement. Those who try to use this competition as a vehicle for their petty factionalism have nothing in common with the aims and purposes of the feminist movement.

The 'justification' for this competition was that it helped raise money for the Medical Aid Appeal. But this is a pretty flimsy 'rationalisation'. To raise money for the Appeal by means which make a joke out of sexism, and therefore indirectly ridicule the whole feminist movement, is hardly a very enlightened way to go about things. The Appeal is supposed to raise money by appealing to peoples humanitarian instincts, and, according to the organisers, help the process of raising people's consciousness about the war in Indochina and the plight of the Indochinese peoples. But what 'justification' can be found for a competition which, while raising money, ridicules one of the movements which is fighting for social change. There is nothing 'progressive in a competition which appeals to people's most backward prejudices by making a joke out of male chauvinism.

Brigid Mulrennan for the Young Socialists