Tweet Email

WINNIPEG (CUP) — An engineering students’ magazine at the University of Manitoba caused a stir last month with a Valentine’s Day issue that was called raunchy, racy and offensive by mainstream media. Students, on the other hand, don’t understand what all the fuss is about.

The Red Loin, the satirical issue of the University of Manitoba Engineering Society (UMES) publication the Red Lion, has been published on Valentine’s Day for the past 20 years.

The 24-page magazine had the tagline “Entertainment for Male Engineers” this year, and included a number of articles, including one on a variety of sexual statistics such as penis length, erection duration and bust size. There were lists pertaining to “Why Engineers Make the Best Lovers” and the “14 Best ‘Romantic’ Movies of All Time,” with the latter consisting of porn movies such as Pulp Friction and Position Impossible.

One article called “Oh-Oh-Olympics” related Winter Olympic events to different aspects of sex, while “Letters from Miss Lonely Trousers” provided advice for someone looking to ask their girlfriend for anal sex as a Valentine’s Day gift.

According to UMES spokesperson and director Megan Lusty, the magazine was meant to be seen as a form of entertainment.

She has “no problem” with the issue. “I think all of the things in there are either a complete joke, or they’re in good taste, or were written by females, and (it) clearly was not . . . the intention to offend females,” said Lusty, who has final say over what is published in the magazine.

“This year is a lot more tame than other years. I think most people who made comments from outside the faculty on the Red Loin didn’t actually look at the magazine, they looked at the cover and looked at the name of articles and didn’t realize that the articles were not what they thought they were,” she said.

John Danakas, spokesperson for the University of Manitoba, said the school’s equity services department is currently reviewing the contents of the magazine to see if they violate the university’s respectful work and learning environment policy.

According to Danakas, university officials were made aware of the content following an article in the Winnipeg Free Press in early March.

“Until then, the contents had not been known to anyone in the dean’s office or in Equity Services. (They) had no idea that the Red Lion was out or even what was in it.”

He said Equity Services will meet with the editorial staff of the Red Lion and Lusty to discuss the content of the publication.

“The intent of the meeting is to have a discussion about the content of the publication in light of the university’s respectful work and learning environment policy (and) to have a discussion about what materials might be offensive and the impact that offensive materials can have on people and groups of people,” said Danakas.

Lauryn Pizey-Allen, co-ordinator of the school’s Womyn’s Centre, said she personally hasn’t read the Red Loin.

“I’ve heard that there was some kafuffle about its content, that some people said it was inappropriate and some people said it was sexist and that it was a lot of sexual joking.”

She said members of the Womyn’s Centre have discussed the topic of the Red Loin, though none have actually read a copy of the magazine.

“One of the things we said . . . is that talking about things that are sexual isn’t inherently bad. There’s nothing wrong with talking about sexuality. It’s actually really good to talk about it, but when it comes to the tone of what was being said (in the Red Loin), we don’t know because we didn’t read it.”

Second-year science student Amber Fermin read the magazine, but saw it rather as a form of entertainment.

“I guess it was a little offensive, but I thought it was funny.”

Michelle Toews, a first-year student, also found the magazine funny and said that people would be offended simply shouldn’t read it.

“I thought it was funny. I’ve heard that people took offence to it, but it says right in the beginning that if you’re going to be offended by it then don’t read it,” said Toews.

“It’s funny for some people, not for others.”

Lusty said that she doesn’t think the negative attention the magazine has gotten in the media will affect what is included in the future.

“I don’t really think it is going to have much affect on what goes on in the future because we mean it to be entertainment,” said Lusty.

“All the males in our faculty are really respectful of all the females in the faculty and vice versa.”