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'Sexist' Jelly Wrestling Back At Cambridge Uni

'Sexist' Jelly Wrestling Back At Cambridge Uni

A Cambridge University drinking society is bringing back a female jelly wrestling contest - two years after it was axed for being sexist.

The Gentleman Wyverns, a male-only club based at Magdalene College, said the controversial event will return for its 86th garden party next month.

In previous years, it involved two bikini-clad female students fighting in a jelly-filled paddling pool, with the winner given a cash prize.

But it was scrapped in 2013 after a petition attracted more than 1,000 signatures, with critics branding it "clearly sexist, misogynistic and completely inappropriate".

The drinking club said the event will return on 'Suicide Sunday' on 14 June - the last day before exam results are published at the university.

In a blog post, a club spokesman insisted jelly wrestling is "not part of some cheap ruse to see women get down to their bikinis".

This year's competition will be in a "form never before seen in Cambridge" with men allowed to take part for the first time, he said.

The Wyverns have issued an open invitation to other student societies to enter "the first annual Jelly Wrestling Cuppers", with the prize of "eternal honour, college pride, glory and honour" up for grabs.

It adds: "If any Oxonians make the decision to slither along perhaps we could make history with the first Varsity Jelly Match? The possibilities are endless!

"This summer, jelly wrestling shall be hauled from the dark depths of obscurity, no longer tarnished as an alleged clog in the machinations of the patriarchy, but placed at the forefront of competitive British sport at Britain's greatest summertime event."

However, undergraduate Natalie Holroyd said most competitors will be "attractive bikini-clad women", and believes the contest is "damaging to the mental health of women with body image issues and eating disorders".

Writing for The Cambridge Student newspaper, she added: "Just because the men are now allowed to join in doesn't erase what jelly wrestling means to those who attend the event, and those who feel threatened by it.

"Sure, the odd guy might join in, but realistically most competitors will be attractive bikini-clad women.

"Do we really believe that male and female competitors will receive the same response from the male-dominated crowd?

"Or will women be jeered at and judged on their appearance while men are touted as 'proper lads'?

"What is more, I have yet to see a larger girl in any of the pictures from Wyvern's wresting events. Are they included? Or would they just be made fun of if they tried to join in?"