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Mayor of London, Ed Holder, is publicly denouncing the misogynistic messages that were posted around Broughdale Avenue this weekend during fake homecoming.
In a tweet, Holder said, “In addition to the size of the Broughdale crowd, what I find equally troubling were messages of sexism, misogyny, and rape culture on full display hanging from the front patios of several houses in the Broughdale area.”
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The homemade signs in question featured messages like, “Queens girls spit, Western girls swallow,” and, “If your girl goes to Western she’s not your girl anymore.”
Holder went on to reference the city’s commitment to making the safety of women and girls a priority.
“We will not allow young women — be they students, faculty or otherwise — to be disrespected,” Holder said, “and we will not allow London to be used as a door-mat, nor a poster-child for the ignorant messaging that was on display over the weekend.”
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The reaction comes days after the unsanctioned street party saw its highest numbers yet, with an estimated 25,000 people.
Fake homecoming, otherwise know as FoCo, was first held to protest Western University’s decision to push its annual homecoming to a later date surrounded by midterm exams.
President of Western University, Alan Shepard, also released a statement today addressing the events of the weekend and the messaging on the signs.
“It was very upsetting to see a couples of banners in the Broughdale neighbourhood that demonstrated a lack of respect for women,” Shephard said.
“Casual misogyny, passed off as a joke, is always corrosive.”
Jennifer Massey, Western’s associated vice-president of student experience, was equally troubled by the signage and says it does not reflect the values of Western.
“These kinds of messages reflect and create environments where violence against women is normalized,” she said.
“There has been lots of activity to continue to address gender-based violence in our community and all of its complexities and we continue to hold that as core priority.”
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