Lad culture as a sticky atmosphere: navigating sexism and misogyny in the UK's student-centred nighttime economy

Abstract

‘Lad culture’ has become a popular term for making sense of sexism, misogyny and sexual harassment in Higher Education in the UK. However, a gap exists in understanding student negotiations of the nighttime economy, and how spatial elements shape the affective dimensions of lad culture experiences. In this article, we offer the concept of ‘sticky atmospheres’, a combination of Sara Ahmed’s ‘sticky affects’ and Ben Anderson’s ‘affective atmospheres’. We demonstrate the usefulness of ‘sticky atmospheres’ by analysing data produced in co-operative inquiry-inspired discussions with a Student Union ‘Gender Society’. In doing so, we offer an understanding of the student-centred nighttime economy through participants’ accounts of proximity to the sticky object, described as a pervasive atmosphere. However, we also explore the potential for atmospheric change.