THE PROMOTERS OF a Dublin student night have defended their use of a stamp which has caused controversy on social media today.
The stamp reads ‘Cunt’ which the promoters say is an acronym is for their ‘C U Next Tuesday’ club night at the Lost Society on South William Street in Dublin every Tuesday.
The event has been running for over three years but was highlighted on Twitter today after consumer journalist Sinead Ryan tweeted her unhappiness with her daughter’s arm being stamped with the offending word:
Ryan received dozens of responses, most expressing outrage with the use of the word and the hashtag #cuntgate gained traction on Twitter this afternoon:
In response, the promoters of the club night tweeted to Ryan that the use of the word was used in a “lighthearted way” adding: “We want to desensitise people to this very commonly used word.”
Later they issued a statement issued this evening and said that the stamp is entirely optional for patrons with another stamp being available if they wish.
“The majority of patrons choose to be stamped with the full logo, presumably because they – correctly – understand that offence is neither intended nor implied,” a statement read.
“Our club name is a phrase in common usage, references to which can be found in popular culture around the word. The phrase CU Next Tuesday has featured in song lyrics from Kesha and Britney Spears, as well as in popular television shows such as Sex and the City.”
The promoters said that the abbreviated form of the club’s name “has long since lost any misogynistic connotations in Ireland, where it is used liberally in all sorts of contexts”.
The promoters added that they have never had a single complaint from any patron about the name, concluding: ”Any suggestion that our club name is intentionally offensive to women is misguided and without foundation and we reject the suggestion in the strongest possible terms.”
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