Students taking part in the University of St Andrews' annual May Dip have accused agency and freelance photographers of targeting women and publishing images of them in swimwear without consent. The ritual, which involves undergraduates running into the North Sea at dawn for good luck in exams, has become a focus for photographers who camp out on the East Sands dunes to capture images, mostly of female students.
One student, Anna, said seeing her photo in an online spread by the Scotsman left her in tears. 'It ruined my night,' she said. 'I’m quite insecure about my appearance. I was thinking: how do I get rid of this? How do I make sure no one else sees this?' The Scotsman removed the image after she complained, but the photo also appeared in the Daily Mail and the Sun.
Olivia, another student, said she saw a photographer setting up a tent on the beach from 9pm the night before. 'They know what they’re doing, they know exactly who they’re picking out,' she said. The university warns students in advance that photographers may attend, but the event takes place on a public beach where photography is unrestricted.
A spokesperson for the university said: 'There are, and always have been, sections of the media that seek to sexualise and objectify for commercial gain the young women who attend this event.' They added that the university abhors the practice but noted it is 'a symptom of a much wider societal malaise.'
Reader comments on the photos are often objectifying. One comment on the Daily Mail's post read: 'The 4 in the first picture are fire. Most blokes would pile in.' Anna said: 'To have comments on your body just feels really repulsive. We’re just girls on the beach in our swimsuits.'
