Today's guest blogger is Anonymous 2; Anonymous 2 describes her creepy encounter with one of Astronomy's most notorious sexual harassers. Her identity is protected.
In
a
room
that
was
a
little
too
dark
(but
there
were
little
lamps
with
incandescent
bulbs
on
to
shed
some
light)
With
the
door
a
little
too
closed
(but
not
completely
closed,
it
was
probably
set
at
something
like
~45
degrees)
The
conversation
wandered
a
little
too
far
(he
must
have
asked
how
things
were
going
in
general,
or
something
equally
innocuous)
He
asked
about
boy
troubles
(not
something
I
would
bring
up
–
just
ask
my
mother)
And
recommended
I
consider
men
that
have
“spent
a
little
more
time
in
the
oven,”
if
you
will
I
don’t
remember
how
I
got
out
of
there
(maybe
we
were
interrupted,
thankfully?)
I
left
thinking
what
the
hell
was
that
I
left
thinking
how
much
he
reminded
me
of
a
creepy
colleague
at
my
last
job
before
college
I
left
thinking
of
a
coworker
at
that
job
who
had
pulled
my 18‐year‐old
self
aside
and told
me
to
practice
shaking
my
finger
and
saying
“girlfriend,
I
don’t
think
so”
But
he
couldn’t
have
been
hitting
on
me
because
I’m
not
Pretty
enough
Thin
enough
Weak
enough
Dumb
enough
For
that,
right?
Right?
5 comments :
Jessica, you are absolutely right!
I think lack of proper education makes some people act inappropriately. However, we should be understanding of them, too, while we take proper measures to defend the innocent.
Don't you think so? I like to hear others views!
If these serial harassers are so "well known" within astronomy, why do I not know of even one? I am certain they are out there, but as a graduate student, I have heard no rumors, heard no names, and I don't understand. What if no one warns me about taking a postdoc with Professor Harasser? Does it fall upon my (male) thesis advisor to discover who the harassers are and warn me against them? What if he doesn't know? If he did, I am sure he would warn me against taking a job with Professor Harasser, but what if he knows as little as I? If no one names names, where do I find this information in order to guard myself against possibly horrible experiences? Or do I just have to take my chances?
I understand that publicly naming serial harassers can put their victims at risk, but what about the untold graduate students trying to move forth in their careers? No, it shouldn't have to fall to them to fix the problem, and yes, the problem is institutional and almost cultural in nature, and perhaps on a grander scale naming solves nothing or perhaps not, but shouldn't people have a chance to know whether they are taking a job that will put them straight in the path of a serial harasser?
In addition to my previous comment, as a man in sixties with two mature daughters and two young grand-daughters, I strongly, recommend to women, not to show weakness, and be assertive with people of harassment attitude. I think dressing properly and having a chaste life helps you greatly against these types of problems. We should educate our society about harassment. Many men might not know that their behavior might be too offensive to women. At least talking about this evil behaviors, can improve the situation. We Americans are very materialistic in our appearance and thoughts compared to most of other cultures. we should emphasize spirituality. Otherwise, these types of problems might become more serious. These were just a few of my beliefs, as a father. Thank you for having the opportunity to share my views!
Being caught in the dilemma of on the one hand wanting to adhere to "due process" for the sake of true long-term justice, and on the other hand landing up "protecting the perpetrators at the expense of their prey" is a very very real dilemma that we all have to cope with. That debate can and should rage in parallel, but does not preclude education, and I agree with jessica. Some of the perpetrators do not even realise that they are perpetrating anything - they seem to believe that they are just being true to their maleness....On the constructive side, is it possible to compile and/or build web-based training modules? I believe many of these are in operation in institutions in the USA...
As a father and grandfather, with two grown daughters and two granddaughters well spread in age, I agree with the fact that there is a problem. It is not a new problem, it is decades and even millennia old.
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