[lbo-talk] Sex Panic at SUNY

[Michael Dawson]

But students are the customers, and having sex with them is financially and
reputationally dangerous to the school, which employs you on pretty cushy
terms, among other things.  I despised Andrea Dworkin and her "all sex is
rape" jive.  But, to my eye, the question of prof-student get-downs is, from
the prof perspective, all about protecting your own nest and standing on
principle.  Some things you shouldn't risk.  Not least of those is messing
up the life of somebody you're trying to help.

________________________________________
From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org]
On Behalf Of joanna
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2005 8:59 AM
To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Sex Panic at SUNY

We weren't talking about sexual harrassment, we were talking about
consensual sex between grownups. There's a real issue as to whether
consensual sex can occur between "teachers" and "students"...but then
there's a question as to whether consensual sex can occur between any two
people related by a power relation. Dworkin's alleged definition of
intercourse as "rape" hinges on this perception.

Students and teachers at the college level are both adults and can make 
informed decisions about sex. I'm not saying sex between teachers/students
at the college level is not a problem, I'm just saying that the category of
"teacher" and "student" only partly define men and women, and that there are
circumstances in which their humanity and sexuality should rightfully trump
these other, insitutionally-defined categories. I also think it would be
wise to wait till class is over.

There are legal definitions of rape and harrassment, and these should hold
and apply whether you're a teacher, student, fireman, nurse, electrician,
etc. Outside of that, consensual acts between adults are just that.

I completely understand that sexual relations with students is considered to
be one of the perks of academic employment and are enjoyed as such by many.
That doesn't mean that sexual relations between students and teachers are
only about that.

Joanna

Michael Dawson wrote:

From: joanna

      
I understand about the power relations. I do. I'm

        
not saying it's not

      
an issue. I'm just not sure that it's as cut and

        
dry as you make it

      
out to be.

        
Agreed.  If you dont meet them at work or school,
where are you going to meet them?  There are so few
public spaces in the United States.  Of course, then
there is match.com....the Internet is about the only
public space left.

    

Pardon the pun, but tough titty, dude!  I disagree with Joanna.  It's
actually more cut and dried than Snit put it.  If you sexually harass a
student, you are just daring the student to sue the living shit out of the
school for failure to supervise.  It is a job condition, and a good one.

If you want to meet people to nail in academia, wait your turn, or nail your
co-workers like everybody else.

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