The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

‘Male Feminist’ Professor Michael Kimmel Accused of Sexual Harassment

Posted on | August 6, 2018 | Comments Off on ‘Male Feminist’ Professor Michael Kimmel Accused of Sexual Harassment

 

Nothing is more predictable than a “male feminist” being a creep. Notice how the Chronicle of Higher Education buries the lead here:

A sociologist at Stony Brook University who was slated to receive a national award this month for his career?long contributions to gender equality will delay accepting the award for six months, in light of rumors he said were circulating about his professional behavior.
Michael Kimmel, a professor of sociology and gender studies at Stony Brook, said in a statement released on Wednesday that he wanted to give those who feel they have been mistreated by him time to file complaints with the American Sociological Association.
Kimmel, who founded Stony Brook’s Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities in 2013, had been announced as the 2018 recipient of the Jessie Bernard Award, which was to be given this month at the association’s annual meeting in Philadelphia. The award recognizes scholarly work over a person’s career “that has enlarged the horizons of sociology to encompass fully the role of women in society.”
“I have been informed that there are rumors circulating about my professional conduct that suggest I have behaved unethically.” Kimmel, who has been anonymously accused of sexual harassment by former students, has written several books including Guyland: the Perilous World Where Boys Become Men and Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era. On his website, he describes himself as “an activist for gender equality for more than 30 years.” . . .
In an email to The Chronicle on Wednesday in response to questions about his statement and anonymous accusations of sexual harassment, Kimmel wrote that he appreciated the association’s willingness to “extend the timeline for the vetting process.”
“I’ve spent my entire career advocating for gender equality, and believe I have been professional and respectful in my relationships with women,” he wrote. . . .

You have to go 14 paragraphs deep into this article before finally encountering the substance of the accusations against Kimmel:

A former graduate student who asked not to be identified, fearing retaliation, told The Chronicle that Kimmel suggested about six weeks into her graduate study, and then later in her career, that they sleep together. She said he complimented her on her appearance and told her that because of her looks, she’d have to work hard to prove to people that she wasn’t sleeping with someone to get where she was. “I think he thought he was being helpful,” she said.
Feeling her main worth was as a “pretty object,” who titillated other scholars, her confidence in her work plummeted and she “sabotaged” opportunities to publish, she said. She called it a “travesty” that he was receiving the Jessie Bernard award. Kimmel declined to comment on the specific allegations.
One female sociologist who has been a leader in the association but who asked to remain anonymous told The Chronicle that she had heard similar accusations from other female scholars about Kimmel “through the whisper network.” She said that “no one is comfortable coming forward and there’s not a lot our professional organization can do without a person willing to make a first?hand claim.”

You can read the whole thing (thanks to Philip Cohen on Twitter).

How shall we address this? There is no accusation, so far as we know, that Professor Kimmel was offering a quid pro quo to the anonymous graduate student. He merely “suggested . . . that they sleep together.” We may assume that she rejected this suggestion, and she does not claim that Professor Kimmel treated her badly as a consequence of this rejection.

There are also “similar accusations . . . through the whisper network,” but unless there is something worse than this, most people would not believe that Professor Kimmel is the Harvey Weinstein of academia.

Let’s talk about the concept of “sexual harassment” in general. Professor Kimmel is married to Fordham University Professor Amy Aronson, and if he was banging a graduate student, that would be adultery. However, feminism has no concept of sexual morality. Feminism endorses any kind of perverse and deviant sexual activity, so long as it’s consensual, and because their ideology is explicitly anti-marriage and anti-religion, feminists are scarcely in a position to accuse Professor Kimmel of violating the Seventh Commandment: “Sinner!”

The anonymous former graduate student doesn’t accuse Professor Kimmel of groping her against her will or anything like that. Unless the rumored “similar accusations” include non-consensual behavior, what he stands accused of is (a) commenting on the student’s good looks, and (b) saying that he’d be interested in having sex with her.

BREAKING NEWS: HETEROSEXUAL MAN
LIKES GOOD-LOOKING WOMEN!

Is it too much to expect people in academia to behave like grown-ups? If you’re a 23-year-old graduate student, and a professor makes a pass at you, can’t you just brush him off politely? “I’m flattered, Professor, but you’re a married man, and besides, I’m a feminist who hates all men, you disgusting heteropatriarchal oppressor.”

Far be it from me, however, to defend a “male feminist.” Nothing would make me happier than seeing Professor Kimmel’s reputation and career destroyed by a full-scale #MeToo witch-hunt. If he were to be bankrupted by lawsuits and sent to federal prison, I would celebrate his destruction. In fact, I’m half tempted to tip the FBI to my suspicion that Professor Kimmel is a dangerous sexual predator who has committed crimes so heinous that I would hesitate even to describe them in print. If the FBI did a quick check of his passport history and discovered he’s made trips to Thailand or Cambodia, I wouldn’t be surprised. But I digress . . .

My suspicions about Professor Kimmel are merely suspicions, however, based on the fact that 100% of “male feminists” are creeps.

Look: Guys want to get laid. This should not shock anyone. However, when a guy makes a point of ostentatiously declaring himself “an activist for gender equality,” we should be suspicious of his motives.

P.S.: I highly recommend Professor Daphne Patai’s Heterophobia: Sexual Harassment and the Future of Feminism as an analysis of this subject. Chapter 6 (pp. 129-167) offers an in-depth examination of the anti-heterosexual ideology of academic feminism.



 

Category: Education, Sex Trouble

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