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Discussion on question by UhHuhOkSure: Male classmates rank female students according to physical appearance

Discussion on question by UhHuhOkSure…

Imported from a comment discussion on https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/102698/male-classmates-rank-female-students-according-to-physical-appearance
2735d ago – CaffeineAddiction
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cazc_941
Jan 24, 2018 18:20
@LateralTerminal I haven't done anything wrong, don't apologize for me
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CaffeineAddiction
Jan 30, 2018 10:48
sex·u·al ha·rass·ment
noun
harassment (typically of a woman) in a workplace, or other professional or social situation, involving the making of unwanted sexual advances or obscene remarks.

Purely from an Objective stanpoint ... your classmates rating other classmates based on looks is not "sexual harassment" as so many have claimed it to be. It may be rude and/or hurtful, but can not be considered "sexual harassment" any more than it could be considered "racist" or "hate speech".

That being said, this type of behavior is not un-common in the Engineering field with CS being netoriously wo…
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Stian Yttervik
Jan 24, 2018 15:32
@Dmitry Yes. And your suggestion seems to be to not be satisfied with her not being a victim, you would like her to become a crusader for justice in the world. I am saying that's not necessary. When the oxygen masks pop down in the airplane you should put your own mask on first. Save yourself first, then save others. You seem to think that it is reasonable for us to expect a victim to also bear the burden of changing society. It is not. It is our job, her job is to stop being a victim. Which is hard enough.
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EldritchWarlord
Jan 24, 2018 23:08
@ElizabethHenning Are you saying that the decline in the percentage of computer science workers being women since 1990 is the result of the work becoming more technical?
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Federico Poloni
Jan 24, 2018 15:32
I suggest you ask this on Interpersonal Skills instead; it looks like you'll get better advice there.
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xLeitix
Jan 24, 2018 15:32
It depends a bit how you want to deal with this - here you get more the "official" answer, which is probably to report harassment to the university. If you do not wish to take such drastic steps, you may receive more helpful answers if you post this question to IPS (interpersonal.stackexchange.com).
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Stian Yttervik
Jan 24, 2018 15:32
@Dmitry yes, it is the only thing that actually stops it within a reasonable time frame. You don't have to become a bully, you just have to show them that you are not the easiest target around. It is like running from a bear, you don't have to be fast, just faster than the other guy. Certainly through concentrated effort bullies can be stopped from bullying, but that usually takes so much effort and time that it is basically only useful for future victims - which is also important. If OP wants it to stop NOW, then fighting back is required.
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Pharap
Jan 26, 2018 21:55
I have to say, I've never encountered any males doing this and I'm pretty sure over here it would be considered very strange. The only time I've heard of such things is from American media, so I'm wondering if this is a cultural thing or age-related.
EldritchWarlord
Jan 25, 2018 14:21
@ElizabethHenning In the early days of computing there was an even lower percentage of women in CS than there is now. Repeating myself again that percentage peaked in 1990, it grew since the personal computer and video game console were popularized.
insidesin
Jan 25, 2018 00:22
@JorgePerez It's not sexual harassment. There's a scary amount of people on the internet that think any form of visual bullying is considered sexual harassment (and only when it happens to women). It's really scary.
insidesin
Jan 25, 2018 00:22
I would hate to be sexually harassed in an environment where there are several reports of sexual harassment for mediocre things such as this.
insidesin
Jan 25, 2018 00:21
@Jorg
aparente001
Jan 24, 2018 23:46
Sorry it took me so many words to explain that part. Now I will look at the next thing you wrote, give me a moment.
Najib Idrissi
Jan 24, 2018 15:32
@xLeitix It is not "drastic" to report sexual harassment. Please do not discourage people from reporting sexual harassment by using such words.
J...
Jan 24, 2018 15:32
Some guys can be like dogs, and this is an aggression. Just like with a dog, the best way to correct this behaviour is to immediately strike back - you have to let them know that they've just done something bad and that it won't be tolerated. If you let it slide it just gives them confidence that they're in control. Being assertive doesn't come naturally to everyone but it's a skill that is worth learning. Jerks exist, it sucks but it's true. Being able to stand up for yourself is a valuable skill.
Dawn
Jan 24, 2018 15:32
Stories like this make the rates of women in STEM fields unsurprising!
sgf
Jan 24, 2018 15:32
@NajibIdrissi Of course accusing someone of murder is drastic. It's also perfectly justified if you witnessed it. The appropriatenss of an action doesn't determine its drasticity. (E.g., it's perfectly coherent to say "I believe that drastic action is called for here.")
EldritchWarlord
Jan 24, 2018 15:32
@Dawn I don't know about that. Women as a percentage of the computer science workforce peaked in 1990 (34% according to the US Census), and as far as I know this sort of behavior was just as if not more prevalent in the '80s. One could correlate the declining percentage to the rise of the politically correct culture that would call the sort of banter OP describes as "concerning" or "problematic". It's perhaps naive to assume causation but a case could be made. I doubt (as many comments seem to assume) that OP's male peers have ill intent, they're making jokes in poor taste.