A celebrated female professor at New York University has been found responsible for sexually harassing a male former graduate, prompting a host of leading feminists to spring to her defense.
Avital Ronell, a world-renowned professor of German and comparative literature, described by a colleague as “one of the very few philosopher-stars of this world,” was suspended by NYU in the spring, at the end of an 11-month investigation.
Her former student, Nimrod Reitman, now 34, accused the 66-year-old of physical and verbal harassment, detailing how she kissed and touched him repeatedly, slept in his bed with him, demanded he lie in her bed, held his hand, texted, emailed and called him constantly, and refused to work with him if he did not reciprocate.
In emails, she referred to him as “my most adored one,” “Sweet cuddly Baby,” “cock-er spaniel,” and “my astounding and beautiful Nimrod.”
Mr Reitman is gay and is now married to a man; Ms Ronell is a lesbian.
Well, sexual harassment is sexual harassment isn’t it?
Or are we in this world where only men, given that power of the patriarchy, can harass?
The university suspended her for the next academic year, leading a group of scholars from around the world, including influential feminists such as Judith Butler, to send a letter to NYU in defence of Ms Ronell.
They described Mr Reitman as “the individual who has waged this malicious campaign against her,” in a letter that has been compared to the support shown to prominent men accused of harassment and assault as part of the #MeToo movement.
“We testify to the grace, the keen wit, and the intellectual commitment of Professor Ronell and ask that she be accorded the dignity rightly deserved by someone of her international standing and reputation,” they wrote.
Oh, I bet.
“…she kissed and touched him repeatedly, slept in his bed with him, demanded he lie in her bed, held his hand, texted, emailed and called him constantly, and refused to work with him if he did not reciprocate.
In emails, she referred to him as “my most adored one,” “Sweet cuddly Baby,” “cock-er spaniel,” and “my astounding and beautiful Nimrod.”
Mr Reitman is gay…”
Was gay before, or is now gay…?
“…florid and campy communications arising from our common academic backgrounds and sensibilities…”
Really?!?
Almost as good as Jennifer Aniston in Horrible Bosses.
Such naivete, Tim. Don’t you know that the current rules say that only men can sexually harass, just like only whites can be racist?
Compare to all the saga and rhetoric over Steven Galloway at UBC and the claims against him, a leter supporting following due process and innocent until procen otherwise was criticised and signatories were told they should be shamed to have sided with him resulting in a number of them withdrawing their support
http://www.ubcaccountable.com/open-letter/steven-galloway-ubc/
Oh it’s about power and dominance in both committing SH and in defending people accused of SH.
Who knew!?
Could we possible invent something that ensures these power interests don’t get to decide whether someone is guilty or innocent.
Perhaps an independent court and examination of the evidence, accusation and defence.
Why has no one invented such a thing!?
For a fleeting moment, I read UBC as UBS, prompting me to revisit the astonishing UBS website:
http://cynicalbastards.com/ubs/
Goose meet sauce.
At least the university did the right thing.
Interesting to see such open admissions of closing ranks, exactly like the men are alleged to do. I’m impressed by their chutzpah.
“Mr Reitman is gay …. Ms Ronell is a lesbian.”
One of these statements doesn’t appear to be entirely true.
Ducky McDuckface
i enjoyed that writing, leaving that out there.
But won’t it be interesting if Avital’s defence is:
i’m lesbian therefore none of this is sexual, #checkmate haters.
I think it’s an error to call her a lesbian. From what I’ve read she just describes herself as “queer”.
In most circles they’d be synonymous, but some feminists and po-mo academics will define as “queer” even if they’re boringly straight. It provides some extra oppressed victim identity points without them actually having to do anything.
It will be impossible to survive in the 21st century if you keep relying on logic and principles.
They have been replaced by twitter
So having “grace, keen wit, and intellectual commitment” is enough for women to think you should get off a sexual harassment charge? I must start practising my Wildean quips.
Oh dear oh dear oh dear. “I’m not a straight woman, I just like having sex with men”.
Kendall ” will define as “queer” even if they’re boringly straight”
Is it time we had a new letter for Women who are sexually attracted to homosexual men?
So the poof could be persuaded to pump the professor’s one-eyed pig?
So the poof could be persuaded to pump the professor’s one-eyed pig?
Maybe not: somewhere I saw her defending her actions on the grounds that she and he were both Jewish, or interested in Israel, or the like. So pigs is out. 🙂
I can’t get past the fact that this guy’s parents named him Nimrod.
Nimrod is a good biblical name (Genesis), so might be used as a birth-name by devout Christians or Jews. It’s not very popular, because he only gets a few lines, and wasn’t a very good character. Still, it sounds like a stage-name Rocco might be familiar with.
Sounds to me more like a company (with fluorescent orange vans and operatives called Ron and Stan) who’ll unblock your drain for £399.99 + VAT.
Perhaps with a hyphen for those slow on the uptake: NIM-ROD.
I knew I’d heard “nimrod” as an insult (and I was aware of the Old Testament derivation, and ‘mighty hunter’.)
Of course, it turns out to be an Elmer Fudd reference from a Buggs cartoon.
It’s interesting. I’ve long wondered how Mohammedan Rongun, faced with a charge of racially aggravated common assault, would fare if his defence was, “yeah, I did call him an ugly coon, but only because he annoyed me and it was the quickest and easiest way to upset him. Inuvah words, occifer, I weren’t racialistly motivated, I just wanted to aggravate the kaffir, oops, or wotevah”.