SHAM SEXUAL HARASSMENT TRAINING AT UC IRVINE

Professor Alexander McPherson, a biologist at UC Irvine, has refused to undergo mandatory sexual harassment training and has been relieved of duty without pay. To him, such training is a sham, a “naked political act by the state that offended [his] sensibilities, violated [his] rights as a tenured professor, impugned [his] character and cast a shadow of suspicion on [his] reputation and career.”

Which is absolutely true.

I know. I am a survivor of many such “training” sessions. All have been subtle or not-so-subtle variations on the prepubescent girl theme that “boys are bad but girls are nice.” All were spiced with lurid descriptions of the evils of “male power,” all described women as poor, sweet, innocent, helpless victims. All cited oodles of advocacy - as opposed to real - research to support their arguments. Each time, I felt the impulse to search high and low, under chairs and in closets to find the kind of “evil male” that the highly paid “instructors” were talking about – because they certainly were not talking about me, or about any man I know. Each time, I left feeling frankly violated.

Good on you, Professor McPherson! Let us seek out and encourage those who want to resist this kind of ideological brainwashing, achieve critical mass, and finally banish this monster! In the meanwhile, I wish you the best of luck.