Professors and lecturers are powerful—they speak to bright young minds striving to change the world and can shape the way they see it. However, that doesn't automatically mean that every staff member on campus takes their role seriously.
A few days ago, Reddit user Smoosa_Champagne made a post on the platform, asking its users to help him understand his buddies' dissatisfaction with him.
The guy got so sick and tired of one particular academic's sexist comments toward the women in attendance that he started secretly recording the man and later submitted the footage to the university's committee.
It was a move he thought was just—until his friends learned what happened and began saying otherwise.
Ideally, the academic world should be free of ideology and personal bias
Image credits: LightFieldStudios / Envato (not the actual photo)
But as this student's experience shows, that's not always the case
Image credits: seventyfourimages / Envato (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Smoosa_Champagne
Gender stereotypes can have huge consequences for the careers and income levels of men and women, which can compound into substantial inequalities over the course of a lifespan
We managed to get in touch with the Redditor behind the post, and he told Bored Panda, "The university has a diverse culture overall. But even though the majority of staff are impartial and professional, some continue to retain outdated opinions and get away with acting inappropriately because students are afraid to speak up.
"Numerous students—women in particular—have talked about how they felt uncomfortable or rejected in some particular classes. But since this episode, I've noticed more people talking candidly about these problems, which is a positive development."
The student emphasized that Dr. R.'s teaching manner was really patronizing toward his female peers. "He hardly paid much attention to their responses and frequently suggesting that they lacked the mental capacity to comprehend difficult ideas.
"Many others thought that speaking up would not make a difference, therefore, they didn't bother. That's precisely why I decided to act," the Redditor reiterated.
Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)
According to the European Institute for Gender Equality, the birth bed for sexism is gender stereotypes, which aren't necessarily hostile or harmful in and of themselves.
Many professional realities have been shaped by the belief that women and men have complementary characteristics—for example, that men are individualistic and dominant, while women are caring and collaborative—and the professor seems to stick to this thinking.
However, typical masculine characteristics are frequently valued more highly than typical feminine characteristics, and this time sounds like it's no different.
In educational contexts, gender stereotyping causes female students to be seen as less talented than male students in all areas of science. For instance, in biology, male students are seen to excel even when their female classmates have higher grades.
Experimental studies reveal that an identical CV and application letter results in different perceived competence levels and job offers depending on whether the applicant is identified as John or Jennifer.
Imaginary differences in perceived skill have also been documented in the evaluation of creative endeavors, such as the design of a house, depending on whether it carried the name of a male or female architect.
Gender stereotypes therefore not only capture how we expect men and women to behave but also communicate how we think they should behave.
So, has the Redditor overstepped? Well, he didn't do anything. He merely documented what was already happening. So it's not his actions but the professor's that got the man fired. After all, the student wasn't involved in the university's decision. They did their own investigation and made their own conclusions.
"I hope that misogyny in academia will never be accepted ... Because of a professor's prejudice, no student should feel devalued or deterred from continuing their education," the Redditor added. "In order to stop this kind of behavior from happening again, I also hope the university implements stricter policies."
Most of the people who read his story said the guy did the right thing by exposing the professor
But some believe he went too far
