At any rate, yesterday I sent out my usual invitation for volunteers and woke up today to a half-dozen emails in response: five were "Yes, I can volunteer for a shift!" but one was as follows:
"Julie,
"I am NOT interested in this at all.
"Please remove my name off of your list for functions that pertain to this issues."
I wrote back, thanking her/him for the message [my inner good-girl coming out here], and noting that I did not know how to remove a single person from the "everyone" email ist I used: did s/he know?
I'm especially concerned about this situation because we've had some weird discussion on our campus about the "everyone" emails. Some people, evidently, hate them and are causing enough noise for our college to send out a survey asking about the use of "everyone" emails.
When I completed my survey last week, I couldn't imagine why anyone would object to the "everyone" emails -- if the message doesn't apply to you, just delete it is what I think! I personally like getting them because communication at our college is SO TERRIBLE that the "everyone" emails at least give a person the chance to know something about what's going on.
Since I couldn't figure out why anyone would object to the "everyone" emails, I brought up the topic at our department end-of-the-semester meeting last Friday. Two of my colleagues - one a long-time faculty member and one new-ish - railed against the "everyone" emails! They "hate" them because they go to class and come back to find "tons" of messages in their inboxes. The information "never" pertains to them. They "hate" them!
I was stunned by their reaction at first, but they are two very lazy colleagues, so it seems as though that characteristic may apply here.
The point related to the homophobic response, though, and the thing that makes me concerned is that our intensely incompetent and arrogant IT director will probably lock-down the "everyone" email option (currently, anyone can send an "everyone" email, which is just fine I think in terms of communication freedom). This man has come in and *wrecked* our IT infrastructure (and hired folks who are terrible, terrible, terrible -- the purple email above was from an IT person, coincidentally).
Anyway, it's now summer, and I should let go of the problems at work -- but I'm teaching summer school, including an Intro to GLBT Studies course, so maybe this homophobia will be a "teachable moment" for me. We'll see.
4 comments:
I tend to agree that those annoyed by the original "everyone" e-mail should crawl back under their rocks.
The problem comes when some folks can't figure out how to respond to the sender, instead of responding to "everyone".
By the way, if you still have some spots open the week of June 22 (when my summer classes start) and I'll give extra-credit for volunteering. That may help a bit...
Up here, everyone emails are usually about power outages, smells, and other facilities goofs. There is an "annoucements" list, but I am not on it. Maybe I should fix that.
No idea what to do in your precarious situation.
...
But: Now I can vent. I assign a videomaking project at the end of my professional writing courses. First, I got one as a draft, shared with the class, about how students should join lacrosse but "watch out for the girl fans -- most players can only handle two at a time."
I had to explain that even though the girl member of the group thought it was funny, that didn't mean it wasn't sexist.
Not a week later, I get a rugby video. Apparently, rugby players get girls, while other dudes get tackled by girls.
Two problems, I say: the video is both sexist and heterosexist. They get the sexist part: it's not funny to be tackled by a girl.
After lots of stabbing in the dark about what heterosexist means (despite my circulating, on day one, an obviously ignored copy of the APA standards on the subject), I finally say: doesn't your ad rule out appealing to a rugby player who doesn't want the girls?
Awkward: "Yeah...."
Should it be ruling them out, if the goal is to get the best players to join the team.?
Defensive: "They're not our audience!"
Using my standard answer against me, they are. So, I say, you don't want them on the team?
Awkward: "You can't have everybody..."
...
Two days left to the semester, and only now this manifests? What the hell do I do with it?
I direct them to make changes that fix the video but don't fix the problem.
Patty, I appreciate your offer for your students: I'll keep you posted.
David, you're just experiencing the consequences of "heteronormativity." You might want to ask the guys *why* gay rugby players are "not our audience," but they won't be able to say because they're homophobic because they might not know the word (they think hetero is normal, remember?).
You'll just have to ask them to be *clear* that their video audience is "straight males" and be up-front about it. I bet you have them complete some kind of "audience profile" form, so they need to fill in "heterosexual" since that seems to be important to this group of rugby players.
You could point them to the Minneapolis Mayhem, which is a gay rugby team, part of a very big international gay rugby organization: http://www.mayhemrfc.com/mhrfc/index.php There are tons of gay teams out there, if that helps at all.
Good luck, my friend.
JKD:
Of course the problem is heteronormativity. I'm just more accustomed to facing it at the level that the APA addresses it at (in their guidelines on heterosexist bias), rather than in a faulty envisioning of the audience for the assignment in week 14.
This was way more broken, way later in the semester, than I am used to. In the end, I think I did these students no service, because all I could do would be too little, too late.
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