Would you view me as a victim or a survivor? Would you even believe me?
Snowraven Books author Kelly J. Baker, author of GRACE PERIOD: A MEMOIR IN PIECES (Snowraven Books 2017) and SEXISM ED: ESSAYS ON GENDER AND LABOR IN ACADEMIA (Snowraven Books 2018), is also the editor of the monthly magazine WOMEN IN HIGHER EDUCATION (WIHE.com).
This month, in her editor’s column, she wrote an extraordinary piece on abuse by men, starting with her biological father and moving on to men in the academy.
For as long as I can remember, men and fear were inseparable. I knew to be afraid of men. Fear could save me, unless it didn’t. I’ve always been afraid of men.
She lists a litany of harassers, abusers, and worse that she had to face during her career in higher education.
And yet, this feels like only the tip of the iceberg, the only stories I can share because they are the only ones I am ready to face. But, I can also feel the torrent underneath, all the #MeToo moments I can’t articulate yet.
Go read the article. And then, read SEXISM ED, the book about why this kind of abuse happens, and the things we might be able to do to make it stop.