Feminist Accused of Sexual Harassment

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by Jane Gallop

Duke University Press

Due/Published April 1997, 112 pages, paper

ISBN 082231925X

Sounds sensational, sounds . . . like a tabloid. Right. It's Jane Gallop--Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and author of many books, including The Daughter's Seduction and Thinking Through the Body-- telling the story of how and why she was charged with sexual harassment. And it's not that that story isn't interesting in itself--it is--but even more interesting are the issues that she raises around this situation. Jane talks about the erotics of pedagogy, a subject not often (or, apparently, easily) discussed. She questions the institutionalization of sexual harrassment policies and how they refer to an understanding of harassment that is far different than that which grew out of the women's movements of the 70s. Tied to that are reflections on how women's politics on college campuses have changed in the last two decades. The beauty of this small book is how Gallop weaves together the narrative of her own situation with this truly thought provoking discussion of issues in such a way that her style, at turns sensational, persuasive, or almost nostalgic, is always clear as a bell. In the end, she claims that accusations of harassment are taking aim at the inherent sexuality of professional and pedagogic activity rather than indicting discrimination based on gender--that antiharassment has been transformed into a campaign against sexuality itself. As for her own case . . . .