Story 1

      At a social event, a colleague who had previously shown an express interest, but was never reciprocated, brought his hand up my thigh while grinning (to illustrate his joking manner, I presume...). Although I was uncomfortable and surprised, seeing that he was a colleague that I work with on a weekly basis, I felt the pressure to save his face and most importantly, our work relation by not outright rejecting him in public and by saying "you naughty boy," guiding his hand away, yet with a smile, which I somewhat regret today. However, I remember at the moment I was mostly concerned with the dilemma of how to get out of that awkward situation without hurting his pride...     

Story 2

      Once one of my students liked me on a gay dating-app. It was really weird because i couldn't really figure out the purpose. The app is kind of a mix between a dating app and a community app and it is pretty common to friend up with people you just know but are not sexually interested in. Liking though usually means sexual interest, but i figure maybe she didn't know that. I don't really know whether to text her and confront it or to just ignore it? 

Story 3

      I've experienced several flirtatious situations with students since beginning to teach, situations that have not been appropriate and have left me feeling disrespected. For example, during an ordinary class I was monitoring the students as they did their group work. A hand went up at the back of the room, the hand of a male student who had, since I began teaching him in the previous semester, repeatedly made me feel uncomfortable. There had been obvious staring, pointing and chatter with his peers as I tried to teach, which I did my best to ignore. At the Christmas party a couple of months earlier, he had grabbed my face with two hands and told me I was "sexy", an event that I again brushed off and tried to ignore. This was due to the blurry context of the annual party where staff and students party together, even though it made me feel extremely uncomfortable. However, when the student then proceeded to call me "sexy" during this class as I helped him with his task, I felt utterly shocked and disrespected. I told him not to speak to me that way, but the distress I felt in the moments following the comment hindered my ability to be direct and firm. The event slid by without consequence. On reflection, the incident reminded me of a time when, during my first semester of teaching, a student wrote that I was "good eye candy" in the evaluation. Being so new to the job, I did not tell anybody, but as I get more experienced I realise that something needs to change, and that this change is not only my responsibility.     

Story 4

      Jeg underviste engang et hold, hvor der var en klike af fem meget højrøstede, dominerende studerende, som var intimiderende overfor de andre studerende, og skulle konstant afprøve min autoritet ved at stille spørgsmålstegn ved praktisk talt alt jeg fremlagde i undervisningen. Det sidstnævnte var egentlig ikke et problem for mig, men da det udviklede sig til noget der lignede seksuel chikane, kan jeg huske, at jeg ikke længere havde lyst til at gå på arbejde, og synes, at det var meget hårdt at undervise (selvom det er noget, at jeg normalt nyder og sætter ære i). Det er svært at sætte ord på de præcise hændelser og handlinger, som individuelt og i sig selv måske var ubetydelige, men akkumuleret havde en effekt, og hvor ytringer og handlinger havde det formål at demonstrere overlegenhed ved underkue andre. F.eks. at en af dem ustandseligt insisterede på, at stå meget fysisk tæt, tårne over mig, eller ligefrem berøre mig med hans krop, så jeg følte at min personlige sfære var krænket, og at jeg konsekvent enten skulle bede den studerende om at flytte sig eller fysisk undvige dem bare for at forlade lokalet. Jeg husker, at jeg forsøgte at fange blikket af andre studerende, for at forsikre mig selv, at det ikke bare var mig, der synes, at det var upassende – og jeg fik både empatiske og indifferente blikke.

Story 5

      Jeg bebrejder mig selv for den situation, jeg satte mig selv i. Jeg var meget flirtende med en af mine undervisere, og inviterede ham til drinks på en bar, da jeg synes, det var fedt at hænge ud med en professor. Så jeg burde ikke være overrasket over at han lagde an mig, men jeg ønskede ikke at gå hele vejen, jeg ville bare have hans opmærksomhed.

Story 6

      In our Friday bar there was an older master student who always came to hang out with the first year female students. He would stay sober himself but offer whatever girl he decided on a lot of drinks and when she was really drunk he would try to convince to go home with him or maybe just kiss him or something. I’ve heard one story about someone who was assaulted by him, but I don’t know if it is true. Regardless, I’ve definitely seen young students get caught in his whole thing and it is just sometimes so obvious that they don’t feel comfortable with his behaviour. I am not really sure he knows that he is being offensive and aggressive though. He is generally a nice guy, maybe he just thinks it is part of the culture?

Story 7

      When i started on my supplementary courses, we were put in new random study groups. We were four in my group and we had a pretty good time together. One night we had been doing some work and had dinner together. I lived in the other end of the city and I had to walk home, so i decided to go a little early. One of the guys in the group said he wanted to go home too and we left together. I knew we were not living that far from each other so it seemed natural to walk home together, but when we came to the road where I had to turn and he had to continue, he kept following me all the way to my door. When we got to the door, I said goodbye and see you later, but he kept talking and wanted to come inside with me. I told him i was tired and it had been a long night. Truth was I was starting to feel really uncomfortable with the situation, the conversation was getting more and more personal for his part, and I was trying not to engage. Eventually I just said goodnight and went in. He stayed outside of my apartment for a little while until he went home. After that things got really awkward in the group. We had to write a group exam that semester, and it was just so weird and stressful. I wish there was a way we could have split up.

Story 8

      I remember there was a student who I found to be very diligent and perceptive in class but somewhat insecure, and at a Christmas party I felt sorry for him as he was sitting alone for some time. I continuously asked him to dance with me, and he seemed both embarrassed and reluctant. Finally, I jokingly told him: “Oh, you know I’ve always had a thing for you.” MeToo has made me reflect on my own authoritative position as an instructor and question my past behavior, whether it was inappropriate and offensive, which I don’t think I would have done otherwise.

Story 9

      After having read the other entries and reading up on the ideas guiding this project, I have become increasingly worried for the state of the university. I agree that sexual harassment, and harassment in general, is something that should be combated, but not by means of posing such problems in an ideological framework. I hope your research is guided by a search for genuine interest in how to improve male/female work relations, and not by trying to impose postmodern doctrines of a "suppressing patriarchy" or "identity politics" on the campus. With that said, it is clear to me that some people have experienced real harassment and these people should be given tools to combat this. Especially in the case of teacher/student relationships gone astray. However, it is unclear to me what the university can do without encroaching on individual rights (if they decide to combat harassment through legislation) or without destroying the chummy dynamic between students and teachers that, in my estimation, is unique for Aarhus University. Furthermore, I think it is important to make a clear distinction between episodes of harassment and unfortunate encounters of a romantic, flirtatious, or even sexual nature. The former is, in my opinion, distinguished from the latter by looking at the situation in which it took place, and determine whether the behavior is a regular occurrence or not. As an example, I will share my own experience. I have had a fellow student put her hand on my knee. She expressed that she had feelings for me and that she wanted to kiss me. I did not feel comfortable as I did not feel the same way about her. Can this be interpreted as harassment? Definitely if it had occurred in a classroom setting, and especially if it had happened repeatedly without my consent. However, a hand on the knee at a Christmas Party, is not necessarily an occurrence of sexual harassment. It can clearly be considered an act which is not within the confines of a person's boundaries, and as such, it can be an offensive experience, but this does not make it harassment. How is the person to know that this is not within another person's boundaries, if the latter has not explicitly stated so? We can agree that it might be disrespectful of the former to assume as much, but I would not characterize it as an act of harassment, unless the person touching the other does not stop doing so after being told. In sum, I am cautiousness about fielding optimism about your project as I do not know what ideas guide your, arguably noble, aspirations. However, I think the debate is necessary and I hope that you will include voices that might not necessarily agree, as to nuance the debate.