Let me start by saying that I do not in any way believe that I am free from the influence of rape culture or that I cannot make mistakes. And, indeed, I welcome feedback on the title (and on my web presence generally). 3/15
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HOWEVER, over the last two years, the title has not been brought to my attention as a problem at all until *after* I criticized Halsall. I criticized Halsall for calling grad students by a slur referring to women's genitals. 4/15
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These students were advocating for antiracist work & for ISXX to address its endemic problems of sexual harassment. I also questioned whether his bullying of them might mean that his partner was the wrong board member to draft the sexual harassment policy we had called for. 5/15
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Since then, I was first harassed by a sock puppet account about the book title (one followed only by Halsall & his friends), then this claim was repeated in the FB group dedicated to mocking me and Dr. MRO, & now I've discovered that Halsall has been repeating it to his friends.
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The book in question is an examination of the relationship between nationalist politics and sexual politics, particularly rape culture, in early medieval England. Half of the book's chapters are dedicated to an analysis of rape culture and its effects on both men and women. 7/15
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The title, "Lie Back and Think of England: Sexuality, Race, and National Identity in Early Medieval English Literature," is intended to suggest the ties between contemporary and medieval nationalist rape culture. 8/15
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Again, I do not think I am immune from the effects of rape culture or its internalization, but I do not think rape is funny and have never wished to imply so. I study rape culture and take it very seriously. 9/15
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I have experienced rape culture and the blurring of consent lines myself in queer male spaces. It is a pervasive problem. 10/15
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Nonetheless, I do think that the timing of these attacks suggests what some feminists call DARVO--the reaction of those called out on wrong doing and bullying: Deny, Attack, And Reverse Victim and Offender. 11/15 https://dynamic.uoregon.edu/jjf/defineDARVO.html ……
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It is, furthermore, striking both that these accusations are being made by senior tenured medievalists about a junior scholar and that they are directed at a queer scholar. 12/15
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The implication that a queer man might think sexual assault is funny--& might not view consent as serious--aligns with a long history of homophobic depictions of queer men as sexual perverts and predators. 13/15
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I think that calling someone out on their perpetuation of rape culture is a legitimate and important exercise, however none of these people has addressed me directly. Halsall himself has me blocked and has been repeating these claims behind a locked account. 14/15
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The intent here seems to me not to be to correct my mistakes but to defame me, in order to draw attention away from the criticisms of Halsall's bullying that a WOC made yesterday. 15/15
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End of conversation
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