Is it ever ok for a lecturer to oggle his curvy students and admit it?

Terence Kealey, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Buckingham has recently been in the media for an article he worte in the Times Higher Education. The article was apparantly intended as a tounge in cheek explanation of the "seven deadly sins of academia". I some what doubt when Mr Kealey wrote his article he expected it to be covered by the BBC news, The F word, The Times and The Telegraph. So why exactly has Mr kealey's article receieved so much unwanted attention?

Mr kealey's article descirbed sexy and "curvy" students as "a perk" of the job. He also goes on to explain that lectures ought to memorise these images in order "to spice up your sex, nightly, with the wife". Ok, so the Mr Kealey finds his young students attractive and is prepared to admit that. His unfortunate wife however must be less than pleased.

So far you might think that Mr Kealey has made some un wise but honest comments about the position lecturers are placed in. However, he has also assumed that all of his fellow lecturers reading the article must of course be straight men. Perhaps in this case he has stumbled across an excellent point. Even in the Univeristy of Sheffield the ratio of male to female lecturers is low and of the eight Pro Vice chancellors, Vice Chancellor, Chancellor and Registrar none what so ever are female.

However for me it is that Mr kealey goes onto suggest that these female students are attempting to actively seduce male lecturers that irks the most. As ever we find the age old excuse that women want to be viewed in a sexual way and therefore it is their fault if they find themselves, heckled, oggled, abused or even raped.

Yes Mr Kealey has no idea of the signifincance of his words; he has fallen into an age old trap. Rape crisis centres and rape support teams are constantly trying to challenge the notion that a woman in a short skirt is 'asking for it'. And no I don't think in any way that Mr kealey is disucussing rape nor that he thinks rape is acceptable. However he has unwittingly alluded to the view that women want to be sexually harrassed, and that indeed if they are preyed up on sexually, then it's their own fault for dressing in a provocative way. Mr Kealey's protrayal of male lecturers who are powerless to resist the sexual come ons of young female students has done nothing if not prove that sexual objetification still exsists, even in a prestigous University.

I will be asking Sheffield University's Vice Chancellor for his views on the issue and will notify you of them soon.

View Mr Kealey's comments yourself here http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=408135&c=2

Feel free to discuss them . What do you think? harmless fun that has been blown out of proportion, or a serious insight into sexism at university?