Academic seduction
Academic seduction is sometimes considered a type of sexual abuse, and refers to the phenomenon of teachers having sexual relations with their students. One survey, conducted with psychology students, reports that 10% had sexual interactions with their educators; in turn, 13% of educators reported sexual interaction with their students [1]. Some draw parallels with the phenomenas of incest, therapist abuse, or priest abuse.[citation needed]
While such relationships are illegal with under-age students, this is not the case in higher education. Most colleges/universities do not ban teacher/student relationships so long as the student is not currently attending a class taught by the teacher. Such relationships might not be seen as harmful in and of themselves provided the instructor does not misuse any power.[citation needed] However, in recent years, there has been controversy over such relationships, especially within the last decade and responses vary. Dzeich writes, "Physical intimacy with students is not now and never has ben acceptable behavior for academicians. It cannot be defended or explained away by evoking fantasies of devoted professors and sophisticated students being denied the right to "true love." Where power differentials exist, there can be no 'mutual consent.'" (Dzeich et al, 1990)
Psychology and behaviors
The phenomena has been attributed to the psychological projection of status and authority on the teacher by the student, and the teacher's relishing of such admiration. (Zalk, 1987) One example of such a relationship is that of Mary Kay LeTourneau with her male art student.
Relationships between students and teachers can be often quite intimate and intense as they share common passions and interests. Students are dependant on their teachers'approval for academic success, opportunities, and later career success. They will talk to their teachers about personal issues, such as problems at home, or with boyfriends/girlfriends. Teachers often relish the admiration they receive from their students, and they can grow accustomed to the power they have in the relationship. Such closeness can blur the professional boundaries and lead people--both school employee and student alike--to step over the line. [2]
Academic seduction in literature
- The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury, a British novel that later was a BBC television film.
- Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee, a novel about a South African literature professor whose career is ruined after he has an affair with a student.
- Oleanna, an American film and play by David Mamet, and starring William H. Macy and Debra Eisenstadt as a college professor and his student, respectively. The student claims that she is a victim of academic seduction and sexual harassment, the professor claims that the sexual contact never occurred. The film deals with the moral controversy of academic seduction as it never becomes clear which character is correct.
Increasingly a popular subject in pornography. [citation needed]
References
- Dziech, Billie Wright, Weiner, Linda. The Lecherous Professor: Sexual Harassment on Campus. Chicago Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1990.
- Zalk, Sue Rosenburg. "Men in the academy: a psychological profile of harassment." in Paludi, Michele A. ed. Ivory Power: Sexual Harassment On Campus. Albany, NY, State University of New York Press, 1987.