Students and managers behaving badly: An exploratory analysis of the vulnerability of feminist academics in anti-feminist, market-driven UK higher education

In this article, I draw upon a qualitative interview to offer an exploratory analysis of unacceptable male student conduct towards feminist academics. My informant encountered disrespect from anti-feminist male students, who subsequently maliciously accused her of disrespecting them. The men's complaint was accepted uncritically by the market-driven male Dean of Faculty in order to keep the customers happy. Given that anti-feminism makes feminist academics vulnerable to attack in market-driven UK higher education, I propose that feminists should start to campaign against unacceptable student conduct and subsequent victim-blaming by managers. One way in which we might start to do this is by deploying the interpretation 'contrapower sexual harassment' to conceptualise these experiences. Our campaign will not be universally welcomed in universities. Yet when have feminists been afraid of resistance?