Professors looking to help define sexual misconduct

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This article was published 12/04/2022 (1432 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A pair of Canadian academics are currently touring the United States to promote their new book, which tracks the evolution of the #MeToo movement through multiple perspectives.

The book, “Defining Sexual Misconduct: Power, Media, and #MeToo,” represents five years of hard work, professors Christopher Schneider, of Brandon University, and Stacey Hannem, of Wilfrid Laurier University, told the Sun last week.

They were originally intrigued by the social upheaval that began in 2017, when a large number of women started speaking publicly about their abusers through social media platforms like Twitter.

“We started having deep, long conversations about how it is that accusations of sexual misconduct levied at one person can so effectively and swiftly tank their career, and in the case of [former U.S. president] Donald Trump, it literally made no difference,” Hannem said. “And so, we started writing about that.”

While Schneider and Hannem initially intended to complete a single research paper that covered “the politicization of sexual misconduct,” the pair quickly found that the topic was much more nuanced and required a deeper analysis.

Sitting at more than 200 pages, “Defining Sexual Misconduct” represents the couple’s efforts to help the public navigate these difficult discussions now that accusations of sexual impropriety, especially against the rich and powerful, are much more common in today’s media landscape.

“A lot of questions that we’ve gotten is, ‘what has happened?’, ‘where has MeToo lead us?’, ‘has it all been good?’, ‘has it all been bad?’, ‘how do we make sense of it?’” Schneider said. “And I think readers will be able to have some of those questions addressed in the concluding chapter where we discuss the pursuit of justice and what that might look like in the MeToo era.”

In terms of how the book came together, Schneider and Hannem insist the finalized volume represents a genuine 50-50 collaboration.

Not only did the pair share writing duties in equal measure, but their respective areas of expertise helped fill in some knowledge gaps that could have potentially stalled the overall writing process if only one of them decided to tackle the project solo.

Even though the couple inhabit a lot of the same academic circles, Hannem specializes in criminology and sexual violence, whereas Schneider’s research background focuses more heavily on media analysis.

Additionally, the authors were able to approach this complicated subject matter from their lived experiences as an adult man and woman, which they say provides a much more well-rounded reading experience.

“And that was really important because Stacey, as a woman, she would see things that I might not notice … and vice versa,” Schneider said.

“It was a real give-and-take collaboration … and that was unique in terms of bringing those two different lenses and perspectives into the work along with our intellectual contributions.”

In the leadup to the book’s May 7 release, Schneider and Hannem have already received some high-profile endorsements from the likes of sociologist Dorothy E. Smith, writer Susan Fowler (author of “Whistleblower: My Journey to Silicon valley and Fight for Justice at Uber”) and even actress Alyssa Milano.

Milano’s stamp of approval came as a major “shock” to the authors, since the actress’ activity on Twitter in October 2017 largely kick-started the modern #MeToo movement, eventually leading to the downfall of powerful figures like Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

“We were blown away by the endorsements and the early feedback on the book,” Schneider said. “Hopefully, these names will help people want to read our book, more than just my mother.”

Overall, Schneider and Hannem hope “Defining Sexual Misconduct” helps stimulate some important conversations, especially between people who remain skeptical of the #MeToo movement and the impact it is having on society.

Rather than approaching the subject as a black-and-white affair, the two-person writing team found through their research, there are many grey areas worthy of closer analysis, like when accusations of sexual misconduct filtered down from the court of public opinion into an actual court of law.

“There are some criticisms and some legitimate concerns about things like due process,” Hannem said. “And I think looking at both sides of that issue and helping people see both sides of that issue is one of the main goals of this book.”

More than anything, Schneider wanted to avoid any use of divisive rhetoric within the book itself, since that tone has already defined much of the #MeToo conversion online.

“Because, when you dismiss the movement outright for not going far enough or going too far, that’s not helpful and it’s not constructive,” he said. “This book will bring people together and will stimulate constructive and helpful conversations, and I think there’s something in there for everybody.”

Anyone interested in pre-ordering a copy of “Defining Sexual Misconduct: Power, Media, and #MeToo” can do so by visiting amazon.ca, chapters.indigo.ca or the official website for the University of Regina Press (uofrpress.ca).

Schneider and Hannem are also hoping to organize a promotional event in Brandon by the end of May.

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

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