From an Inside Higher Ed article titled “Overexposed?” comes this:
Diana Blaine, who lectures on feminist theory, recently linked her blog to an online photo album that has topless photos of her near a painting of a topless woman, and at “Burning Man,� an annual weeklong festival in Nevada where clothing is optional.
After a student who has made a habit of criticizing Blaine on his blog, “ Cardinal Martini,� linked to the photos, an NBC station in Los Angeles reported that the pictures are “causing concern,� bringing Blaine even more exposure.
Okay….
First off, USC (where Blaine teaches) has basically said that she hasn’t violated any of their policies, so they aren’t pursuing any action against her. And this is a good thing since these photos etc. (there are links in the article, if you’re curious) are on her Flickr account and her own web server and such.
Second, while I understand and basically support the feminist politics that Blaine is putting in play here, it personally strikes me as falling into the category of “too much information.” Or let me put it to you this way: you won’t be seeing any topless or otherwise exposed pics of me either here or on my unofficial blog anytime soon.
Third and perhaps most distrubring are the angry student(s) keeping a blog that seems directed at attacking Blaine. She seems to be taking it in stride, but if I had former/current students who seemed hell-bent on this sort of attack against me, I don’t think I’d be quite as passive about it.
I am one of the students in question, and while I am irritated by Doc Blaine’s position on USC’s faculty, I wouldn’t say I’m all that angry. In any event, I hope you take a look at our blog before you pass judgment on all this. You may end up disagreeing with us, but I hope you at least recognize that we have compiled a long list of criticisms of Diana Blaine that are unrelated to her internet photos. We had only one or two blog posts devoted to the photos, amongst several dozen criticizing her.
A more or less comprehensive post about all this is here: http://cardinalmartini.mu.nu/archives/175847.php
Cheers!
Actually, I have looked at your blog. And let’s just say that I’m glad I don’t have anything to do with this stuff, and it would appear for not being “angry” about it all, it sure seems like there’s a group of folks at the Cardinal Martini blog who seem pretty much out to “get” her, and also a group of folks who are a wee bit too interested in nudie shots.
But maybe y’all have time on your hands….
I’m not out to “get” her. I just wish she were more judicious in her pronouncements about the prevalence of rape on USC’s campus. She’s made it clear that she thinks anyone who does not subscribe to precisely her view on the subject is by definition in favor of rape. The fact is that as far as I’m concerned she is free in our country to say whatever she likes about rape or anything else. I hear she’s got an established literary agent helping her with her book — that’s fine with me. I wish her well in getting it published. I don’t, however, think she should be a faculty member at USC. She has neither the temperament nor the qualifications to teach at my school. She’s an ideologue, akin to Ann Coulter or Michael Moore. Those two are insistent in their beliefs, are loose with facts, and most obviously are concerned primarily with their own self-glorification. But neither one holds a teaching job at a major research university. And neither should Diana York Blaine. That’s my deal.
I don’t care about her breasts. I don’t have too much time on my hands. I just think that liberal arts colleges shouldn’t consist of a person using her privileged position as a supposed academic to push her own political agenda. Call me crazy, or call me idealistic, but I think the academy is about something better and higher and different than that.
Sorry for the late reply.