This is the first episode in a series on the adjudication of harassment and bullying complaints pursuant to #MeToo-inspired conference codes of conduct. Heidi talks to Simona Sharoni, the professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at the center of the ‘lingerie elevator joke’ scandal that erupted at the 2018 International Studies Association conference. Prof. Sharoni gives her account of the incident, and explains why it was important for her to launch a formal harassment complaint in the wake of the alleged ‘joke.’

LinksProfessor Simona Sharoni on Twitter: @simonasharoni https://twitter.com/simonasharoni?lang=en

Conor Friedersdorf, “Is ‘Ladies Lingerie’ a Harmless Joke or Harassment?, The Atlantic, May 9, 2018.https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/05/is-this-old-lingerie-joke-harmless-or-harassment/559760/

Katherine Mangan, “Dispute Over ‘Lingerie’ Comment Persists, as Society Rejects Professor’s Appeal,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 14, 2018. https://www.chronicle.com/article/Dispute-Over-Lingerie-/245094

Ruth Marcus, ‘She called his elevator joke offensive. He called her complaint ‘frivolous.’ Who’s right?,” The Washington Post, May 3, 2018.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/she-called-his-elevator-joke-offensive-he-called-her-complaint-frivolous-whos-right/2018/05/03/43ba4084-4ee1-11e8-af46-b1d6dc0d9bfe_story.html?utm_term=.7ef0456094ed

Code of Conduct, International Studies Association, April 8, 2018.https://www.isanet.org/Portals/0/Documents/ISA/ISA%20Code%20of%20Conduct%200418.pdf