Margaret Mead Japan China Religie en seks Moral panics Seks en robots De seksuele ontwikkeling van jongeren Seksualisering Leeftijdverschillen Geweld en misbruik Consent Sexting Prostitutie PornografieIncididunt nisi non nisi incididunt velit cillum magna commodo proident officia enim.
Ron ROBERTS[Vanuit een Britse achtergrond geschreven. ]
"In the US, 63 per cent of higher education institutions are in the private sector; not so the UK, where until the latter days of the twentieth century a system of free, fully-funded public higher education, replete with grants for students, functioned well for those who successfully negotiated the rituals of A-levels to enter the hallowed halls of academia."(5)
Inmiddels wordt het ook daar steeds meer als in de VS. Dat wordt hier onderzocht. Als ook een onderwerp dat er op het eerste gezicht niets mee te maken heeft: sekswerk door studenten.
"Both students and institutions now sell their wares on the open market and position themselves as commodities for sale. That is, operating from the same premise, both sell “pleasurable”, “fake” experiences – one sexual and relational, the other educational. That sexual satisfaction and student satisfaction have become market bedfellows should come as no surprise when one considers how students’ presence in the world of sex work is driven by the same forces which have led to the privatisation and corporatisation of higher education. (...) This entangled, though taboo, relationship between higher education and the sex industry mediated through the financial colonisation of subjectivity means that it is pertinent to speak of the sexual economy of higher education." [mijn nadruk] (6)
[Uit de dankbetuigingen blijkt dat de auteur geen vriend is van het kapitalisme en de huidige universiteiten. Dat siert hem :-)]
Met het neoliberale beleid en het marktdenken van Thatcher werden de Britse universiteiten kapitalistische ondernemingen en werden studenten consumenten die daar onderwijs 'kochten' en in hun toekomst 'investeerden'. De collegegelden stegen, beurzen werden afgeschaft, studenten moesten alles lenen, 'excellente universiteiten' mochten zelfs nog meer geld vragen. etc.
"In this warped view education is construed as conferring no benefit beyond the individual person who has paid for it. The self-evident absurdity of this proposition should be obvious to anybody who has ever consulted a doctor, nurse, dentist or lawyer to name but a few of the professions which depend on university training." [mijn nadruk] (16)
Op de universiteiten werden allerlei managementtechnieken losgelaten.
"By the time the latter had entered the fray the conversion of universities from seats of learning into profit-making enterprises was complete. The RAE mutated into the Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2014 while the TQA was exhumed and recast as the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) in 2017, reframing university education as something akin to an Olympic sport in which successful institutions could be “awarded” Gold, Silver or Bronze ratings." [mijn nadruk] (16)
"Under this system, viable research is that which attracts the attentions of academic entrepreneurs and corporate sponsors. As Naomi Klein (2010) noted in No Logo, resistance to this market dominance of the campus has been minimal. In my own discipline of psychology “brain research, forensic psychology and behaviour genetics” are pre-selected for favourable ratings while investigations in the social arena are out of favour. Thus, the “psychology of political protest” and research directed towards the misbehaviour of political elites would be scored badly."(25)
"The once prevailing view that study and learning was of intrinsic value has been replaced by one in which its value is instrumentalised and costed. Within this framework the corporate mission reconfigures the role of students. In this pedagogical prison, thinking, learning, creating and performing serve only to produce graduate jobs or corporate profit. “Student outcomes” is the new mantra, both within and outside the university. Thinking for oneself and understanding the nature of the society we live in are reduced to externalities in this model." [mijn nadruk] (26)
"In this environment, the management of higher education has become obsessed by quantity not quality, with the university on a seemingly unstoppable conveyor belt to intellectual stagnation."(27)
"Some disciplines have borne the brunt of the corporate assault more than others. Research by the Universities and College Union (see Bailey and Freedman, 2011) indicates that social science subjects have been particularly hard hit, with all public funding for arts, humanities and social science subjects scrapped."(30)
"In our political desires to resurrect and reclaim the university in a future free from the clutches of the monster, we must be vigilant against the lures of a pre-neoliberal nostalgia. The academy has long been a home for privilege – of class, gender and race. They “were not admirable institutions” (Evans, 2004, p.3). To save the university from the present we must take great care in how we look back." [mijn nadruk] (33)
[Precies. Sentimenteel terug willen naar de 'ivoren torens' van vroeger met die klassegebonden conservatieve elitaire verhoudingen is ook niet verstandig. ]
"The Canadian scholar and cultural critic Henry Giroux (2014, p.79) lamented: “All too frequently positions of academic authority have been awarded to opportunistic careerists who remain completely untroubled by the burdens of complicated thought and the fight for ethical and political responsibility.”"(36)
Middelmatigheid wordt niet afgestraft maar leidt tot succes binnen de huidige universitaire bureaucratie.
"Contrary to what must be the expectations of many readers it is unarguable that many of those occupying elevated academic positions at UK universities have very poor publication records. The truth is that these positions and academic titles are frequently given as rewards to those whose area of expertise consists of shuffling bits of paper around, attending a few committee meetings and demonstrating a willingness never to question any decision that comes down from on high, no matter how dubious."(39)
"Warped by the transforming power of corporate desire, a lust for learning has given way to a lust for money, power, market share and social control. Given this, ideas of what a university is are changing and with this gaps are opening-up between the present reality and the decades (if not centuries) old social fantasy of university as a democratic home to society’s dispassionate truth seekers."(44)
"To continue to consider today’s modern university as a standard bearer of enlightenment values, while possessing full knowledge of its neo-liberal workings requires something akin to hypnotism." [mijn nadruk] (46)
"In the not so distant past, students were commonly perceived to see out their study years in semi-permanent states of debauchery and revelry, with few cares or responsibilities. This romanticised perception is nowadays rarely articulated, at odds with the high stress, high debt, high-pressure environment that many find themselves in." [mijn nadruk] (49)
"Although this tale will be largely confined to how events have unfolded in the United Kingdom, it mustn’t be forgotten that student participation in the sex industry has been documented across several continents – North America, Australasia, southeast Asia and throughout Europe (Roberts, Jones and Sanders, 2013; see also Lantz, 2004; Sedgman, 2004; Weitzer, 2000; UCA News, 1999). The common factor behind this geographic spread is the globalisation of higher education markets, itself one aspect of contemporary capitalism’s drive to “liberalise” all economic activity." [mijn nadruk] (51)
De studieschulden groeiden, in dezelfde periode groeide de deelname van studenten in allerlei vormen van sekswerk. Een feit dat door de overheid en andere instanties voor educatie graag genegeerd en doodgezwegen wordt.
"Five clear types of support were suggested: prevention, health promotion (including counselling and support groups), financial support, career support and research. What is striking about this list is that as far as universities and the NUS in England are concerned, they have done little or nothing with respect to any of the items. Only around one in five universities for example have specific sexual health clinics for students while outside the sector, NHS sexual health services have faced draconian cuts." [mijn nadruk] (66)
"The main reasons given by the women were the excessive cost of higher education, the lack of available loans and the ability to combine stripping work with the educational demands they faced."(69)
"Thus, by 2012, several distinct studies had identified the push factors behind students’ presence in the sex markets as the cost of higher education, financial adversity and the flexible work conditions available compared to standard labour market jobs."(69)
Nader onderzoek werd gedwarsboomd door ethische commissies van universiteiten.
"Six per cent indicated that they worked in either stripping, erotic dancing (lap/table/pole/topless dancing) or escorting/prostitution, the majority of whom said that they had confided in others about the nature of their work. Confirming the middle-class incursion into sex work, social class background appeared to be unrelated to participation in sex work as did the type of university attended (Traditional v Post 1992). However, sex workers reported being in more debt, and were more likely to have been in debt prior to the commencement of their studies."(71)
De resultaten van een aantal grote onderzoeken:
"Analysis suggested students’ motivations could be reduced to two main factors – financial/practical considerations (for example, funding higher education, funding lifestyle, coverage of basic living expenses, avoiding debt, reducing money owed at the end of study, convenience afforded by working hours) and reasons intrinsic to the work itself (for example, an explicit desire to work in adult entertainment/sex work, anticipation of enjoying the work, sexual pleasure, curiosity). Positive elements of the work were given as good money, flexible hours, working conditions, freedom from employment regulations, sexual pleasure and good clients. Of the negative aspects, secrecy was the most frequently mentioned – others included unpredictable earnings, fear of violence, negative judgements from friends or family, lack of employment rights and a changing view of sex. Over three quarters reported feeling safe and only 8 per cent that they rarely or never felt safe. Most of those working did so for less than 5 hours a week, while just over half had been involved for under 6 months. There was considerable variation in the amounts of money earned – over half made less than £300/month while around one in seven earned over £1,000. As expected, those engaged in sex work spent significantly more hours on personal study – an average of over 4 hours more each week.
The major reasons given for leaving sex work could be grouped into several categories; stigma, boredom, the effect on relationships, prioritising education and moving area." [mijn nadruk] (77-78)
"Sanders (2008) observed that contrary to prevailing myths, client-sex worker relationships can be characterised by friendship, trust, emotional engagement, respect and intimacy and that “it’s not always a bad thing” (p.206)."(84)
"With sex work routinely stigmatised and the people involved in it pathologised (Burnes, Long and Schept, 2012), the question as to how this pervading stigma affects the ability of academics to carry out the necessary research with students comes to the fore. It is also the type of issue which places academic freedom near the top of the list of the zombie corporate university’s list of targets. In several places in this book I have alluded to difficulties faced when researching student sex work. The next chapter will examine the nature of these in some depth as well as the motives of those institutional players who are responsible for the obstruction." [mijn nadruk] (86)
De Bologna declaratie voor universiteiten - in 1999 getekend - was een richtlijn voor het garanderen van de academische vrijheid.
"The document outlines principles of academic freedom, institutional autonomy and governance that have been consigned to the history book by UK vice-chancellors and managers. The indecent haste with which these guiding principles have been discarded and forgotten ought itself to be a subject for study in the academy."(87)
Dit hoofdstuk gaat over de gevolgen van het loslaten van die academische vrijheid.
"The institutional policy framework towards staff and student involvement in sex work is, as we saw in the last chapter, punitive. For example, in Cusick et al.’s study of the regulatory landscape in UK higher education, disciplinary regulations or codes of conduct which might reference misconduct or bringing an institution into disrepute were referred to by 56 institutions. This strongly suggests a widespread institutional perspective which sees participation in sex work as inherently negative and potentially damaging (by association) to institutions of higher education. This goes some way towards explaining why there is such a paucity of academic research on an issue which is barely out of the news and which potentially involves and affects large numbers of people." [mijn nadruk] (88)
Onderzoek naar sekswerk door studenten wordt op verschillende manieren geblokkeerd, door chantage - wijzen op de gevolgen voor iemands loopbaan bijvoorbeeld - en via de ethische commissies van universiteiten die elk gepland onderzoek moeten goedkeuren maar aan het handje lopen van de managers .
"As we have already discussed the potential use of institutionalised disciplinary policies against student sex workers, the following discussion deals with the obstruction of research and the desire to protect corporate image which underlies it."(92)
"The primary tactic favoured by UK universities is to directly threaten academics that their careers will be adversely affected if they go ahead and do research – an operational philosophy of “publish and perish”! The fall-back option if this fails operates through the influence on local ethics committees. We’ll consider these separately." [mijn nadruk] (93)
"In the halcyon days before the ideas of Milton Friedman invaded the campus, academic freedom and protection of research participants were regarded as core principles. These seem to have been jettisoned in favour of a new one – to protect a university from reputational harm, whether real or imagined. The legal implications of this new credo will be examined later in this chapter but it is worth emphasising here that it has taken root despite it being a clear violation of Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) guidelines which stress the necessity for ethics committees to be “free from bias and undue influence from the institution in which they are located” (ESRC, 2010, p.10).29 One wonders if prospective committee members are informed of the ESRC’s position on this." [mijn nadruk] (106)
"This infantilising of young adults at a time when the job market for them is precarious, and they are increasingly compelled to be economically dependent on others (often their families) should be envisaged as a facet of the neo-liberal project. Rather than questioning this nonsense, psychologists have been happy to play their usual role of ideologically subservient lapdog and theorise how adolescence now lasts until aged 25 (see Wallis, 2013). By such means the precariousness of the neo-liberal environment is reimagined as the vulnerable psychological state of students – a process of political projection Furedi (2016) refers to as the “weaponisation of emotion”." [mijn nadruk] (107)
Vervolgens wordt hier gekeken naar de motieven van degenen die zo graag al dat onderzoek blokkeren. Het meeste heeft te maken met de indrukken naar butien toe, de reputatie, etc etc.
"What stands out in the press office’s response is the direction in which concern is directed, which is not towards student welfare but towards publicity and the believed detrimental effect on recruitment that the research would have."(112)
"Challenging neo-liberal orthodoxy requires a deconstruction of the images and representations mass-produced in its defence and for the superficial morality which props them up to be exposed."(116)
"Effectively, interpretation of the law functions to protect private corporations and institutions so that, as is true of so much else in contemporary society, structures, processes and procedures are designed or deformed to preserve power, privilege and concentrated wealth. At face value, this would appear to protect institutions against potential revelations of any kind of scandalous practice – including financial malfeasance. In the circumstances, it is not surprising that UK academics believe that the levels of academic freedom they enjoy are among the poorest in Europe (UCU, 2017)." [mijn nadruk] (122)
[Niet zo'n geweldig hoofdstuk, nogal rommelig, vind ik. Roberts begint er te veel bij te halen.]
"The cultivation of the post-industrial landscape has led to a spectacular dependence not just on human emotional labour but on forms of psychological governance which seek to mould, configure, influence and control the cognitive and affective contours of human life."(126)
[Er wordt met andere woorden hard gewerkt aan gedragsveranderingen die moeten maken dat mensen neoliberale ideeën accepteren. De psychologie - door Roberts de handlanger van het kapitalisme genoemd - werkt daar aan mee.]
"The growth in mental health problems in young people in recent years is better understood, not as an index of personal failure but as a consequence of the brutal economic circumstances which have seen cuts in investment, training and job opportunities for young people, low wages, exorbitant student loans and tuition fees, cuts to mental health and welfare services, as well as a savage primary and secondary school system where endemic testing has become the norm. To these multiple failures to invest in young people can be added the normalisation of exploitative advertising and marketing which uses the bodies and images of young people to sell them dreams of unattainable lifestyles, property and wealth. The higher education industry is a net contributor to this conveyor belt of impossible aspirations." [mijn nadruk] (129)
"A familiarity with Szasz’s concerns regarding the corporate therapeutic state is a useful preparation for understanding our present predicament. Foucault’s concerns with the biopolitics of disciplinary regimes is another."(131)
"What this suggests is that considerable room still exists on the left for a rethinking of the purpose of the state alongside the age-old problematic of the relationship between individual freedoms and state structures/political governance. To envisage neo-liberalism as the only solution to this dilemma demonstrates nothing but a lack of imagination. One result of the left’s consistent failure to articulate alternatives for social transformation outside of the remit of state power has been that ideas critical of it have been easily assimilated under the rubric of neo-liberalism." [mijn nadruk] (131)
"Psychology has been a willing accomplice in the privatisation of stress (Fisher, 2009, 2017) supplementing the neo-liberal destruction of the welfare state with an enforced diet of positive thinking, psychotherapy, counselling, CBT and mindfulness. Organised political action and how to cultivate it surprisingly failed to appear on its inventory of panaceas to life’s troubles." [mijn nadruk] (135)
"If a child subsequently fails to succeed educationally, this is then explained away as the results of poor parental choice, lack of motivation or lack of ability (or indeed all three) on the part of the student. The underlying policy preoccupation, as Gillies and Edwards (2017, p112) tell us, is but, “The latest incarnation of a long-standing conviction held by the rich and powerful – specifically, that there must be something inherently wrong with the minds, bodies and souls of those failing to thrive in an unfettered free market economy.”
In the cruel fantasy of the right, inequality is a lifestyle choice, as is the suffering which goes with it. The market must remain, and reign, supreme, helped along by an ingrained psychological subservience which accepts it as natural or pre-ordained." [mijn nadruk] (140)
"The neo-liberal mood remains steadfast in university life, not solely because of government enforcement but because of willing accomplices on site and the absence of any concerted viable resistance. Questions need to be asked as to why the resistance has been so feeble."(159)
"If academics, managers and unions are so thoroughly ensnared in the maintenance of the neo-liberal order in universities, perhaps it is time to fundamentally rethink what the purpose of higher education is and what its role is in relation to the struggle to free our societies from regimes of domination and injustice. In this we must necessarily consider the tangled relationships between higher education, social class and the labour movement."(163)
[Roberts verliest zich hier in eindeloos veel vage woorden en het aanhalen van eindeloos veel andere auteurs. ]
"The task of the intellectual is to reveal and critique knowledge about the world, to interrogate our role in making it and to resist attempts, whether from individuals, institutions, corporations, governments or ideologies, to conceal undesirable truths."(171)
"In the media’s manufacture of scientific investigation, the unpleasant truths (often commercial interest and power) behind the spectacle are not for consumption. Much of what masquerades as serious discussion of research in the media is little more than clickbait – a spectacle to seize the attention of passing readers and expose them to the accompanying advertising."(179)
"If the place of intellectual activity is to perennially question the world, to interrogate its history and introduce us to new perspectives, there is no reason to suppose that an organised political party of any persuasion will value such questioning of its own policies, platforms and processes for long. Loyalty and subservience to authority have always had a more fundamental role in party organisation and planning than intellectual enquiry."(182)
"If on the contrary we accept as a working proposition the idea that intellectual thought can survive and flourish independent of mainstream institutional control then we can more readily appreciate Illich’s (2002) contention that society needs to be “deschooled”."(185)