Freedom
oF
IdentIty?
Tenured professor
misgenders students.
Complaints follow.
Change may not.
By Lauren Lee
and Lilly Forsyth
The Daily Collegian
Formal complaints were filed against a
tenured Penn State professor last spring
after he reportedly misgendered a non-binary
graduate student, as well as a transgender au-
thor who was listed on his syllabus for a queer
theory class.
The English professor in question, Christo-
pher Reed, said in an interview that multiple re-
ports were made during the spring 2018 semester
and in the summer.
Reed said students asked if he could change a
reference to Jack Halberstam, an author who is
transgender, on the syllabus. Reed had included
Halberstam’s previous name, Judith.
That was one of the earlier instances of Reed
misgendering others, said students who were
enrolled in the course.
However, Reed said, the official complaints
“came to nothing.” Reed, who is openly gay himself
and specializes in queer theory, said he’s protected
by the principle of academic freedom — and can
therefore introduce alternative ideas into the
classroom.
It’s unclear whether Reed’s tenured status
impacted how the complaints were addressed.
However, in a post on his English department pro-
file page, Reed said he is a “scholar fortunate to be
protected by academic rank and job security.”
Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers said via
email she is “not in a position to release additional
information” regarding the complaints. After con-
sulting with the Title IX officer and the Affirmative
Action Office, Powers said it was in the “interest of
maintaining the confidentiality of the complainant
and the alleged offender in any case” to withhold
further details.
Mark Morrison, the head of the English Depart-
ment at Penn State, declined to comment on the
allegations.
The topic of identity and the use of pronouns
surfaced the first day of Reed’s queer theory
class last spring. After students voiced their
concerns, Reed said, he then engaged in an
“academic debate” surrounding identification
and how Halberstam self-identifies.
“The student who raised the particular
objection dropped the class,” Reed said.
Student View
A graduate student from the queer theory
class said Reed also misgendered an openly
non-binary student in the class. The gradu-
ate student, who spoke under the condition
of anonymity, also said this student consid-
ered dropping Reed’s class “very early on.”
The non-binary student preferred the
pronouns “they” and “them.” However,
Reed would refer to the non-binary students
as “she,” the graduate student said.
“[Reed] was very fond of making very
snide and sometimes hurtful remarks in his
feedback on people’s work,” the graduate
student said.
As the class progressed, more issues
arose. Reed said in the interview that he
experienced some backlash from others,
including students.
“There were all of these complaints and
semi-public demonstrations of wanting me
to change my ‘wicked ways,’” Reed said.
“That’s when I felt I had to put something
up on my webpage that would alert every-
body of what to expect [in class].”
In August, under his biography page
on the Department of English’s web-
site, Reed posted a link to a four-page
document. Reed stated he had a right
to “engage these issues as a fundamen-
tal matter of academic freedom.”
Academic Freedom at
Penn State
But what exactly is academic free-
dom at Penn State?
According to Penn State’s official poli-
cy website, academic freedom allows an
environment where
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LGBTQA Student
Resource Center
814-863-1248
Gender Equity Center
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and Psychological
Services 24/7 Crisis Hotline
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Vol. 119
, No. 30
Dec. 6-9, 2018
faculty
members
have “the right
to express their own
views and to hear the
views of others expressed...
while protecting and respecting
the rights of others to learn.”
Penn State has several policies spe-
cifically regarding gender identity. These policies
cite academic freedom, stating faculty members
can express themselves “free from interference or
‘A generalized debate’
The incidents between Reed and students in
obstruction.” But, there is no language within the
his class reflect a contentious discussion, on a na-
Academic Freedom Policy that mentions gender
tional scale, for how people choose to self-identify.
harassment.
Multiple requests for interviews and informa-
The graduate student said Reed’s offenses went
tion to understand the scope of the investigation
beyond misgendering.
into Reed’s conduct went unanswered.
“He really has a ray of pedagogical practices that
However, in general terms, Powers said similar
I would call abuses,” the graduate student said.
investigations include “notifying the alleged of-
In his extensive document, Reed also discusses
fender of a complaint being made and providing
what he considers to be the correct way people
an opportunity to respond to those allegations.”
should talk about their own gender pronouns.
Penn State provides policies surrounding the
Reed wrote that the only pronouns belonging to
topic of gender identity and harassment.
individuals are “I” and “me.”
As previously reported by The Daily Collegian,
“Second and third person pronouns are other
Penn State provides a service where students
people’s utterances,” Reed wrote in the document.
can request to change their gender identification,
In Reed’s opinion, those who prefer “they” and
including a map of gender-inclusive restrooms and
“them” pronouns are “kind of a euphemism.”
sexual orientation and/or name changes on official
“To demand people use a plural grammatical
documentation.
construction to refer to a singular entity is eccentric
Hilary Malatino, an assistant professor of wom-
and could be funny,” Reed said in the interview.
en’s, gender and sexuality studies and philosophy,
He said disregarding well-established grammati-
declined to comment on allegations leveled against
cal constructions makes it more about someone’s
Reed. However, Malatino offered her general per-
“authority” to correct a person, rather than the act
of misgendering itself.
spective on gender identification.
“I think it’s fundamentally unethical to refer to
Reed said the current climate of people correct-
people with the gendered pronouns that they don’t
ing pronouns is “actually a step backward in queer
identify with,” Malatino said.
theory.”
For many people who are transgender or non-
Generation Gap binary, misgendering them affects them in “many
ways,” Malatino said.
“I need them to respect that I come from a place “It’s one thing if someone does it unintentionally,
where we play with gender identity, and gay men
and gets corrected and makes a good faith effort to
have played with gender identity for longer than I never do it again,” Malatino said. “Misgendering
have been a gay man,” Reed said. “We’re not going
happens — it happens all the time. But I think if
to stop doing that, because in a lot of ways that there is resistance to dignify how somebody identi-
was culturally, aesthetically, socially and politically
fies that is recurrent and dogged, then that is a
important and useful.” form of profound disrespect.”
Tension in the queer theory class, Reed said,
When Malatino, who is transgender, first started
potentially stemmed from what he called a genera- teaching in the late 2000s as a graduate student,
tional conflict of “policing speech” tied to gender.
the topic of gender was “not a commonly held dis-
“Who is the younger generation to say that the cussion.” Throughout the years, she has seen the
older generation of gay activists is wrong to play
topic become “a generalized debate.”
with gender?” Reed asked rhetorically. “It’s a complex time to live through as somebody
The graduate student said Reed had a biased
who is trans and non-conforming, working with
attitude toward students, as cisgender people who students of those identities,” Malatino said.
were identified were not misgendered.
“It doesn’t really seem to be about playing with
To email reporters: lml5489@psu.edu and lnf5121@psu.edu.
gendered language,” the graduate student said. “It Follow them on Twitter at @lauren_llee and @lillyforsyth_.
seems to be much more about disrespecting the
lone [non-binary] student in the room.”
The student said Reed seemingly insulated
himself from administrative repercussions based on
academic freedom.
Another graduate student from the same queer
theory class, also speaking under anonymity, said
the class environment became “uncomfortable” as a
result of Reed’s behaviors.
“He misgendered trans people knowingly,” the Penn State policies
student said. “He was confronted by multiple people
on multiple occasions.” on gender:
The
Preferred
Name and Gender
Identity Policy:
Recognizes the need or
preference for the Penn State
community to self-assert a gender
other than their legal gender, as long as
gender assertion is not intended for avoiding
legal obligations or misrepresentation
The Sexual And/or Gender-Based
Harassment and Misconduct Policy:
Maintains an environment free of harassment and free
of discrimination against any person because of gender, age,
race, etc.
Discrimination and Harassment and Related
Inappropriate Conduct Policy:
Companion to the Gender-Based Harassment
Policy