The Acting Class

I may have been the first journalist to approach Oxford University for comment on photographs of Matt Rattley appearing to wear giant prosthetic breasts in academic settings - images he has posted online himself. Why? This is one of the world's leading universities FFS. Speaking as a woman, as well as a journalist, these images raise questions for me. Clearly, I cannot establish someone’s motives from photographs, and I am not claiming to know his. But these are the questions these images raise for me: - Is there a sexual or fetish element to this presentation? - Has the university considered whether staff or students could experience it as sexualised, uncomfortable or intimidating? - What standards apply to sexualised presentation in academic settings? - Do students and staff feel free to raise concerns, given the power imbalance between a lecturer and students? - Have any complaints been made, and if so, how were they handled? We do not need to know someone’s private motives to ask about the effects of their conduct at work. These strike me as entirely reasonable questions about a university’s responsibilities to its students and staff - and therefore matters of public interest. Yet I haven’t seen them examined in any mainstream reporting. Why? _______ P.S. If you’re a student or member of staff with information or concerns, my inbox is open. I’ll treat messages in confidence [email protected]