Upset by male classmates openly comparing female students according to physical appearance

Question

I'm a female student studying computer science (CS). Some of the male CS students have given me a physical ranking compared to other female CS students, and it has me really upset, but I don’t know what to do about it.

One of the students in particular enjoys telling me when he finds another girl in the vicinity more attractive than me. For example, a girl friend of mine told me I looked pretty today; and the one male student then jumped in and said I wasn’t as beautiful as the actress on the TV show we were watching. Another time, an attractive girl walked in to the computer lab, and he said: “And you thought you were the hottest girl in the lab!”

He’s not the only one. When we are in other settings (not male-heavy, CS classes), I often hear that I now have “competition” since there are other pretty girls.

I’m not sure what to do. I am friends with some of these men (or so I thought) and have committed to working on software projects with them that I can’t back out of. In addition, the school is very small so I can’t avoid them.

What do I say? How do I explain that I’m very upset by this, and not because I’m jealous of the other women? The men I’ve told have said not to worry because they think I'm pretty – they don’t seem to get it. I’m not sure I’m explaining it right.

Please help. I am starting to cry during class.

Answer 1

You don't say where you're going to school but if it's here in the US, I would report the problem to the university and demand they do whatever is necessary to fix it. Title IX requires them to provide an inclusive environment free of sexual harassment. If you are unsatisfied by their response, I would report the school to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. You'll find additional helpful advice here at equalrights.org.

Added: Several comments express concern that reporting the harassment might result in retaliation. But it's worth noting that retaliation for filing a harassment complaint is also against the law and cause for a new complaint. The school has to do whatever it takes to fix this, even if means expelling the perpetrators. It is not sufficient for them to claim they did the best they could.

Still more: Having conducted some other disciplinary actions, even if not any that were exactly like the one described here, I would expect the result of complaining to the university is that the Title IX conduct officer will call the students to a meeting that might go something like this: You start by asking the students if they know why they're there. After the usual squirmy they-can't-think-of-anything denials, you describe their offensive behavior and ask if the reason they can't remember any of this is because they think it's such completely ordinary behavior. You point out that in a workplace, it would get them fired and might subject the company to a lawsuit and an expensive settlement. You explain that university has an obligation under Title IX to maintain an inclusive environment free of sexual harassment.

You then ask, "Do you think you should be allowed to stay at the university?" Typically, the students' lives flash before their eyes as they realize the seriousness of the stakes and they decide they will never do this again. There are lots of ways to make this even more, ahem, memorable, e.g., by asking if they have a backup career in mind if this computer science thing doesn't work out or by making them wait a few extra days to hear the disposition of their case (especially if you expect to let them off lightly). It may seem a little like pulling the wings off flies, but trust me, the problem behavior will end, hopefully for the entire rest of their lives, in which case they will have learned something far more valuable than yet another algorithm.

Answer 2

If there is a local Women in Computing or Women in Science and Engineering group you may be able to get face-to-face support and advice.

Failing that, I suggest joining Systers. Even if you get suggestions you find helpful here, it may be a better forum for discussion with others who have handled similar problems.

I don't have direct experience because women were taken for granted in computing in the late 1960's and early 1970's, when I was a young woman. By the time it became a "Girls keep out" field, I was far too senior for immature males to risk harassing me.

Telling them how upset you are may be counter-productive. Some boys, not men, feel threatened by intelligent, competent women and want to make them uncomfortable and even try to push them out of the field. It is a specialized form of bullying. The students who are doing this are not your friends. Treat them as formal colleagues when you have a shared project, and try to avoid social contacts with them. Look for the ones who keep quiet or even seem uncomfortable when inappropriate remarks are being made. They are the ones who are more likely to be worthy of your friendship.

---

Some of the comments have suggested that the behavior may be due to extreme social cluelessness, rather than intentional demeaning of women. Even if you think that is the case, you are neither their mother nor their elementary school teacher. You do not have any responsibility for teaching them basic etiquette, no matter how much they need it. You can, if you feel so inclined, attempt to explain the unacceptable nature of their behavior. On the other hand, you can still just work with them on a formal basis when necessary, and pick friends from among those students who do not participate in the objectionable behavior.

Answer 3

First of all, acknowledge for yourself that what you're going through is 100% not OK, and you have every right to be upset and looking for a fix ASAP. I start saying this because very often, with any sort of bullying/harassment, people will say "you're overreacting" or "wow, it's not such a big deal, come on", but in fact they are completely wrong. It's unfortunate how many people underestimate the impacts of "little" bullying/harassment events. So don't be afraid to fight for a solution.

Secondly, in a situation of bullying/harassment, either the perpetrators are aware that they're doing it (and keep doing it on pure evil) or, by lack of social awareness, simply don't realize that they're doing what they're doing. This does NOT make much a difference on how bad the situation is, but does make a difference on how hard it might be to solve it. And from your description it seems to me (an outsider that isn't really there to see everything, though), that it is the second case, i.e., those guys are completely unaware of how bad what they're doing is. In fact, it might even be a very weird, convoluted and absurd attempt of flirting (inappropriate, regardless), guessing from the kind of phrases they're saying.

What do I say? How do I explain that I’m very upset by this, and not because I’m jealous of the other women? The men I’ve told have said not to worry because they think I'm pretty – they don’t seem to get it. I’m not sure I’m explaining it right.

Indeed, they don’t seem to get it, which is unfortunate... My suggestion:

Listen, [person's name], this has to stop. It doesn't matter how attractive you think I am. ANY mention, direct or indirect, of my attractiveness, is bothering me for real; it is harassment, it is not appropriate, this is not a place for this, and I am serious, this has to stop, and I am about to escalate this to the university.

Be firm and assertive. Hopefully they will be shocked with the reality of the situation and won't ever do it again. You might want to say this separately to each one of them, and repeatedly if necessary. And actually, feel free to be angry about it as well, you have my full support. Note the high amount of commas I put in the sentence; feel free to raise your voice after each one. Your situation is not to be treated lightly.

And you don't even have to wait to see if it will work, proceed to escalate the situation anyway, and seek help from the places/groups suggested by Nicole Hamilton and Patricia Shanahan.

Good luck!

Answer 4

I’m not sure what to do. I am friends with some of these men (or so I thought) and have committed to working on software projects with them that I can’t back out of. What do I say?

You could try something along the lines of:

• "You do know that a remark like that would probably get you fired in the workplace, right?"

Hopefully that would turn the tone of the conversation much more serious. Then you could add:

• "Maybe now would be a good time to start practicing acting like a professional."

If something like that doesn't get the message across, you could consider reporting the problem to your professor, if you think you'd have an advocate. If it still doesn't get resolved, go to the dean, or seek out whatever support structures exist at your university, as others have mentioned in other answers here.

One other thing I would advise: Each time you have a confrontation like this, write down the date, time, location, and what was said (what they said, along with how you responded). This way, if this does escalate to a formal harassment case, you're not relying on vague memories to recall what happened.

Answer 5

I had a situation comparable, but instead of my classmates saying I was the most favorable looking, they ranked the chance of all the girls to succeed the bachelor on time.

What I explained the guys that I saw as my friends, is that these girls were also my friends and that I don't like to be compared to them. I don't like to be compared to anyone especially on basis of something irrelevant as my gender. I would make this very clear. Use an example if you can, so if the guys are part of any minority, tell them how the would feel if you compare them with all the other in this minority in the class. They will understand it better then.

This is something you will have to say multiple times. For some reason it is often seen as normal to compare different girls to each other in computer science (or probably any minority in any study. I guess guys also have this problem in women-heavy studies). Distance yourself from people that don't understand that this is very annoying. Remind yourself that a lot of people just never have been in a situation where they were the minority, so they just don't know any better. It's quite stupid that they don't understand, but it's probably mostly stupidity and most of them are not trying to hurt you on purpose. If any of them are and they don't listen to you at all, go to a teacher you trust.

Answer 6

@Nicole Hamilton's answer is unreservedly the correct one. If you're in the U.S., make use of your Title IX coordinator and file a complaint.

Let me add some further thoughts on that. Frankly, the cascade of comments here that using the official channel for this are "too drastic" or that you should participate in this abuse on an ongoing basis, are absolutely appalling. Neither is there any need for you to spend the rest of your academic time and energy trying to "educate" a legion of Neanderthals around you.

Strategically speaking, it may be useful to consider the poker strategy I know of as going "over the top" or "dropping the hammer". In the face of a large number of repeated minor aggressions, responding with similar low-level aggressions is not beneficial (particularly if you're outnumbered by aggressors). Dealing with each one in the series on an equitable level is going to wear you down. A better option is to find the opportunity for an asymmetric response in terms that are favorable to you, and to communicate a message that cannot be shrugged off or taken as ambiguous.

Moreover, as Dan Romik points out in a comment: "I was a department chair at a major US university, and people here need to understand that filing a title IX complaint isn’t really as drastic of a measure as they think, at least in the context of the immature behavior described in the question. It simply sets in motion a process of having the harassment investigated and responded to in a civil, fairly efficient way by trained professionals. The harassers will be invited for a chat with a department chair or other university official, then receive a written memo advising them of university policies and cautioning them to cease the offending behavior. If they are sensible and heed the warning, no further action is likely to be taken, all will be well and everyone can get on with their lives."

So in conclusion, you don't deserve to have to take this on alone, in the face of a large number of abusers. You deserve to have friends, allies and a support system to give you at least equal leverage on your side. The institutional system for the Title IX coordinator is exactly designed to give you this support, and you should feel entirely justified in using it. If having other students go with you at the same time makes you more comfortable, then by all means do that as well.

Answer 7

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience. You don't mention which country you're in; Nicole Hamilton's answer gives great US-specific advice; this is intended to answer the question from a UK perspective.

Given the situation you describe, I would strongly recommend making a formal complaint. If you search Google for "report sexual harrassment" and limit the results to sites ending in ac.uk, you will see the reporting process for many universities.

However, if you don't feel up to that, then here in the UK (where this is also recognised as a major problem) many universities and departments are now signed up to the Athena SWAN charter which covers (among other things) the provision of a supportive working environment for female students. If your university or department is signed up to the charter you will have an Athena SWAN committee and a university-defined pathway to contacting them; they should be able to give you support and advice on how to proceed.

Answer 8

As anyone in any CS program knows, for some reason, this field of study tends to attract people with low social awareness and low social intelligence. I know some might think it's a bad stereotype of us, but there's much truth to it. Rates of autism are higher than in other fields, and in the words of my not-so-tactful TA, "Everyone in this major is at least somewhere on the spectrum".

There's no doubt that what they're doing is intolerable and unacceptable, and I'm sure you'll get much good insight from users on this site as to how to proceed. My only point is that it might help you to know that these guys are likely completely oblivious that they're being harrasing/abusive because of low social intelligence. They might even think that by doing this they're being social, and winning your friendship/affection.

Speak to them frankly, and ask them what they think they're accomplishing by saying these things. Ask them why they say it - answers might surprise you. Then enlighten them with how wrong their actions are. If they comprehend that it affects you but nevertheless think it's ok/continue to do it, involve the higher ups in your department. Just a warning if you do this, the department will be relentless against these guys, so do it after all attempts at communication fail

Hope the best for you

Answer 9

The men I’ve told have said not to worry because they think I'm pretty – they don’t seem to get it.

A small disclaimer before everyone jumps in: some of what you are experiencing is harassment (particularly the guy who "enjoys telling me when he finds another girl in the vicinity more attractive than me"). This is something you should consider reacting to a way or another - there are very good answers already.

Now, a reality check. I am a male and used to be a student in my '20s. I did look at girls and did compare one to another. We even mentioned this between us. It was all kind and everything, but still.

We were not very good at woman-man interactions. We made mistakes. We were laughed at or we upset others. Retrospectively looking at the younger me I am sometimes shameful (with some "oh god why?" situations as well).

This is to say that some men, when they are 20-30, are not the most mature people on earth (recently the age of adolescence was raised to 24). Some of the things they do may be dumb but possibly not "harmful" (for a lack of a better word). They also may not realize that this is hurting you.

My advice: talk with the one who seem to have the most optimal mix of empathy, brains and eloquence and tell him to help you. If you asked this to me at that time, I would have understood and explained to my dumb friends that they behave like sheep. The ones you would like to be around would have understood. I would even say that you would have helped us to realize that some were true douchebags, worth kicking out of our circle of friends.

Again: some of the guys you describe are assholes and even someone who is hormone driven as I was should have been there to explain him that he should fuck off (and by explain I mean explain in a way he understands). My answer is not trying to say "you are over the top, men are men", or "this is normal". No. I am just trying to show that what you perceive can be different from their perception, and that may just need to be correctly told what to do.

Answer 10

I think there is a lot of great advice here on how to deal with the harassment situation itself, but I have a feeling there is one aspect of your question everybody seems to be forgetting: you have committed yourself to work on joint projects with some of these people, any any kind of reaction might put your academic success on those projects at risk or at least postpone your academic progress

What they are doing is not okay and not acceptable, and you have the right to make it stop. Let me shortly summarize some of the good reactions on how to deal with this harassment from the other answers:

• Get support and surround yourself with understanding people (posting here is a good start, but also talking to your close friends, family, support groups).

• Tell the people in question, firmly and clearly that their behavior is not acceptable, neither by social standards nor by your personal judgment. Tell them that it is bothering you, even more so in a University environment where you all come to learn.

  You might or might not mention that you will escalate the issue to the appropriate services - I don't think it's your duty to explain the consequences of their negative actions and should be enough to state how bothered you are and how inappropriate their behavior is.

• Escalate the problem by talking to the appropriate services (these might depend on the country and the University organization, and several answers go into detail of it for several different settings).

  There will likely be a service provided through the University, student support center or something similar, and even if there is nothing in place (not sure if my Croatian university had anything like that), find the appropriate channels to escalate it to the University level.

• Don't back off if somebody tells you you are overreacting. If you are having second thoughts about whether you are able to proceed, go back to your support, friends and family to get a gentle reminder that what they were doing is not okay.

However, any of these actions except the first one are likely to generate a response and there is no guarantee that it will be a good one. In the ideal world, as soon as you escalate the situation to the proper services, they should take steps to help you out (or rather, remove them!) from the situation in which harassment occurs. In reality, you might be somewhere where the services are not good, not well in place and this kind of things are still typically swept under the rug, and any course of action might take time to fully implement and be in full effect. So, if any of them try to retaliate by sabotaging your participation in group projects, and you either see or suspect that they are not treating you equally or like a full member of the team, here are some suggestions to protect yourself:

• Document everything. Keep a diary mentioning specific dates and names of the team activities (especially document anything I suggest be done through e-mail but due to circumstance, you end up doing in person).
• If you feel like they are keeping you from contributing by not assigning you a fair share or work, write an e-mail to your project team asking about the division of tasks. Say that you are capable and willing of doing more than you were assigned.
• Keep track of your own contributions (code, research, etc). If you have a feeling they are trying to ignore your contributions, this will be your proof you have done the work.
• Keep track of any inappropriate conversations or exchanges (about how they are behaving towards you in shared projects).
• If it seems like somebody from the team is preventing you from collaborating within your team, contact the professor in charge of the class (sooner rather than later) with an e-mail explaining, briefly, that you are eager and willing to contribute but your teammates are not giving you a chance, and you would like a chance to demonstrate your abilities like everybody else. If asked for clarifications, will have everything documented and ready to show.

I don't want to come off as insensitive for my reply focused on the academic side of things rather than your actual problem of harassment, but I have a feeling like taking a first step with situations like this can often be quite scary, especially if dealing with it might effect other areas of your life, e.g. your academic success. So if you have a plan to minimize this negative effect, (even if it does require an unfair amount of extra work), hopefully it would give you enough courage to deal with the problem at hand actively.

Answer 11

I would like to add to the already good answers that there is a middle way between taking on the responsibility all by yourself to make these guys think and stop their rude and harmful behaviour and making an official complaint to an authority.

Do you know someone in an authority position but whose opinion will also be respected on the basis of their social position? Maybe a PhD student, or a higher year student or a young lecturer? Someone who could sit down with these guys and point out to them they are being jerks, they are embarrassing themselves, and those around them and not cool at all. Maybe include that that particular kind of behaviour could lead to sanctions if reported.

For example, you could take a stepped approach. First you tell them firmly and clearly their behaviour is unacceptable. You could try to make them empathize: what if one of them had a girlfriend, how would they now feel if the rest of the class would be making jokes about their relationship and discuss if other guys would be better boyfriends?

Then you recruit other females, and case the guys fail to apologize and stop being douche bags, together you complain to a lecturer or TA and ask that person to step in. The lecturer or TA now not only feels a moral obligation to do something but will also be motivated to 'keep the peace'.

Lots of luck, I really feel for you. My fellow students were all well behaved but I did once tell off a group of 12-year-olds for cat calling after me when I was at university. They were genuinely surprised: they didn't think they were doing something inappropriate.

Answer 12

First of all, follow the good advice in other answers. This is not okay, and "boys will be boys" stopped being anything but enabling of harassment a long time back, its not acceptable in the slightest.

The question "what do I do/how do I react" is best guided by "what do I actually want". At a guess what you want is:

• harassment to stop - of you for sure, ideally across the board.
• harassers to take seriously that its not okay, gets a social clue update, understand it is not "innocent fun" or "ribbing", and generally come away soberminded about it.
• Not to have attempts to quell it met by covert or overt maliciousness as a result - no bullying, no snide remarks, no social isolation.
• and what else?

You need to decide what you want, to stand a chance of getting it. Then you can approach your school, and when you've talked, give it to them as a bullet list on paper: these are the things I want as outcomes. I'm coming to you to make it happen. Then say nothing and see what they say next. Don't apologise for wanting what is your right, your teacher's right, and the right your fellow students take for granted when they act out this way: the right to feel safe emotionally, in the place you choose to learn.

Answer 13

First of all, the amount of people here who want to pull the "go to the authorities" and "sexual harassment" cards out is positively insane. Under no conditions go to anybody with talk of expulsion or official reprimand. To be completely honest, it's not their job to protect you. It's your own job. What happens the next time, if the relevant authorities aren't around? You shouldn't rely on people like that, especially when borderline harmless banter is being talked about as grounds for "sexual harassment" or "expulsion" (neither of which are true, and both of which would be grounds for retaliation, not necessarily to yourself, but to the school, for draconian punishment, and general over-reaction. I, myself, will be fully supporting the parties who would be treated like sexual harassers over a few comments about how pretty or not pretty somebody is).

I found the following phrase very troubling:

How do I explain that I’m very upset by this?

What do you mean "how"?!?! You say to the person that he's being a "dick", which is the technical description of his transgression (and not Sexual Harassment), and tell him to buzz off and to stop being a pain in the posterior. Generally, if you use certain words from a certain section of the vernacular, people will get the point.

Answer 14

Unfortunately, as you are aware, women are often put in the position of needing to be polite to guys who are acting inappropriately out of fear of repercussions.

(ETA: What one person sees as "borderline harmless banter" may be what another person sees as intimidating enough to make them leave the field. Telling women to be more assertive when the men around them are acting in nasty and unprofessional ways is both putting the responsibility on the wrong party and something women are often taught from a young age is not "nice", that being likable is more important then being comfortable.)

If you think that asking these guys to act like civilized human beings will jeopardize your grades on shared projects, you can invoke a hypothetical third party:

Be careful, if the wrong person overhears you saying stuff like that you might get reported for sexual harassment, and that kind of stuff can go on your permanent record.

There's no hint of "you make me feel like a piece of meat", there's no hint of what they might hear as "I'm so prudish I can't take a joke", there's no hint of "you are destroying the educational environment for at least half the class", there's no hint of anything personal in it at all. You are just a nice person who has their best interests at heart.

If they don't take the hint, then you might want to arrange for said "wrong person" to show up, or at least listen to a recording of what goes on in the classroom.

Answer 15

I will just give you three possible cases and their possible consequences

Passively Sucking it up

This just requires you to passively wait for the list to be forgotten by everyone.This requires a lot of patience not something I would advise but there if don't like confrontations.This may result in people thinking you are a pushover.

Confronting the guys

This is a method that should be meticulously thought over such that you don't insult the guys but still convey your message.It's especially important not to insult people while confronting them as it may lead to counter-productive effects such as the list being immortalized or you being ignored/avoided by others.It might be helpful to bring along a female friend or senior who is supportive. The confrontation should be done in the following method

1. Conveying you don't like the list clearly.
2. Reasons you don't like the list and find it demeaning.
3. Conveying to them that you don't wish to hear anymore about the list.
   (Step 4 is only if they don't take steps 1-3 properly)
4. Convey that you will not be able to continue being friends if this behavior continues and that you may go to the authorities.

Go to the authorities

This should be your last resort as from what I believe a large chunk to the male population of the college was involved in making of the list and if this is the case it may result in the guys who are hurting you being left of with a slap on the wrist and you facing the same consequences as the previous method if not worst.If not then confronting the authorities may not be such a bad idea but it's still advisable as a last resort and not the first go to.

Hope this helps.

Answer 16

I see two routes to take (sorry, longish answer):

As you can see by the answers and upvotes, (threatening) to cry is a strategy that has its effects — as a woman. Especially in STEM, in which women are still seen as discouraged and excluded, and at universities, in which people and policies are in place to care for them. It is likely that these people will jump on the chance to tackle this issue, which will then lead to serious consequences for the male students. It might even end their education at that school. In this sense, this route — as suggested by other posters here — is a route that will likely work, esp. short-term. And it will likely feel good.

Question is, should you pursue this route?

Despite a strong tendency to ostensibly protect and care for women, there is probably nothing worse for personal growth and the development of competence than paternalistic overprotection. You are not a little child anymore, and one skill you should learn in school and college/university is how to work with diverse groups. And some of these groups develop their own norms and interaction styles, and, yes, some groups even have — for a lack of a better term — assholes in them.

The group you describe doesn’t strike me as bad, though. Esp. when you take gender out of the question, which likely skews the issue, and see it as normal banter. There are behaviors which should immediately lead to a call to the police — the actual police, not the campus authorities. Issues like physical and sexual assault. But here it’s words and in messy social contexts, words are interpreted. You see it as annoying to harassment. I doubt it is intended as such. Looking back at my youth, this banter, teasing and bullshitting was used for bonding. And in a group of technology-minded people that included bonding with women. Yes, this behavior may actually be a sign they accept you as part of their community. (Nobody said that geeks are particularly skilled socially, but hey, they brought us social media, incl. stackexchange.)

Don’t get me wrong, I can totally understand that you do not like these comparisons, and given how negatively you see them, they will feel worse and worse. And if it’s actually bullying, then yeah, this sucks. But that’s your interpretation of what they are doing, and before you ascribe intention there are some questions you might ask. For example, how do they treat each other? Do they tease and bullshit each other as well (not about beauty, but about other issues)? How do they treat other women? What do they enjoy talking about? And yeah, it could even be a — bad — implementation of negging (xkcd explained it well and might provide a role model: https://xkcd.com/1027/ ), or simply being at a loss for words if other topics don’t lead to a conversation. BTW, I’m also skeptical that it would not make a difference if they were to compliment you.

No matter the reason, how can you deal with this situation? You can call a paternalistic authority. It will work in college/universities, it will work later on the job when you call HR, it will even work in private contexts if you shout on social media (sometimes even with work-related consequences). But at least given these situations, I think it’s important to learn to deal with these situations on your own. Become a competent person who is able to deal with bullshitting and social teasing on her own. After all, banter within a community is common, esp. in difficult jobs. It actually does have an important social function (again: banter, not bullying).

As for how, have a look how others deal with this teasing. It is possible to learn how to spar verbally, to parry and strike some (verbal) hits. To return a joke, a tease, and even an insult and verbal attack — and ensure a) to send a clear message that you can deal with these things, verbally and emotionally, and b) that you give back as good and bad as you receive. If there is a serious skill deficit, there are courses, and there are assertiveness trainings — which will pay out in other areas as well (like salary negotiations).

This later route is not a short-time «delegating-the-issue solution» like going to a paternalistic authority. But is has huge benefits long-term and will likely lead to better interactions overall. You might find that other people aren’t as bad as you first think, and you’ll be able to more effectively weed out the assholes and keep them at bay.

And looking at the bigger picture, it would be a pretty bleak world if every social interaction — no matter how benign or misunderstood — becomes the issue for a paternalistic authority. It might curb the (subjectively or actual) bad for a while, and take with it the misunderstood as collateral damage, but in the long-term, it would lead to the peace of the grave. And that’s not what college is for, nor social interaction in general.

Answer 17

Many years ago, in 1st year university, some wits on my residence floor decided to print up 100 Why Not? buttons in black on gold (Engineering Faculty colours), with the subheading Barefoot & Pregnant, at a price of $1.00.

Initially outraged, a floor in Women's residence decided to get even instead of angry. Having an economics major on the floor, they astutely noted that with a market established, value increased as supply diminished. So they promptly retaliated by printing up a measly 75 pastel blue on pink (Nursing School colours) buttons Why Not? - Henpecked and Impotent; at a price of $2.00.

Needless to say, the second batch of buttons sold out even faster than the first.

Revenge obtained, with good hearty laughs all around.

So, while you certainly have the right to resort to "the nuclear option" and engage university officials. may I politely suggest that perhaps there is a better first resort. You see, the ability to engage in friendly banter is an essential social skill in the workplace, and this is typically a verbal skill that women are actually better at than men.

Meet privately with your female colleagues, and rate all the men on a scale of 1 to 10. Then the next time anyone rates any of you, rate them back with a comment such as:

"Why thank you; my friends and I figure you for a ___."

You always retain the right to escalate to greater authority; but you might find that fighting fire with fire instead of gasoline builds a truly solid rapport with your male colleagues.