An outspoken news broadcasting assistant professor at a university in Beijing may just end up jobless after a blog post where he disclosed his sexist method in choosing female graduate school applicants who want to take up his class: based on physical attributes.
Prof. Quiao Mu’s blog gave a very detailed account on how he makes an assessment on the suitability of a female candidate. Apparently, the professor employs a system: “Breasts first, face second, ass third and legs fourth,” also revealing that after checking out the female’s whole body when she comes in, he then looks at the “first two” (breasts and face) once they seat down.
Probably thinking he was being cute, the professor hinted at the frailty that academics like him also face, writing that “We interviewers are people too, you know. I didn’t know if she was testing me or I was testing her”—referring to one applicant who came for the interview dressed in a low-cut V-neckline that more likely than not highlighted her “heaving breasts” as Mu described them.
Not surprisingly, many people have expressed their disgust, calling him a dirty professor and describing him as an a-hole and pervert who has no business interviewing and examining students in such a manner. There are also calls for his head, with his university colleagues steering away from the controversy and the administration announcing that it will launch an investigation.
The school also revealed that Quiao is no longer a teacher but now works in the library—perhaps as punishment for an infraction he reportedly committed in 2014. Quiao defended his post saying he was merely expressing his feelings—and what he wrote does not necessarily reflect official standards for admission.
“In fact, I never judge female candidates by their appearance in my interviews,” he asserted, adding that he treats the women “with the utmost compassion and respect.” Obviously, not a lot of people believe him but there are still some who defended his post, saying that in the news broadcasting industry, looks do matter and that first impressions are also important.
For sure, there are many who share Quiao Mu’s “sentiments” —Filipinos even. We remember this story about a female mass communications graduate from the country’s top university who was hired as a reporter by a female news anchor (with a very deep voice, and who was very popular during Martial Law years because people judged the news according to her facial expressions—if she gave a slight smile while reading an item, people concluded that the news item was probably ‘fake’).
The female news anchor got incessantly teased by her male colleagues when they found out she hired the new graduate, who was on the hefty side and not a looker. Well, guess what – the reporter that the males discouraged has since become one of the top broadcasts journalists in the country, reaping international awards for her reportage and still recognized as the “most trusted” news personality for many years in a row now—leaving those who judged her according to her looks in the dust.
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