THREAD: I wanted to make a funny quip using a #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob, so naturally I searched the web for inane depictions of what the public thinks I do as a professor. Well dang that was a shocker. 1/
Apparently I’m supposed to be a man, which was not really a surprise. Bad hair, okay, whatever. Glasses requisite, etc. 
So some 20 photos into my search, some female profs show up. Glasses, of course. Just, what’s up with the “come hither, I want to shag you” look? 3/
Like really, this hypersexualized female prof gig is ridic. And it’s not funny. There are NO stock photos of male profs seducing their students. And let me tell you, it happens, because academic #metoo is a thing.
Like what in the everloving F is this?! A result from a google search for “stock photo female professor”, that’s what. It’s beyond inaccurate, and beyond funny. It’s offensive. It’s not pouring freehand combustibles into Petri dishes.
Apparently results exist for “attractive female brunette professor”. As if the default is “unattractive”, and as if this even matters! But we know it does, because of the studies about student evaluations mentioning the hotness (or not) of female instructors.
I found no photos of female profs actually engaging with students — it was all “sage on the stage” type stuff. Which could be funny because that’s totally not how I teach. I thought, ooh, this could be me, she’s proud of students, positive. But oh, she’s qualified as “beautiful”
So, my friends, this is definitely a #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob — because this person, beyond a bad spray tan, is not a fair representation of what female professors do.
I still can’t find a stock photo of what I really do, so here’s a pic that I took of what my classes are actually like. I’m miffed that I can’t even make a joke using #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob because the images upset me so much. <end>
As a matter of comparison, this is a photo of myself as a prof. Here I am just before the 1st day of class this term — happy and excited about being with students. No pointy pool stick, maybe I have bad hair (that’s a matter of opinion, though it’s natural so who cares).
