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Oxford faces complaints over lecturer’s classroom attire
Oxford faces complaints over lecturer’s classroom attire
Former students and academics have criticised Oxford University and St Hilda’s College over lecturer Matt Rattley’s use of large breast prosthetics and low-cut clothing while teaching.
Complainants said the attire was sexualised and made them uncomfortable in lectures and staff training sessions. Three former St Hilda’s students wrote to the college principal on May 1 arguing that the clothing was inappropriate for a workplace and inconsistent with the institution’s history as a women’s college.
Some current and former university members said they felt unable to raise concerns because colleagues treated the presentation as normal and because they feared professional or social repercussions. The criticism has also come from women’s-rights campaigners and some transgender commentators.
Rattley is a biochemistry lecturer with a first-class degree and has previously been nominated for a teaching award. The published account did not identify a formal disciplinary finding against him; the dispute concerns institutional standards, staff expression and whether complaints were handled adequately.
M.A. Pereira--JDB
