Spectator critic’s article admitting to lusting after a lecturer and sleeping with a prostitute has divided the nation… as some brand him an creep – but others ask, what’s the big deal?
What’s the problem?
By Ulla Kloster
When I read Lloyd Evans’ piece, the first thing that struck me was how gentle it was.
He had nothing but praise, not only for the appearance of the academic who delivered the lecture, but also for the way she delivered it.
Yes, his thoughts wandered to her physical rather than mental attributes, but he didn’t propose to her after she finished her reading – in the awkward and unwelcome way that many men do.
Realizing that she was not near him, he started looking for pleasure elsewhere. And his encounter with the prostitute is told with sensitivity and respect.
Lloyd Evans has been criticized for an article he wrote in the Spectator about visiting a prostitute after attending a lecture
Lea Ypi, an academic who teaches political theory at the London School of Economics. In the article, he described Ypi as having “blonde hair that fell past her shoulders,” saying that her appearance took up “much more” of his “attention” than her reflections on politics.
Ulla Kloster (photo): ‘Evans did nothing wrong or illegal – and he was brave enough to be open about his experiences’
I experienced my fair share of sexual harassment before I started working in Fleet Street over thirty years ago.
Drunken groping and indecent propositions – including one from an employer that could not have been more lascivious – were an occupational hazard.
The balance has now shifted too far to the other side. Some of the self-righteous outrage from the younger generation of feminists is overblown.
Men these days are constantly walking on eggshells. When writers feel like they have to look over their shoulder all the time, it spells the end of any kind of challenging literature.
Evans did nothing wrong or illegal – and he was brave enough to be open about his experiences.
The Twitterati must choose their battles carefully. They must fight for women who are truly suffering – and not just those who feel hurt because they are called beautiful – and the witch hunt for Mr. Evans must stop now.
What a creep!
By Olivia Dean
As a 24 year old, I missed the worst days of casual sexual harassment.
But that doesn’t mean we should overlook serious violations today just because things were worse in the past.
Lloyd Evans’ confessional in The Spectator – the most misguided piece of journalism I have read in a long time – proves that we still have a long way to go to achieve true gender equality.
I seriously doubt that Professor Ypi, when she gave the lecture, expected as large an audience as the one she has since received.
But now that the Spectator piece has gone viral, her name will forever be associated with a lusty 61-year-old man complaining about his uncontrollable sex drive, rather than her acclaimed work on “Global Justice and Political Agency.”
Olivia Dean (pictured): ‘Lloyd Evans’ confessional in The Spectator – the most misguided piece of journalism I’ve read in a long time – proves we still have a long way to go to achieve true gender equality’
The article was workplace harassment, pure and simple, because after all, Ypi was just doing her job. But now the whole country is talking about a dirty old man who shamelessly leers at her.
Yes, the sexual impulse is real. But what is dangerous is the suggestion that the libido is an untameable beast.
Evans’ claim that he was so aroused by Ypi that he couldn’t hear her plays into what my generation calls “rape culture.” This is an excuse for ‘lesser’ incidents of harassment, which can ultimately be a gateway to sexual violence.
I want to call Evans’ article nonsense, but that would belittle how pernicious it is.
And honestly, it’s a sad state of affairs if I have to explain why he’s such a creep in the first place.