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The Chronicle of Higher Education reported this week that the site had received numerous complaints from female professors on Twitter who said the chili pepper symbol was sexist.
“For RateMyProfessors to use this jocular way to evaluate people is gross,” BethAnn McLaughlin, an assistant professor of neurology and pharmacology at Vanderbilt University, told the Chronicle.
The website responded and said the chili pepper was never meant to rate the “hotness” of a professor, but their “dynamic/exciting” teaching style. Professors said it was a general assumption of students that the chili pepper indicated physical attractiveness.
.@McLNeuro The chili pepper rating is meant to reflect a dynamic/exciting teaching style. But, your point is well taken and we’ve removed all chili pepper references from the Rate My Professors site.
— RateMyProfessors (@ratemyprofessor) June 28, 2018
Dear @ratemyprofessor
— Not Mrs McLNeuro (@McLNeuro) June 26, 2018
Life is hard enough for female professors. Your 'chili pepper' rating of our 'hotness' is obnoxious and utterly irrelevant to our teaching.
Please remove it because #TimesUP and you need to do better.
Thanks,
Female College Prof
⚡️ “RateMyProfessor removes Chili pepper system after complaints of sexism”https://t.co/vyZ0ssWt1z
— Jonathan Eisen (@phylogenomics) June 29, 2018
I agree 100%. I HATE those chili pepper ratings. I do not want my students to think of me in that way. 😡😡😡😡
— Debbie Gale Mitchell (@heydebigale) June 27, 2018
Dear @ratemyprofessor, dropping the "chili pepper" just as I was ready to earn mine is unacceptable. Took me years to chisel my jaw, crunch my way to a six-pack, and work on my Mario Lopez dimples and George Clooney grey temples. #BringBackTheChiliPepper https://t.co/RW1dYlrT4t
— Paddy Ekkekakis (@Ekkekakis) July 2, 2018
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