Whats the difference between “teasing” and more serious harrassment?
ERIKA: I think teasing is something that happens between friends and both people know that they have equal amounts of power, nobody is feeling bad about the situation and both people leave feeling good about the exchange. But harassment is where one person has more power, maybe it’s because they are stronger, maybe it’s gender, it can be a whole host of reasons. But only one person is laughing there and the other person leaves feeling sort of degraded and dehumanized. ITM: How have students across the country responded to your work? ERIKA: I think the main thing I took from it is that so many students have similar experiences. I asked students to share with me whether or not they’ve been victimized or whether or not they can relate to my experiences. And I have heard some of the most tragic stories. I’ve heard of students who get beat up every day. I’ve heard of students who don’t want to go to school anymore because of what people say and do to them. And it’s been heartbreaking to kno
