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There is only one academic who turned to sex work in this article right? Unless I missed some one else the article mentioned. This is a very specific example

There is only one academic who turned to sex work in this article right? Unless I missed some one else the article mentioned. This is a very specific example and paints with a broad paintbrush.

tkyjonathan 9y ago
Are you saying that this news article is anecdotal and incorrect about the actual situation? It seems to me that as a whole, the situation with adjunct teachers is quite bad..
showmetherec 9y ago
Are you arguing life for adjuncts is improving?
- dekhn 9y ago
  No, they're arguing that using a single anecdote which may not be representative. Coupled with the placement of that in the title of th article, it's a framing anecdote that's used to shock the reader into thinking the problem is more dire than it is (the situation is bad, but I claim that few academics are becoming sex workers to remain as academics).
- dqpb 9y ago
  It's reasonable to ask why the title is plural - "academics turn to sex work" - while the anecdote in the article is about a single person turning to sex work, and then there is no other information about how common this is. The closest it gets to statistics is: Sex work is one of the more unusual ways that adjuncts have avoided living in poverty, and perhaps even homelessness. A quarter of part-time college academics (many of whom are adjuncts, though it’s not uncommon for adjuncts to work 40 hours a week or more) are said to be enrolled in public assistance programs such as Medicaid. Which says literally nothing about how common it is for adjuncts to turn to sex work. On the other hand, I would argue that it is unreasonable (or at least intellectually dishonest) for you to ask: Are you arguing life for adjuncts is improving?. Obviously the OP is not arguing that. Your intent with this question is to shame the OP for asking clarifying questions that might weaken the articles case. If you were intellectually honest, you would be in favor of accurate information.
  - danso 9y ago
    I think it's safe to say that there is probably more than one adjunct who is doing sex work (somewhat based on my experience of having read this type of story before in the past years). But I agree that the headline and framing of this story deserves scrutiny. I don't think it's coincidence the way that the first sentence in your excerpt ("Sex work is one...") is immediately followed by a sentence that alludes to a statistic ("A quarter of part-time college academics") that ends up being unrelated. The close juxtaposition of the sentences could easily be misinterpreted as "25% of adjuncts are doing sex work").
sambull 9y ago
I know of a a 'virgin' who tried to sell her self for academia at the Moonlight Bunny Ranch in NV. She went by the moniker 'Natalie Dylan'. Specific case I know, she was a personal friend and it kind of caught us off guard at the time. She made some money but never did go through with it. Her stated cause though was for graduate studies. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginity_auction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginity_auction
the_stc 9y ago
We're not even launched, but have been contacted by one escort-assistant type person that does workshops/classes on how to put yourself through school using sex work. Seeing what academics get paid, I would not be surprised at all that this continues well past the undergrad years.

There is only one academic who turned to sex work in this article right? Unless I missed some one else the article mentioned. This is a very specific example and paints with a broad paintbrush.

tkyjonathan 9y ago

Are you saying that this news article is anecdotal and incorrect about the actual situation? It seems to me that as a whole, the situation with adjunct teachers is quite bad..

showmetherec 9y ago

Are you arguing life for adjuncts is improving?

dekhn 9y ago
No, they're arguing that using a single anecdote which may not be representative. Coupled with the placement of that in the title of th article, it's a framing anecdote that's used to shock the reader into thinking the problem is more dire than it is (the situation is bad, but I claim that few academics are becoming sex workers to remain as academics).
dqpb 9y ago
It's reasonable to ask why the title is plural - "academics turn to sex work" - while the anecdote in the article is about a single person turning to sex work, and then there is no other information about how common this is. The closest it gets to statistics is: Sex work is one of the more unusual ways that adjuncts have avoided living in poverty, and perhaps even homelessness. A quarter of part-time college academics (many of whom are adjuncts, though it’s not uncommon for adjuncts to work 40 hours a week or more) are said to be enrolled in public assistance programs such as Medicaid. Which says literally nothing about how common it is for adjuncts to turn to sex work. On the other hand, I would argue that it is unreasonable (or at least intellectually dishonest) for you to ask: Are you arguing life for adjuncts is improving?. Obviously the OP is not arguing that. Your intent with this question is to shame the OP for asking clarifying questions that might weaken the articles case. If you were intellectually honest, you would be in favor of accurate information.
- danso 9y ago
  I think it's safe to say that there is probably more than one adjunct who is doing sex work (somewhat based on my experience of having read this type of story before in the past years). But I agree that the headline and framing of this story deserves scrutiny. I don't think it's coincidence the way that the first sentence in your excerpt ("Sex work is one...") is immediately followed by a sentence that alludes to a statistic ("A quarter of part-time college academics") that ends up being unrelated. The close juxtaposition of the sentences could easily be misinterpreted as "25% of adjuncts are doing sex work").

sambull 9y ago

I know of a a 'virgin' who tried to sell her self for academia at the Moonlight Bunny Ranch in NV. She went by the moniker 'Natalie Dylan'. Specific case I know, she was a personal friend and it kind of caught us off guard at the time. She made some money but never did go through with it. Her stated cause though was for graduate studies. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginity_auction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginity_auction

the_stc 9y ago

We're not even launched, but have been contacted by one escort-assistant type person that does workshops/classes on how to put yourself through school using sex work. Seeing what academics get paid, I would not be surprised at all that this continues well past the undergrad years.