ABSTRACT
The authors came to know each other through an emergent “whisper network” at their European host institution that promotes itself and is internationally recognized as progressive, transformative, anti-patriarchal, and de-colonial. Drawing on autoethnographic reflections, we aim to critically unpack the different interconnected layers of power and how cult-like dynamics around a Star Professor have enabled an abusive research culture where its reputation should be untouchable. While we have unique stories, there are many connecting dots among our experiences which allowed us to reflect collectively on analytical concepts such as “sexual-power gatekeepers,” “academic incest,” “intellectual and sexual extractivism,” “gaslighting,” “institutional witch-hunt.” Many young female researchers, who experience harassment, strive to build up their graduate or post-doctoral academic careers working in a precarious labor environment facing institution abandonment and even violation of basic professional ethics. Few understand how academic institutions and their internal dynamics constrain young researchers from standing up and talking publicly. With this chapter, we want to join the growing critical call from within academia for an urgent paradigm shift and strive toward a more caring, collaborative, transformative, and interdependent community.
