‘You in Mizzou’ tackles question of sexual banter

Student, faculty, staff and Columbia community members were invited Wednesday to discuss the difficult question “Sexual Banter: Flirting or Hurting?”

The Chancellor's Diversity Initiative sponsored the event as a part of “You in Mizzou” monthly dialogues to provide an opportunity to learn about a variety of challenging issues in MU.

Yuan Gao, student coordinator of “You in Mizzou,” said the program would create a safe space where people could engage in meaningful dialogues and feel free to share their opinions.

“We hope that people may learn to understand and respect the different perspectives from tonight's discussion--is sexual banter flirting or hurting?” Gao said. “I'd be happy to hear other people's thoughts on this.”

Sophomore Doug Hoffmann, one of the participants of the event, said he found the whole topic interesting.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of sexual banter, so I thought I could come down here and learn about it,” Hoffmann said.

Another participant, sophomore Erin Jackson, said she also found the topic very interesting.

“I am expecting to learn different point of views, see where everybody stands,” Jackson said.

The discussion, led by the facilitators, started with a simple question “What is sexual banter?” The participants first seemed to find it hard to answer the question.

“People have different understandings of ‘sexual banter’,” Gao said. “People may find it common that sometimes men interact with women, or vice versa, in a sexualized way, from the way they greet each other, the way they make casual daily conversations.”

After exploring the definition of sexual banter, the participants shared their opinions and experiences related to the questions such as “Have you ever encountered any sexual banter?” “Is it harmful or harmless?” and “How do you handle sexual banter?”

Most agreed encountering sexual banter is very common but disagree whether it is acceptable or unpleasant.

Hoffmann said sexual banter could be harmless during the discussion.

“It can be harmful when somebody is really serious about it,” Hoffmann said. “But most people are just talking, having fun and not worried about too much.”

Other participants said it depended on the level of persistence, or the relationship between two people.

Senior Stephanie Sampair said that sexual banter happens all the time at MU.

“I think it is almost like a part of American culture,” Sampair said. “I think sexual banter, whether it is harmful or not, has to do with your relationship with the person who’s doing it. And I think guys and girls from what I’ve heard seem to take sexual banter differently – girls more seriously, guys more jokingly.”

The “You in Mizzou” program has held the monthly dialogue session on the first Wednesday of each month since 2006. The Chancellor’s Diversity Initiative says the program will promote the experience of the rich diversity of Mizzou and opinions among MU community.

The dialogue for April, "Transgender: Navigating the Gray Zone of Gender Identity", is scheduled for 7 p.m. April 6 in S203 Memorial Union.

“Most likely we'll be teaming up with the LGBTQ Center, and explore this topic on transgender issues,” Gao said.