In August 2020, I participated in a round table discussion about censorship and freedom of speech in the time of #metoo, mansplaining, and Black Lives Matter. The discussion was published in the September issue of the magazine Domuzīme (in Latvian only).
The participants were Rudīte Kalpiņa, editor-in-chief of the magazine; Ervīns Krauklis, architect; Raivis Bičevskis, associated professor at the University of Latvia; Pēteris Bankovskis, art critic; Valdis Klišāns, historian and teacher, and Jānis Vādons, linguist and poet.
One somewhat noteworthy, albeit sad, outcome is a small storm of outrage in Latvian-speaking Twitter-sphere, caused by my remark in this discussion where I expressed my discomfort at being referred to as a girl in professional academic environment while performing in the capacity of a lead researcher, i.e. as Dr. Tifentale. People tweeted at me calling me a fool and much worse.
Just a few months later, the notorious article in Wall Street Journal channeled a similar outrage against academically accomplished women and Dr. Jill Biden in particular. It is quite disheartening to observe that raging patriarchy and misogyny still have so much power in 2020.
Read the round table discussion below (click on any image to download a full pdf):
