59% View David Gilmour’s Comments as Sexist Tellwut Online Survey Finds
(PRWEB) October 16, 2013
With over 2,500 panel members polled, a Tellwut online survey revealed 59% of panel members find literary author and University of Toronto professor David Gilmour’s comments to be sexist. These results stem after a recent interview revealed that Gilmour preferred to teach literature that was written by men.
The renowned Canadian fiction author caused outrage internationally and among the literary community when his views towards women and Chinese writers were published in a recent interview with Hazlitt Magazine. During the interview Gilmour was quoted as stating, “When I was given this job I said I would only teach the people what I truly, truly love. Unfortunately, none of those happen to be Chinese, or women.” Shortly after the comments became public, Gilmour issued a statement claiming that he is not sexist and that the comments were taken out of context. Despite Gilmour’s attempt to rectify the situation, a Tellwut online survey found that 59% of participants polled felt that Gilmour’s comments were in fact sexist, while 19% of voters did not consider the comment to be sexist and 22% were undecided.
The controversy surrounding the literary author comes at a time when he was being considered for The Giller Prize award. When asked whether voters felt that Gilmour’s comments may have jeopardized his chances of receiving the award, survey results found that 43% of voters agreed Gilmour had hurt his chances of receiving the award, with 20% disagreeing and 37% being undecided.
Given that the majority of decided panel members felt that Gilmour’s comments were sexist and may have ruined his chances for winning the literary award, 38% of voters polled feel that Gilmour should be fired as a literary professor; with 37% remaining undecided and 25 percent feeling that the professor should keep his job.
Although it does not appear that the University of Toronto will remove Gilmour from his teaching position, they have issued a statement that states: “Neither Victoria College nor the University of Toronto endorses the views attributed to David Gilmour in the article. Mr. Gilmour, a noted Canadian author and journalist, teaches elective seminars on his area of expertise, leaving other areas of literature to be taught by colleagues who can do so most effectively based on their areas of specialization.”
As it is apparent that the University does not support the comments made by Gilmour, a few supporters have come to the defense of the Canadian author. While Gilmour’s group of supporters is small, one can only question whether his course enrollment and or book sales will be up or down, determining if the axiom “any publicity is good publicity” is correct.
About Tellwut®.
Tellwut is a North American online community of individuals dedicated to expressing their opinions through online surveys based upon a wide variety of topics in exchange for rewards and the Tellwut community experience. The Tellwut community and proprietary survey and reward software application provide a platform for organizations to send surveys to their stakeholders or to crowdsource and conduct online market research through the use of the Tellwut survey platform and the Tellwut Community; thus allowing businesses a clearer understanding and insight into their products or services, customer attitudes and potential business opportunities.