We talk about the benefits of a liberal arts education daily here at 科罗拉多大学 and there is nothing more gratifying than when the fruits of that education come full circle. 周四, 2月22日, CC心理学教授Tomi-Ann Roberts was honored by her alma mater with its top alumnae prize: the Smith College Medal; something Roberts calls the “greatest honor” of her life.
“It was the thrill of a lifetime for me to be ‘home’ at Smith and experience this honor,罗伯茨说。. “简直无法用语言来形容.”
The Smith Medal was established in 1962 to recognize alums who exemplify in their lives and work “the true purpose” of a liberal arts education. 罗伯茨的故事既令人难以置信，又引人注目.
1984年她大三毕业的那个夏天, while trying to launch an acting career on stage in New York City, Tomi-Ann Roberts was sexually harassed by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. 那个男人妨碍她得到一份表演工作. 她称这是一个分水岭. Her encounter ultimately led her away from an acting career and toward her contribution as a leading psychologist specializing in the psychological consequences of the sexualization of women and girls.
“What misogyny does is try to convince all who identify as women that their appearance is the most important thing about them,罗伯茨说。. “No matter what you bring to the table, how your body is seen can make or break you.”
在她和韦恩斯坦的经历之后, she came back to Smith for her senior year to finish her psychology degree in 1985. 她参加了艺术课, found her voice for persuasive argumentation in a Constitutional law class, 努力克服那个夏天的焦虑和羞愧. 当她在毕业典礼上拿到毕业证时, she felt fortified to get a PhD to develop the tools to do feminist 研究 on the very things that threatened to consume her: sexual objectification and internalized 自我.
“It pits us against one another to try to win on patriarchy’s terms. You can say that my work on these issues has been my clapback to that summer,” she says.
在给她颁奖之前, Smith College President Sarah Willie-LeBreton told the Smith community, “三十多年来，我读了很多书, 研究, 和奖学金, 罗伯茨提高了我们对经济的集体意识, 物理, 情感, 以及客观化的认知成本.”
汤米-安·罗伯茨的研究, 教学, 以及在性别领域的倡导, 情绪, 和美学, 以她为中心 物化理论, 哪个研究了女孩和妇女的性物化, 自我, 以及这些对身体健康的影响. 物化理论 是APA期刊历史上被引用次数最多的文章 妇女心理学季刊. Tomi-Ann has authored five books and co-authored (many with CC student collaborators) over 50 peer-reviewed articles and chapters. She leverages psychological science as a consultant for reproductive health-related product brands, and as an expert witness in legal cases involving objectification as a form of gender discrimination.
When the New York Times published its 2017 report about numerous allegations of sexual harassment by Weinstein, 罗伯茨觉得自己更有能力说出自己的经历. She says objectification derails women and disrupts their potential. As a member of the American Psychological Association’s Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, she called for a national movement to dismantle aspects of our culture that treats girls’ and women’s bodies as consumable objects.
“If the medal is for my work: entitling women and girls and female identifying folks to their own embodied agency and well-being, 这是另一个文凭圈,罗伯茨对观众说. “I am grateful to accept a medal for doing what I felt called to do because of Smith.”
“当我提到‘文凭圈’时,’”罗伯茨在回到CC时说, “这在史密斯是很特别的, that I specifically chose to highlight in my speech because it illustrates the community and sisterhood that Smith is all about. 在史密斯，你的教育不是一笔交易. 这是一种合作和小组活动.”
Roberts urged the Smith audience to “lean in” to their sisterhood. “Don’t compete in isolation for recognition and rewards,” she implored. “Keep doing what you can with and for the sisterhood, because someday it will come full circle. 它属于所有的姐妹.”
Roberts has also lent her expertise to women’s reproductive health issues as a past president for the Society for Menstrual Cycle Re搜索. Smith College chose to honor her for her “unwavering commitment to empowering girls and women and ensuring that they have agency over their bodies.”
回到CC, 罗伯茨在那里教了31年书, several colleagues offered their support for her strong work ethic.
“This pinnacle recognition for Tomi-Ann comes as no surprise for her feminist community at CC,Sarah Hautzinger说, CC人类学教授. “Her attention to the well-being of women and girls has been unflagging all along. 她在物化方面的研究是CC被引用次数最多的学者, 而其他兴趣跨越“凝视”(男性和女性), 为了幸福和欢笑, 技术禁食, 还有更多. Most important of all, she is a truth-teller and a speak-upper, and she models this for us all."
“Tomi-Ann has been and continues to be a tour de force for captivating and inspiring students,Mark Saviano补充道, CC心理学系技术/统计总监.