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In Defense of Joe Gow, Former Porn Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Is a porn career incompatible with a career in higher education?
I don’t have a very high opinion of administrators in higher education. In my experience, they come in three main flavors: bully, crook, and idiot. So when I read a headline recently about Joe Gow, then Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, losing his chancellor position and having his academic tenure reviewed for performing in pornographic videos, I eagerly clicked the link, expecting to get a quick shot of schadenfreude from a story about a university administrator doing something vile.
I quickly realized that, despite the furor that arose over his porn career, this man appeared to have done nothing wrong. He performed with his wife, which suggests that his actions did not involve adultery, coercion, or exploitation. Exhibitionism, maybe. That’s it. And while I’m am not interested in Joe Gow’s sex life in the least, if I don’t want to be involved in it, I can just avoid his videos and books.
The main weapon that Gow’s supervisors wielded against him was a statement in his contract: “The Chancellor may not engage in any activity that may be adverse to, or competitive or inconsistent with the interests of the University of…
