Many women who work at McMurdo Station, the main United States research base in Antarctica, say the isolated environment and macho culture have allowed sexual harassment and assault to flourish.

The National Science Foundation, the federal agency that oversees the U.S. Antarctic Program, published a report in 2022 in which 59% of women said they’d experienced harassment or assault while on the ice, and 72% of women said such behavior was a problem in Antarctica.

But the problem goes beyond the harassment, The Associated Press found. In reviewing court records and internal communications, and in interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees, the AP uncovered a pattern of women who said their claims of harassment or assault were minimized by their employers, often leading to them or others being put in further danger.

  • Cosmic ClericEnglish
    4•1 year ago

    less hearing problems (men show a more rapid decline in the left ear and in general as well)

    Did the study mention why the left ear was more of a problem?

    • @babeuhEnglish
      7•1 year ago

      No, here is the relevant paragraph:

      Hearing sensitivity, when measured at most frequencies, declines much more rapidly in male astronauts than it does in female astronauts. These LSAH derived data represent a wide age range of subjects (i.e., four decades) and show a more rapid decline in hearing in the left ear, for men only. Within the general population, hearing also declines more rapidly in men than in women, due in part to environmental factors or occupational exposure (e.g., construction or factory work). No evidence suggests that the sex-based hearing differences in the astronaut population are related to microgravity exposure, and the small sample size of female astronauts precludes making any definitive conclusions.

      • Cosmic ClericEnglish
        2•1 year ago

        Thanks. It’s so weird that it affects the left ear of men more. Love to know what makes the left ear more susceptible to damage than the right.