At an event in the evening, Professor X tells me (female doctoral candidate) about his aborted novel dealing with his first great love. He’s getting closer and closer, but I keep backing away from him. After moving a few meters through the room, I feel the wall behind me. As I briefly answer a question from colleague Y and then turn back to Professor X, he says: “I pour out my heart to you and you just change the subject.” To get out of this physically uncomfortable situation, I pretend that I have to get something but then return to Professor X because I don’t want to be rude to him. I stand in a way that I cannot be forced into a corner again. At some point, Professor X says: “This is such an asymmetrical conversation! Tell me something about yourself – how many boyfriends have you had?”