sigelphoenix (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sigelphoenix) wrote2007-09-05 03:41 pm
sigelphoenix) wrote2007-09-05 03:41 pm
Entry tags:
Sexual harassment seminar
As part of my orientation at my new job, I was required to attend a seminar/workshop/lecture about sexual harassment in the workplace (specifically, my workplace - which most of you probably know but I won't repeat because this is a public entry).
I found the seminar impressive, because the presenter knew her stuff and wasn't just mouthing off platitudes. However, there is the niggling sense that this effort is just lip service, if there are not other efforts to back it up. So there's definitely room for critique and improvement.
Our presenter just sent out an email compiling the comments from the evaluation forms, and many of these comments expressed that very concern. However, a couple comments fell prey to the usual anti-feminist myths about sexual harassment, and I think it's useful to look at these straight from the horse's mouth - so there's no distraction of "people don't REALLY talk that way ..." - and see what these statements really mean.
"People never ask each other out anymore because they fear this normal human interaction will be perceived as sexual harassment. Perhaps we've gotten too paranoid with all this - maybe something could be said that speaks to this."
(There was an additional comment that included this gem: "I don't want to talk to people now.")
Comments like this make one very simple, very important assumption: that people being able to ask each other out is equal or greater in importance to the prevention of sexual harassment. If making people comfortable presents an obstacle to sex, then that's bad. Bad enough that we should interrupt a sexual harassment seminar to address the problem - even though this is the one time that we employees are guaranteed to have a chance to discuss the issue.
So how much time does this person want to dedicate to the what-ifs about why sexual harassment prevention is a problem? 5 minutes out of the 2-hour presentation? 10? Can we assume that this person will give a proportionate amount of time to the converse discussion - of sexual harassment in a dating session - taking one-sixth or one-twelfth of the time? No?
Comments like this also remind me of the, "Feminism is great, but what if it makes men uncomfortable?" or "Sure, I oppose racism, but political correctness is such a bother for white people" arguments that tend to derail discussions. They're driven by the assumption that the potential discomfort of the people from the 'other side' is as important as the people who are actually suffering from the problem - so that whenever we discuss sexism, we have to give air time to men's feelings, and whenever we talk about transphobia, we have to hand the mike to cisgendered folks who just feel icky about transexuality.
I'm sure you can see why this is a problem.
It's also interesting to note how purposefully generic this comment is. "People never ask each other out," and "Perhaps we've gotten too paranoid." I'll bet good money that what the commenter really meant was, "I/my friends never ask others out" and "People who do things like put on sexual harassment seminars are too paranoid." (If I want to be cynical, I would say the real statements would be, "Men never ask women out" and "Women are too paranoid.")
It's a great way of disclaiming responsibility, so that accusations of insensitivity or sexism can't be put on the speaker. Also, by putting the responsibility on everyone, it neatly covers up the disproportionate ways in which women, gays, and non-whites from either group, are targeted. In reality, neither the victims nor the perpetrators of sexual harassment are completely innocent of the dynamics of sexism and homophobia that pervade the workplace.
My response in a nutshell: Boo-fuckin'-hoo. People's comfort in their workplace trumps your need to target them for sex. You have a right hand and an imagination.
"Also this program really promotes victimization by asking that anything that be thought of as sexual harassment be reported."
Some of the biggest accomplishments of Second Wave feminism include the redefinition of words like "rape" and "harassment." Previously (or currently, in certain states), "marital rape" was an oxymoron, because "rape" did not include forcing sex upon your own spouse. Also, "sexual harassment" did not exist in our vocabulary, and we didn't recognize that it was a problem. Feminism encouraged people, particularly women, to notice and object to instances of sexual violence that were previously overlooked.
Feminism did not create new problems. Feminism recognized existing problems that were being hidden away.
Similarly, this sexual harassment seminar, and other related efforts, are not about creating new instances of sexual harassment - instead, they encourage people who might be afraid or unsure about reporting the sexual harassment that they've experienced.
Oh, wait - what's that? It looks like this comment actually agrees with me: the commenter acknowledges that "anything that be thought of as sexual harassment be reported." Not "anything that might be harassment" or "any sexual language whatsoever," but anything that is actually considered [by the victim] to be sexual harassment. According to this seminar, (and this commenter apparently agrees) the company policy is to encourage that victims of sexual harassment speak up and report their experience, so as to create the possibility of intervention and punishment for the offender.
But that "promotes victimization," huh? Apparently the alternative is just to keep our mouths shut. It doesn't change a damn thing for the person who experienced the harassment - but it does preserve the comfort of other people who don't want to be bothered hearing about it.
This comment doesn't reduce instances of victimization, and it doesn't help existing victims deal with their experience of violation. What comments like this really do is promote silence. They don't offer any solutions to the problem itself - they just suggest that we all shut up about it, so at least the people who aren't affected (usually due to privilege) can go on in their comfortable ignorance.
Anyone who wants to spout off comments like this - hell, anyone who hampers efforts for victims by dismissing them as "promoting victimization" - can kindly shut the fuck up, thank you.
I found the seminar impressive, because the presenter knew her stuff and wasn't just mouthing off platitudes. However, there is the niggling sense that this effort is just lip service, if there are not other efforts to back it up. So there's definitely room for critique and improvement.
Our presenter just sent out an email compiling the comments from the evaluation forms, and many of these comments expressed that very concern. However, a couple comments fell prey to the usual anti-feminist myths about sexual harassment, and I think it's useful to look at these straight from the horse's mouth - so there's no distraction of "people don't REALLY talk that way ..." - and see what these statements really mean.
"People never ask each other out anymore because they fear this normal human interaction will be perceived as sexual harassment. Perhaps we've gotten too paranoid with all this - maybe something could be said that speaks to this."
(There was an additional comment that included this gem: "I don't want to talk to people now.")
Comments like this make one very simple, very important assumption: that people being able to ask each other out is equal or greater in importance to the prevention of sexual harassment. If making people comfortable presents an obstacle to sex, then that's bad. Bad enough that we should interrupt a sexual harassment seminar to address the problem - even though this is the one time that we employees are guaranteed to have a chance to discuss the issue.
So how much time does this person want to dedicate to the what-ifs about why sexual harassment prevention is a problem? 5 minutes out of the 2-hour presentation? 10? Can we assume that this person will give a proportionate amount of time to the converse discussion - of sexual harassment in a dating session - taking one-sixth or one-twelfth of the time? No?
Comments like this also remind me of the, "Feminism is great, but what if it makes men uncomfortable?" or "Sure, I oppose racism, but political correctness is such a bother for white people" arguments that tend to derail discussions. They're driven by the assumption that the potential discomfort of the people from the 'other side' is as important as the people who are actually suffering from the problem - so that whenever we discuss sexism, we have to give air time to men's feelings, and whenever we talk about transphobia, we have to hand the mike to cisgendered folks who just feel icky about transexuality.
I'm sure you can see why this is a problem.
It's also interesting to note how purposefully generic this comment is. "People never ask each other out," and "Perhaps we've gotten too paranoid." I'll bet good money that what the commenter really meant was, "I/my friends never ask others out" and "People who do things like put on sexual harassment seminars are too paranoid." (If I want to be cynical, I would say the real statements would be, "Men never ask women out" and "Women are too paranoid.")
It's a great way of disclaiming responsibility, so that accusations of insensitivity or sexism can't be put on the speaker. Also, by putting the responsibility on everyone, it neatly covers up the disproportionate ways in which women, gays, and non-whites from either group, are targeted. In reality, neither the victims nor the perpetrators of sexual harassment are completely innocent of the dynamics of sexism and homophobia that pervade the workplace.
My response in a nutshell: Boo-fuckin'-hoo. People's comfort in their workplace trumps your need to target them for sex. You have a right hand and an imagination.
"Also this program really promotes victimization by asking that anything that be thought of as sexual harassment be reported."
Some of the biggest accomplishments of Second Wave feminism include the redefinition of words like "rape" and "harassment." Previously (or currently, in certain states), "marital rape" was an oxymoron, because "rape" did not include forcing sex upon your own spouse. Also, "sexual harassment" did not exist in our vocabulary, and we didn't recognize that it was a problem. Feminism encouraged people, particularly women, to notice and object to instances of sexual violence that were previously overlooked.
Feminism did not create new problems. Feminism recognized existing problems that were being hidden away.
Similarly, this sexual harassment seminar, and other related efforts, are not about creating new instances of sexual harassment - instead, they encourage people who might be afraid or unsure about reporting the sexual harassment that they've experienced.
Oh, wait - what's that? It looks like this comment actually agrees with me: the commenter acknowledges that "anything that be thought of as sexual harassment be reported." Not "anything that might be harassment" or "any sexual language whatsoever," but anything that is actually considered [by the victim] to be sexual harassment. According to this seminar, (and this commenter apparently agrees) the company policy is to encourage that victims of sexual harassment speak up and report their experience, so as to create the possibility of intervention and punishment for the offender.
But that "promotes victimization," huh? Apparently the alternative is just to keep our mouths shut. It doesn't change a damn thing for the person who experienced the harassment - but it does preserve the comfort of other people who don't want to be bothered hearing about it.
This comment doesn't reduce instances of victimization, and it doesn't help existing victims deal with their experience of violation. What comments like this really do is promote silence. They don't offer any solutions to the problem itself - they just suggest that we all shut up about it, so at least the people who aren't affected (usually due to privilege) can go on in their comfortable ignorance.
Anyone who wants to spout off comments like this - hell, anyone who hampers efforts for victims by dismissing them as "promoting victimization" - can kindly shut the fuck up, thank you.