A QUESTION OF "SEXUAL HARASSMENT"

Q: This just happened at work. I work as part of a department at a large community college. We were slow and one of our workers entertained himself my drawing a picture of a female coworker in a bikini. He showed it to the subject who laughed and put the picture up by her desk which is away from the public. Another worker from another department had come in to sharpen a pencil when she saw the picture. She told me that the picture was sexual harassment. I was shocked and called over both the artist and the subject and asked them if either thought it was sexual harassment. They both laughed and the visiting worker stormed out of the room.

A: I thik that mistaken on three points: 1. Although sexual harrassment rules were put in place to protect women from men, and although the people who handle complaints are usually loath to admit that the same actions are often done by women to men, if a man is persistent he can often get protection under these rules. Of course, he'll probably also be told he's a freak and a member of the evil oppressor sex, and that women hardly ever do nasty things. 2. You're right that sexual harrassment is just a subset of offenses in which people are coerced into providing services that were not part of their jobs, but since sexual favors make up a large part of these demanded services, calling it sexual harrassment is generally a pretty accurate description of the phenomenon. I don't know whether there are laws against this behavior outside of a sexual context, but if there are, they didn't do much to protect harrassed employees. 3. You're right in that putting a picture of a woman in a bikini on a desk is different from demanding sexual favors in order to keep a job, and that terming this sexual harrassment is a misnomer. This is, however, merely a symmantic point: limits on an employee's self expression in the workplace are necessary and good. When I worked for a large computer company I couldn't tell customers that I liked the competition's machines better. I can't

insult my students (at least in their hearing). I can't put up erotic pictures in my office. Although there is an element of bigotry here in that the agressiveness implied in such a display is one that most women take advantage of in other circumstances, and in that women generally aren't forced to remove similar material, the principle that a workplace should be free of material that pisses coworkers off is a good one. Finally, what I think should happen in the cited situation above: If the company's employee handbook says that displaying pictures of scantily-clad people in the workplace is not allowed, the woman with the picture on her desk should be forced to remove it.