sexual harassment....as a political stance

[undergroundpanther]

Sexual Harassment Is A Grassroots Political Movement
By Amanda Marcotte
Thursday, June 13, 2013 11:17 EDT


One of the biggest misconceptions out there about sexual harassment is that it’s mostly intended as a kind of flirting, an attempt by the harasser to get positive attention and maybe even consensual sex. If you believe that, you’re much more likely to be hoodwinked by pro-harassment arguments about how innocent men are getting castigated, thrown out of conferences and bars, blocked on Twitter, etc. because they are either socially inept (Asperger’s is often trotted out as an excuse) or because “hypersensitive” bitches are freaking out because they love to “play the victim”. (Enjoy my take on this misogynist stereotype at the Daily Beast.) The reality is that harassment is usually about, well, harassing someone. It’s often disguised as flirting, but only so the harasser can (oh irony) play the part of the victimized innocent when his target pushes back. Disguising it as flirting also helps draw out the harassment, because the target often doesn’t want to be painted as “hypersensitive” and so she can be coerced with that into playing along and pretending she’s being flirted with when she and the harasser both know that he’s pushing her boundaries to get the pleasure of making her uncomfortable. Sometimes harassment is its own reward for harassers.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/13/sexual-harassment-is-a-grassroots-political-movement/

[The Magistrate]

1. There Is Something To This, Ma'am

An interesting and useful take on the subject.

[MattBaggins]

2. Many of them are like trolls on the internet

They do it, as you said, to see if they can get a rise. To see how far they can get and then turn the tables on the victim.

It is often a form of bullying.

[annabanana]

3. . .. . rings a bunch of bells for anyone who has ever

even been on the edges of the receiving end of that kind of "attention".

[antigone382]

4. This article is absolutely awesome.

This part especially:

This interaction doesn’t demonstrate that the man sending the unsolicited cock shot is profoundly stupid or socially inept, but the opposite: He’s extremely well-versed in the unspoken “rules” of social interaction. He’s particularly aware of the profound pressure that women are under to play along and pretend that harassment is “flirting” for fear of being accused of hypersensitivity. Indeed, he demonstrates this awareness by promptly reminding her of her “obligation” to play along to “prove” she’s not hypersensitive. He also knows that women are supposed to be ashamed of being harassed and to try not to draw attention to it, and when she rejects that “rule” by sharing his tests with his mother, he is genuinely freaked out because she’s not playing by the script that his probably countless other targets have. He doesn’t ask her to stop for his mother’s sake. He says, “That’s not right.” He knows that the unspoken rules state that women are to turn inward with shame when sexually harassed, and when someone said to hell with those rules, he—a guy who sends unsolicited cock shots!—becomes All About The Rules.

It very effectively refutes the idea that harrassers are just trolls better off ignored. They have an agenda which is extremely toxic to women. It must be fought at all costs.

[chervilant]

5. This precisely describes

the actions of the POS who harassed me, and explains why I got my own branch at least six months prematurely.

[nomorenomore08]

6. Yeah, pretty hard to sexually harass someone by accident.

A guy who's reasonably respectful in his social interactions, and knows when to lay off, probably has nothing to worry about.

[stevenleser]

7. Amanda Marcotte is a Gem.

I'm honored to have had her come on my show twice, most recently last week.

[antigone382]

8. kick for visibility n/t

[DirkGently]

9. While miscues are possible, harassment is not generally

... an "accident." Sexual bullying would be the simplest reduction. Most definitely incorporating an attitude that "I can do this to you, because I am more powerful than you."

[JDPriestly]

10. Harassment in the workplace is about demonstrating power and

demeaning the person who is being harassed. She doesn't dare say anything because people will ask what she did to cause him to do what he did. The man doing the harassing gets a thrill out of feeling that he could if he wanted to embarrass the woman at any time,