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Nathan Lucero October 5, 2018 FHS 2450 Human Sexuality U6 E1 Sexual Harassment

Question

Do people take sexual harassment too seriously? Do you think we have gone too far in
protecting individuals who make charges of sexual harassment? What is the difference between
"flirting" and "harassment?" What difficulties do you think that people who file for sexual
harassment charges face?

Answer Word Count: 665

Sexual harassment is a growing problem within the United States with more and more

cases being reported each year. Thankfully, employers and organizations are now implementing

policies that will under no circumstances tolerate cases of sexual harassment and terminate those

who are offenders. Yet, there are still many challenges that individuals face while dealing with

sexual harassment. Understanding the hardships of victims who face sexual harassment,

determining different sexual thresholds and preferences of others, and stigmas surrounding

sexual harassment cases are just some of the problems that we as a society face today. We are all

different and all have different preferences on how we would like to be treated, however, sexual

harassment is never okay and we as a society should strive to make everyone feel comfortable

and safe – no matter the setting.

One reasons that people don’t take sexual harassment seriously is because they can’t

imagine themselves in the shoes of victims of sexual harassment. Some people can go their

whole life without facing any type sexual harassment, therefore it’s hard to empathize for

victims. The book states that “Like rape or child abuse, sexual harassment is another form of

sexual coercion. At its extreme, women (or men) who refuse or ignore harassment, from both

known harassers and strangers on the street, are at risk of violence and even death.” (Knox and

Milstein 2017, P. 476). This statement shows that like rape and abuse, harassment can have
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detrimental consequences as well, which is why we should take it more seriously and try to view

the situation from the victim’s point of view. If anything, we as a society need to protect and

encourage more individuals who face instances of sexual harassment to come forward and report

their offender.

Another problem that we face as a society is that we are bad at gauging others sexual

thresholds and preferences. This means that it is hard to determine the line between flirting and

harassment when talking to others or when others are talking to you. This causes some confusion

because some people are really sensitive to sexual material and some people aren’t. A good rule

of thumb when it comes to sexual harassment is to take not whether or not you feel

uncomfortable when conversing as well as if the other person feels uncomfortable. If you notice

discomfort in either of you, chances are one of you is feeling vulnerable/harassed and should

change the subject. If the effort isn’t made to change the subject and you/or the individual keeps

pressing on with the conversation, this act is in danger of becoming classified as sexual

harassment!

A lot of the time sexual harassment goes unnoticed or underreported because it can be

classified as the norm. The same goes for any type of sexual coercion. The book defines rape

culture as “the establishment and normalization of male entitlement to women’s bodies as

products to be consumed (‘getting a piece’), while it holds women responsible as the cause of

their victimization (‘she was asking for it’).” (Knox and Milstein 2017, P. 460). This can be

related to sexual harassment in that in some circumstances its heralded as the norm and just

something that men/women do given a certain environment. This isn’t the case and a victim of

sexual harassment should never feel that they should have to endure any form of sexual coercion.
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In conclusion, it’s unfortunate that in today’s progressive society, there are still so many

grey areas when it comes to any type of sexual coercion. As a society, we should all strive to end

sexual coercion and make victims feel safe and empowered to come forward. We should remove

the stigmas and myths that surround sexual harassment and other types of sexual coercion to

make others realize that they do have a choice. No individual should feel that they deserve to feel

uncomfortable and/or victimized. We all need to make conscious efforts to raise awareness to

toxic sexual behavior and put a stop to it.

References

1. Knox, David, and Susan Milstein. Human Sexuality: Making Informed Decisions. BVT

Publishing, 2017.

*All names have been used with permission*