Sexual Harassment: Who and When?

Yesterday on our very own News & Notes newsletter, we sent out a headline that said: Thomas Found Guilty of Sexual Harassment.

For a second, I was confused. Even though I'd done the show earlier, my mind was on the rock 'em sock 'em between Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (who has a new memoir) and Anita Hill.

(See video on both of them below.)

But in this case, we're talkin' about the NBA, not the guys who battled it out over the Supreme Court. We spoke to Sports Illustrated writer Chris Mannix about Isiah Thomas' liability in this case ... and the millions of dollars paid to the former female executive.

What's the state of sexual harassment? I mean, take the movie "Take this Job and Shove It." It was classic bad hair and pink lip gloss feminism. Dabney Coleman plays a fabulous sexist and sexually-harassing heel. It is all very over the top.

But now that we've fast-forwarded another (ulp!) 27 years, what do we make of sexual harassment? What do we consider it?

A couple of flashes from my life ...

I remember once that I was at a company lunch with multiple tables. At the table next to me, one foreign correspondent was telling an incredibly dirty (I cannot even hint at it here) story about how to incite a certain sexual response in a woman. The guy next to him, who supervised me, turned to me (I was at the next table, but staring bug-eyed, I'm sure) and said, "Sorry!" My boss was genuinely ashamed about the reporter's language. There have been some cases that cover a "hostile work environment"... i.e., porn taped to lockers in a workspace. I don't think this was at all a case of hostile work environment, but it was certainly inappropriate, and someone else may have taken it to management.

What do you think: If you overhear sexual language in a work setting, even if it isn't directed at you, is that a form of harassment or hostile work environment? What do you do?

Wait, there's more... Just from my experiences ...

A company exec who asked me if I'd been a teen mother...

Male co-workers who critiqued my physique to my face....

Men at work who started telling me tales of their sexual exploits....

Luckily I've had no hands on the rear, or else there might have been some Kung Fu.

I think of all of the women who I know who, past or present, have not only had to deal with sexual harassment, but have had to decide what the line is. When do you decide what's crossed the line? And do you go to management, or (out of fear or personal preference) tough it out?

Meanwhile, more on the OTHER Thomas issue ...

Clarence Thomas on 60 Minutes:

Anita Hill on CNN:

Farai Chideya

7:25 PM ET | 10- 2-2007 | permalink

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