If she had no interest in the man,but pretends to for a position,promotion,movie role,etc.. do you consider that sexual harassment? If not, do you feel it is ok for a woman to do this? It is a way of using sexuality for empowerment,but it is a grey area. Let's see if we can all be grown-ups and have a legitimate conversation about this.
shareDepends on the job.
If it's for sales or customer relations, chances are her superiors are one step ahead of her, encouraging the bubbly friendliness only because it serves their monetary goals.
If it's for working in a kitchen, she is way out of line. She would be told to put a net on that hair, stop stinking up the place with perfume and that heels are unacceptable.
I'll back off from this.
shareI wish you wouldn't. I encourage civility, but with all of the sexual assault and harassment issues towards men of late,I think we should broaden the conversation to look at this issue too. People should never be afraid to have a respectful conversation about serious topics.
shareFine,then.Don't say i didn't warn you...this comes from a guy...i will not accept to been used as a "ramp"for asccending in the career of any woman...i'm not a boss,but if i would've been,i wouldn't accept to be her puppet.
shareIf it's not done in a harassing way, then no it's not harassment.
Also, she is likely doing this to her superiors, who she has no power over. It's a different dynamic when a boss is offering advancement to a subordinate in exchange for sexual favors, because the boss has power over the subordinate. In that situation, money is used to obtain consent.
In your example, nothing except allure is being used to obtain consent, which is very normal.
The woman would be guilty of advancing by bribery instead of merit. At worst, she can be fired, since it's not exactly a crime (maybe in government work it could be considered criminally fraudulent).
Couldn't it be said that if her actions intentionally cause her superiors to act in a manner that they wouldn't normally,then she most definitely has power over them?
shareThat's why it would be "bribery," which she could be fired for (and her superior), but it's usually not a crime.
shareUsually,unless something physical or some type of exposure has taken place, sexual harassment isn't a criminal offense.
shareYeah I don't know why I was placing harassment in the crime category.
Brain fart! So it would be bribery. It all comes down to what the person is seeking. The subordinate using sex to get ahead, they are seeking more money even though they're not qualified, so they bribe. The superior using advancement to get sex, they are seeking sex even though they're not in a couple with the subordinate, so it is sexual in nature.
It's not a brain fart, in the current media culture sexual harrasment has been conflated with everything from a joke about someone's sexuality to actual rape... lines have been bluurrrred...
Anyway, as relates to the original poster's question, I would be more worried about someone using the threat of sexual harrasment allegations as a way to climb the corporate ladder or extort a healthy settlement...
I would never date, or have sex with someone from work. Not worth it. I keep things rather formal with the women at work... Even though some of them are quite lovely... Not worth it, plently of non-work fish in the sea...
That is a VERY good point. My brother has a high position in a fairly large company. He makes a point to never be alone with any female employee,just for this reason. He's never had an issue,but knows guys who have.(it was an office affair gone bad in their case) He doesn't even think any of the women that work for him would do that, but it isn't worth the risk. Even an unsubstantiated accusation can ruin a man.
shareBy today's definitions, I've been sexually harassed by a woman four times in my life. Back then, it didn't occur to me to call it that, and if you put a gun to my head, I still say it wasn't harassment.
I know that's not your question but the question of definitions must be addressed. What is harassment today will be rape tomorrow.
Still, there are indeed women in power who sexually harass males subordinate to them as a quid pro quo for advancement or just plain power tripping, and that's wrong. The problem is that a lot of men would be afraid to speak up about this, as much as or perhaps more than women today.
People shouldn't lump rape with a grope or with a joke...
I also hope there aren't any women who are proven to be lying, because it was shut the rest up, and the public wouldn't believe even the women who told the truth.
People shouldn't lump rape with a grope or with a joke...
No, it's not a sexual harrasement. Yes, I'm okay with that. The last thing I want is that every girl would intentionally dress badly and wear no makeups (or worse, makedowns) so that they would not be accused of sexually harass their co-workers for advancement in careers.
What I am not okay is with women that hold superior positions actually sexually harass their sub-ordinates. This does happens. It's rarer but also maybe even more under-reported.
That's fair. I think most men would feel emasculated for coming out and saying they were sexually harassed.
shareI don't think its really that rare but the threshold it has to achieve to be considered harassment to a male is much higher. The believe-ability of a complaint? You are probably best just leaving the company.
shareIts inappropriate, and most likely against some kind of policy. Its harassment if it continues after she was told to stop, but women are often less likely to stop because they know most men will either not report it and deal with it or possibly eventually give in. Women have far more power in non violent sexual situations.