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Example research essay topic: Gender Differences Perceptions Of Sexual Harassment - 1,803 words

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As Americans we tend to have a conditioned view toward sexuality as a normal, healthy part of life. However, it seems that one may underestimate the power sex has on culture, which is evident in many areas. Most recently discussions on a sexual nature received extreme national prominence with the public events surrounding the Kenneth Starr investigation and report, which focuses on the sexual aspects of the relationship between President Bill Clinton and a former intern, Monica Lewinsky. The result was a war of beliefs, morals and differences of cultures mixed with political manipulations. With the increase of sexual presence in our society, it is often wondered how this increase has affected morals and values of those who live it.

Sex is everywhere -- not just limited to the bedroom, but to the television, movies, billboards, office buildings and almost every fragment of modern culture. Around the turn of the twentieth century, open discussion and study of sex was well on its way. Sexual / cultural pioneer, Sigmund Freud believed that sexuality was tightly woven in all persons, present from birth. His breakthrough thinking affected social practices and was instrumental in breaking the ""moral fog that had enshrouded sexuality for most of the nineteenth century did not begin to lift until after the First World War"" (Janus 1993). By analyzing modern culture, a person can accurately determine the effects of the sexual revolution and how it has led to the alterations or evolution of personal, moral and ethical principals. They may be neurosurgeons or typists, police officers or telephone operators, construction workers or even members of Congress - more than half of working women have faced the problem of sexual harassment at some point in their careers.

The situation tends to be worse in male dominated workplaces; in a l 997 Defense Department study, 4 percent of military women have reported enduring such abuse. Although the severity may vary from patterns of obscene joking to outright assault, the emotional damage is often profound and long lasting. Up until just a few years ago, women had no recourse when confronted with such harassment by a boss or co-worker. However, the problem continues to thrive among the female work force reminding women of their vulnerability and creating tensions that make their jobs more difficult. Defining sexual harassment is one of the law's newest frontiers, since it covers such a wide range conduct. In essence, there are two general types of sexual harassment: Quid pro quo harassment and condition of work harassment.

Quid pro quo harassment describes a situation in which a person in authority, typically a male, requires sexual favors from an employee, typically a female, in return for an employment advantage, such as getting hired, getting promoted, obtaining better working conditions, or not getting fired. Condition of work harassment, also known as environment or workplace harassment, is less direct, and arises when an employee is subjected to requests for sexual favors, sexual comments or sexual insults, but no negative employment consequences follow from the employee's refusal to accede to the demands made on her. Sexual Harassment can be defined as an unwelcome sexual advance, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. These constitute sexual harassment when submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly based on a term or condition of an individual's employment.

Submission to, or rejection of, such contact by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance, or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. " In 1988, the EEOC amended its guidelines to extend legal responsibility for the behavior of non-employees as well. This can happen when the employer puts an employee in a situation where it knows, or should know that unwelcome sexual advances are likely to occur. For example, when a company requires an employee to dress in provocative clothing where customers or passersby are likely to make sexual advances to her. However, what constitutes "conduct of a sexual nature"? It is understood that this includes sexual advances or propositions, but this term also refers to many other forms of indirect sexual harassment as well.

The forms that such sexual harassment can take are as varied as a perverse imagination can create. Sexual conduct can also include pranks, threats and intimidation, sexual commentary and lewd humor, and sexual or pornographic pictures permeating the workplace. Hostile acts related to an employee's gender are another type of prohibited conduct of a sexual nature, even though they may not involve sexual overtures at all. Sexual harassment results from a misuse in power - not from sexual attraction. This misuse in power can be a result of male hostility toward the number of working women - Surveys have tracked male attitudes about the proper role of a man in society in order to understand the root of this hostility. When studying the issue of sexual harassment, one may agree that the problem stems from an abuse of power.

Sexual Harassment attributes the problem to women's subordinate position in the labor force. Women are victimized by harassment, because they are generally men's subordinates on the job, with men in the position to do the hiring, firing, supervising and promoting. Sexual harassment can also be caused by men expressing their resentment and trying to reassert control when they view women as economic competitors. In fact, sexual harassment is closely linked with sex discrimination.

Sexual discrimination forces women into lower paying jobs, and sexual harassment help keep them there. Seen in this context, male workers who harass a woman on the job are doing more than annoying her, they are creating a climate of intimidation and repression, making the woman hesitant to seek higher paying jobs where she may perceive the tension as even greater. Thus, sexual harassment accomplishes informally what laws against sex discrimination theoretically prohibit; gender-based requirements for a job. A woman subject to sexual harassment endures pressure, degradation and hostility that her male co-workers don't have to endure -making it that much harder to compete for the job and for advancement. Though it would be virtually impossible to eliminate the problem of sexual harassment completely, various measures have been proposed as an attempt to lessen the growing problem. The best corporate practice calls for companies to create and publicize a forceful policy against sexual harassment.

However, first and foremost, educating employees about what constitutes harassment and its effects is vital, because there is considerable uncertainty and disagreement about what harassment is. Common law tort lawsuits, such as intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault and battery, provide a remedy in certain types of sexual harassment cases that is totally dependent of any of the statutes and governmental agencies. Though the solutions proposed might seem comprehensive in plans to lessen sexual harassment in the workplace and punishment of harassers, women still face formidable obstacles in preventing harassment from continuing. The proposed measures fail to cover all aspects of harassment, though the truth is, it is virtually impossible to formulate a plan to do so.

Anti-harassment policies in the workplace can significantly lessen the occurrences of harassment by co-workers, but in reality, corporate policies are only as good as the supervisors that enforce them. One third of harassers are the victims' immediate supervisor. Another third, are even higher up on the corporate ladder but do not directly supervise their victims, and the rest are the victims' peers. If the actual problem stems from the supervisors who are supposedly enforcing an anti-harassment policy, then the policies are worthless. However, even if women for a company with a well established harassment policy, many women still keep their mouths shut. They don't want to be seen as troublemakers or worry about the long-term consequences of complaining.

The individual who makes a complaint is immediately subjected to scrutiny, criticism and blame. In regard to the solution of simply asking the harasser to stop there is no telling whether this will be effective or not. This solution depends largely upon the personality of the harasser and therefore may have no effect if the harasser happens to be an aggressive or powerful male. The manner in which the individual being harassed goes about telling the harasser to stop can also be an important factor as to whether this method will succeed or not. For example, if a woman asks her boss to stop the harassment while smiling, or perhaps says it softly, it may possibly be construed as teasing or playful behavior which in turn would provoke the supervisor to come on even stronger, viewing the harassment as a "sexual game. " Although, the EEOC can file lawsuits on behalf of victims of sexual harassment, women who take their accusations to court face even bigger obstacles than mere public disapproval. The legal process is long and cumbersome - it can be years from the first complaint to the final verdict and in the meanwhile, the woman is in a legal, professional and often financial limbo.

Women are not entitled to collect damages under the Civil Rights Act - just back pay; so many women don't see this process as worth the trouble. Even those, however, who do file a complaint and win a harassment case may feel lost. Though, Title VII offers reinstatement to previous job, the individual may be shunned or harassed by co-worker thus making conditions even more uncomfortable than they were beforehand. Evidently, sexual harassment has manifested itself into the everyday work environment, and has now unfortunately become a common occurrence for some women. Though government procedure countering this problem has improved considerably over the past few years, as long as there are women in the work force, they will inevitably be subjected to the torture that is sexual harassment. Works Cited Bernstein, Aaron. "So You Think You Have Come A Long Way, Baby? . " Business Week (1998): 48 - 52.

Christopher, Madura. "America's Women: Meeting the Challenges of today. " Scholastic Update 119 (1997): 5 - 7. Dryer, Paula. "Affirmative Action: After the Debate, Opportunity. " Business Week (1987): 36. Ehrlich, Elizabeth and Garland, Susan. "For American Business, A New World of Workers. " Business Week (1998): 112 - 118. Sachs, Andrea. "A Slap at Sex Stereotypes. " Time 133 (1999): 66. Dobritch, Wanda and Steven Dranoff. "The First Line of Defense" A Guide to Protecting Yourself Against Sexual Harassment. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2000): 34 Taylor, Joan Kennedy. "What To Do When You Don't Want to Call the Cops: A Non-adversarial Approach to Sexual Harassment. " New York: New York University Press. (1999).

Wright Dzeich, Billie and Weiner, Linda. "Sexual Harassment on Campus. " The Lecherous Professor: (1990): 130 - 145


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