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The Brian Lehrer Show
Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination
Monday, October 08, 2007
Jill Gardiner, reporter for the New York Sun, on accusations that Bloomberg LP discriminated women.
Then, since a jury found Knicks coach and president Isaiah Thomas liable for sexual harassment, listeners tell us what the climate in their workplace is like in terms of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.
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Comments
Wasn't Isaiah Thomas 'found liable'for cicil negligence, instead of 'convicted' of a crime? Brian keeps saying 'convicted' which puzzles me.
Here we go...opening the phone lines to opine about the most crucial issue facint us today: "Does testosterone-driven culture exist in the workplace?"
Who cares!?!?! Why not take calls during the politics segment so we can ask guests about IMPORTANT issues? Is the Brian Lehrer show attempting to be TMZ, Inside Edition, etc.??
C'mon Brian, your show used to be first-rate--let's get back to it.
I don't dispute for a second the level of discrimination and harrassment that women must endure on a routine basis in the workplace but I must cite my experience in my previous job where gay and female culture came to predominate. It was interesting to find heterosexual males in a minority and the oestrogen level could reach a fever pitch e.g. when a male model go-see was taking place in the office, the women were not shy about making it abundantly clear that they were sizing up each and every model and making every effort to get a good look at them. It often occured to me that should the straight men had acted the same way when female models were in the office, it would not have been considered acceptable. There was definitely a subtle form of discrimination going on, that was anti- straight male. Sometimes it was as simple as what was allowed (as in accepted) for the gay males to say to the women would not have been appropriate for the straight men.
In responce to the comment about the fox news anchorperson there is that great quote from Dolores Claiborne, "Sometimes you have to be a high-riding bitch to survive. Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman has to hold onto"
about the "culture of testosterone" in the workplace question: I am self-employed and I work from home, so I don't have any co-workers. but I live with my boyfriend, who never does his share of the housework, no matter how much I beg and berate him. So I end up spending my work-days looking at his dirty dishes and smelly socks lying around. Do I clean up after him so I can enjoy a pleasant work-space? Or do I sit around trying to concentrate on work while I smell his stinky socks? I have met lots of men who think it's OK to leave all the cleaning for the women. I think this is a major way that sexism is played out in the modern world and in my otherwise-progressive social circles. YUCK!
to the caller: if women wear provocative clothing are they not asking for attention?
I have worked in cultures previously where there was quite a bit competition between women, not men. what do you call that? being catty.
Hey self-employed, why don't you pack up your boyfriend's smelly socks and dirty dishes and make him take them with him in the morning? You're entitled to work in as clean an office as he is--let him figure out what to do with this infringement on your workspace. Bet he'll get the point real fast! ;)
in response to rick:
She must be a Brown Bagger. Angry at the world.
I have to say I was raised well in a loving family but we all act differently when we are around certain people. Some bring out the best in us, some bring our the worst in us.
Re: Isiaih Thomas - OK, Brian, you apologized, but then you said, 'a jury made a decision [against]' Remember that a civil jury needs less evidence (a preponderance of evidence) to make a judgement, than a criminal jury (beyond a reasonable doubt), to convict. How does anyone know the details of the trial and what evidence was presented if they weren't there?
I have to admit also that I was wrong when I said Mr. Thomas was 'found liable', it was Madison Square Garden the corporation which Thomas works for, was found liable. Thomas isn't liable for anything, except for what he allegedly stupidly said to the woman, and what he did say stupidly about how black men have more lattitude to say stupid things.
I am a 40 year old that has gone back to school to finish a degree. I am sick and tired of all the thongs and underwear sightings I have to endure every time I go to class.
When did it happen that in order for a girl to feel good about herself she feels she needs to advertised her sexual appeal so openly? And yes, I agree that regardless of how someone dresses, nobody has the right to harass that person, on the other hand, why are so many women surprised when they are treated the way they are if their attire so clearly advertises that?
Parents need to take back the role of guides for their teenagers. It is their responsibility to tell them that if they dress like a slut/slacker, they will be treated as one. It is their responsibility to teach them that there is a place and a time to advertise their sexuality, and it is not in a classrooom, or the workplace. It is their responsibility to teach them that harassing people doesn't make them a bigger person; it only makes them a bigger ass. It is their responsibility to teach them that "pretty/handsome is temporary, stupid is forever".
Example of the culture:
bitch (magazine) is a nonprofit, independent, quarterly magazine published in Portland, Oregon, United
States, that bills itself as a "Feminist response to pop culture".
History
The first issue of bitch was published in January 1996. The founding editors, Lisa Jervis and
Andi Zeisler, wanted to create a public forum in which to air thoughts and theories on women,
gender, and feminist issues, especially within the lens of the media.
---------------------------------------
Example of lauguage and expression in today's culture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitch
---------------------------------------
We have a popular magazine named bitch, this magazine was started by two female feminists (Womens Rights??) and in addition to that in the english language there are at least twenty different interpretations and nuanced understandings of the word bitch, that dates back to at least the 1400's.
So Isaiah was wrong, but let's not act like we do have clue what he is reffereing to. To acknowledge what he is reffering to does not mean one agrees with him or his interpretation, nor does it mean one accepts what he says as right. His actions are a sign of the times and another red flag. We should all stand up and take notice.
Hey Brian the poster - it is in the news - maybe you are one of those thick males who "Just didn't get it" as women said when the Clarence Thomas hearings took place and Anita hill came forward - it was relevant then and it is indeed relevant now!
R.A. - You reminded me of my days in art school when I dressed on the preppy side and worked hard to be sure that I really understood and solved the given problem before submitting anything that would subject me to the brutality of a critique - but I was considered shallow for my lack of "artiste" costume, even though my work rested on its merit and nobody argued with that.
I agree, stupid is forever, and i don't really get why the acute need to assert one's feminine/sexual power flashing thongs in lecture halls (though as memory serves it's really fun to be young and pretty while it does last because after that, you are invisible) - maybe this is a way out the other side, and eventually there will be balance on this issue. (Might be part of the evolution of a solution?)
to Self-Employed (#7): I understand. My dad does this to my mother and my brother grew up NEVER doing the cleaning. I was always on the hook for the chores and he got to stay out all the time and use the house like a hotel. I had a male-roommate in college who was filthy and it was impossible to discipline him as I wasn't a girlfriend. A lot of men resent being told what to do and once they leave their moms, some of them don't take what they were taught and apply it to life, they adopt a "You can't tell me what to do" attitude because they are men. I love men, they way they look, smell (when clean), and their strength and hairiness and all of that good stuff, but think women's lib has turned me against wanting to live with one. I feel for you.
This thread is closed.
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