What's That Sound? Sexual Harassment.

Look at both of these sentences.

"Hey, you look like you could use a good kiss on the lips."

"Beautiful, I'd love to stare at your behind all day, but I can only afford to pay for a cup of coffee."

Now, what do you recognize about both of these comments? For me, these two quotes aren't just random words splayed across a page, but statements made towards me at my place of work. Furthermore, they are just a brief representation of what many people have to put up with on a daily basis- sexual harassment.

Sure, these aren't what can be qualified as "extreme" forms of sexual harassment, but first and foremost, we need to clarify exactly what sexual harassment is. By definition, sexual harassment is the "harassment (typically of women) in a workplace, or other professional or social situation, involving the making of unwanted sexual advances or obscene remarks." Sound familiar? Of course, this definition just covers the "normal" places where women are to "expect" these kind of remarks. It fails to cover other instances where someone may encounter sexual harassment, like walking home after class, trying to walk into the women's restroom, or simply bending over to pick up something off the ground.

Secondly, it fails to define exactly what unwanted sexual advances or obscene remarks are. Let's start with unwanted sexual advances. For example, I am at a bar with my friends and then we head to the dance floor. My friends and I have been dancing for a couple of songs now and you think that because you are also dancing, you have now received the proper qualifications to force your crotch on my back and dance against me.

Do I know your name? No. Do we have an established relationship of any sort. No. Furthermore, did I give you consent to do such a thing? Based on the previous answers, I'm going to say that's a solid NO.

Let's continue on to obscene remarks. These include, but are not limited to, any reference to my breasts, hips, butt, natural hair color, and what exactly my mouth can do. Obscene remarks may also include sounds, such as whistling or barking. Also, just because you think it's a compliment, that doesn't mean it actually is.

Now that we know what exactly sexual harassment is, it should be fairly easy to pinpoint and eliminate, right? Considering that is a fairly new concept legally, having been made illegal in the 1970s, it really didn't reach the public eye until the 1990s. Think about that for a second. Yeah, I'm thinking people had been sexually harassed long before the 1970s. Still, you would think that now, people would get that maybe some comments or gestures are better left to themselves. However, drugs are illegal and terrible for you, but people still do those, so why would sexual harassment be any different?

Maybe, because most of the time, people who do drugs, like doing drugs. They weren't, in most cases, forced upon them. Sure, economic status, social class, and availability of drugs do play a significant role in whether or not someone partakes in the use of drugs. However, none of those factors play any sort of role in sexual harassment. People like to be high, that's why they do drugs. I don't think there is anyone actively looking to be sexually harassed.

Lastly, the repercussions for sexual harassment are little to non-existent. This just leads to the implication that we are just supposed to be used to it. In a survey conducted by the Trades Union in conjunction with the Everyday Sexism Project, it was found that out of 1,500 women surveyed, 52% of them had experienced some form of sexual harassment at work. When narrowed to women between the ages of 18-24. the percentage rose to 63%. One woman, who responded anonymously within the survey stated, “I don’t report these behaviours because they are (apart from rape and serious assault) normal. This kind of stuff happens all the time, in every part of life.”

Pretty disgusting, right? This is just one survey with one response. Even now, one of the candidates for president has come under fire for their comments and previous transgressions towards women, and they are still able to run for said position. It's a hard pill to swallow considering that if this candidate were to find a place at the Oval Office, he would be working with women from all walks of life who are knowingly aware of what exactly goes through his mind and comes out of his mouth.

Not only that, but it just permits the notion that these acts of sexually based comments and actions have absolutely no repercussions. Instead, there is a brief uproar and then ultimately, silence. It's that silence that leads to statements made on anonymous surveys such as the one mentioned previously.

"This kind of stuff happens all the time, in every part of life." Just because it does, doesn't mean that it should.

Love, Heldie