Sexual Harassment Joan Kennedy Taylor Sexual Harassment - A NON ADVERSARIAL APPROACH A Cato Institute Book a NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London Copyright © 1999 by Joan Kennedy Taylor All rights reserved First published in paperback in 2001. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Taylor, Joan Kennedy. Sexual harassment : a non-adversarial approach / Joan Kennedy Taylor. p. cm. “A Cato Institute Book.” Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-8147-8232-9 (cloth : perm. paper) ISBN 0-8147-8274-4 (pbk. : perm. paper) 1. Sexual harassment of women—United States. 2. Sex discrimination against women—United States. 3. Sex role in the work environment—United States. 4. Sexual harassment—United States. I. Title. HD6060.3 .T39 1999 331.4'133'0973—dc21 99-6652 CIP New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 C O N T E N T S Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 PART I: The Scope of the Problem ONE The Starting Point 13 TWO What Sexual Harassment Is and Isn’t: History and the Law 29 THREE It May Not Be a Legal Problem 45 FOUR A Failure to Communicate 59 FIVE How to Communicate Your Concerns 73 PART II: Male Group Culture SIX Sticks and Stones 91 SEVEN Seeing Sex as Dirty 103 EIGHT Pictures That Embarrass 111 NINE Competition and Hierarchy 119 | v | Contents TEN Indoctrination into Society 129 PART III: What’s to Be Done? ELEVEN Can Sexual Harassment Be Forestalled? 141 TWELVE What’s Wrong with Sexual Harassment Law? 159 THIRTEEN The Larger Picture 167 FOURTEEN Training for Success 179 FIFTEEN Towards a Feminist Theory of Training 193 Notes 205 Index 223 About the Author 233 | vi | A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S Marcia Pally, the founder of Feminists for Free Expression, was the first person who encouraged me to write this book when I started planning it in 1995. Others who spurred me on in the early stages are Dr. Sharon Presley of Resources for Independent Thinking; Cathy Young and Rita Simon of the Women’s Freedom Network, who in- vited me to speak on the subject in 1996; Lee Nason; Ann E. Stone of Republicans for Choice; David Boaz and Ed Crane of the Cato Insti- tute; and Walter Olson. I would not have taken on this task without their encouragement. I particularly thank my agent, Carol Mann, who knew that this was a trade book and was so impressed with my thesis that she couldn’t be- lieve it hadn’t already been the subject of a book. (I had to bring her the results of three days of library research to convince her.) Of course, the book could not have been written without the many people whom I talked to and corresponded with, who shared their opinions and experiences. Those whose names I can divulge are Molly Hays, Carol Cunningham, Rebecca Shipman Hurst, Marion Neustad- ter, Dorothy Lang, Tama Starr, Noreen Storrie, Susan Niederhoffer, Suzanne Riggenbach, Elizabeth Rodenz, Joanne Kelly, Dr. Elsa Bas- tone, Dr. Lois Copeland, Dr. Richard Sperling, Professor Kingsley R. Browne, Rita Risser, Esq., Aleeza Strubel, Sharon Szymanski, Dick and Irene Riemann, Dr. Anne De Gersdorff, Sally Begley, Eleanor Lord, Virginia Sullivan Finn, Danny Rosenblatt, Jeff Riggenbach, An- nelise and Martin Anderson, Lee M. Shulman, David R. Lagasse, Esq., Joyce Shulman, Lou Foritano, and Laura Kroutil. I also must mention the constant inspiration I have received over the past years from my friends at Feminists for Free Expression. Cathy Crosson of the legal committee first made me aware of the similarity between protective labor legislation and current sexual harassment law in her amicus briefs, but I hasten to add that she does not necessarily | vii | Acknowledgments agree with the use I have made of the idea. And President Jennifer Maguire and board members Ann Beeson, Mary Dorman, Marjorie Heins, Marcia Pally, Candida Royalle, Catherine Siemann, and Veron- ica Vera have all, in different ways and at different times, represented to me the importance to the feminism movement of comradeship cou- pled with a true respect for diversity of thought. Several people have also provided crucial input at various stages of the preparation of the manuscript. George Wu’s Chelsea Cottage restaurant in New York City provided a home away from home while I was writing the book. Christine Kelly typed up interviews; Sharon Presley gave me a great deal of help with the research and also read the drafts of several chapters; the Reverend Lois Rose read and gave help- ful comments on a nearly completed manuscript; David Boaz and Darcy Olsen read and commented in detail on the penultimate ver- sion. Finally, my editor at New York University Press, Niko Pfund, has been guide, philosopher, and friend through all the drafts and reorga- nizations of the book, and the remarkable Ellen Frankel Paul of the Social Philosophy and Policy Center at Bowling Green State Univer- sity provided really invaluable editorial help at the end. I am deeply grateful to everyone. | viii | I N T R O D U C T I O N When people asked me what I was working on during the time I was writing this book, I found that as soon as I said, “Sexual harassment,” two or three people elsewhere in the room would gravitate towards me to hear what I had to say. And immediately, the anecdotes would start. But it didn’t seem as if everyone was talking about the same thing. “It’s the language at the office I can’t stand,” said one young woman. “Stockbrokers are the worst,” agreed another. “I couldn’t get this one man who worked for me to stop bothering a secretary who wouldn’t go out with him,” said a male employer. “Sexual notes, cards, phone calls; I even found him crawling on the floor just out of sight of her desk, preparing to jump out and startle her. And he was a friend of mine! I finally had to forbid him to go into the room where she worked.” “Do you know why I was never charged with sexual harassment in all my years of teaching?” asked a former professor. “Because I never had a conference with a female student without leaving the office door wide open.” “Don’t you think that the issue of sexual harassment is really a question of manners?” asked a former office colleague of mine. “Dignity and humor,” said the woman president of a construction company. “You can get through any situation with dignity and humor.” “It’s part of the litigation explosion,” said the author of The Litiga- tion Explosion. “It’s the most important issue in the workplace today,” said a man who had run one of the divisions of IBM. “There was this guy who worked for a nonprofit, and he gave his secretary a raise and, when she thanked him, unzipped his fly and took out his penis and said, ‘Now, suck me off.’ When she said no, he fired | 1 |