This wasn't a great article, but Reist is quite correct that the kind of sexual harassment experienced by "Rebecca Smith" is completely unacceptable in any workplace.

I worked and studied for decades in a university that abounded with any number of attractive and intelligent women. Strangely, I never found it necessary to ogle at anybody's boobs, although there were always plenty to look at and I'm a great afficionado of the female breast. Like I've said elsewhere at OLO on this topic, it all depends on how you look ;)

Despite the bleating of some of the blokes here, it's eminently possible to have professional relationships and even friendships (shock! horror!) with attractive women, without necessarily wanting to root them. Indeed, it's all part of the fun if everybody's mutually respectful and moderately confident in themselves.

Dear Suzonline

that was a wonderful post .

I don't think most blokes stare at a womans breasts when they are covered.. (correct me blokes if I'm wrong here) it's the deeeeep cleavage which tends to attract attention. (note the plunging neckline of some newsreaders ?)

We all know you have breasts..and we love em... but as I mentioned.. we need a moral framework which encourages inner purity rather than outward indulgence. I'ts awfully hard to 'stare' at a well endowed womans yummy bits in Church :) because the moral or values framework goes against that. I'ts much easier outside where the feeling is "Oh.. it's ok here"

The thing which has been catching my attention of recent times is the increasing number of young females wearing absolute tight clingy attire around their butt and legs etc.. like a highly shrunk lycra tracksuit. They reveal every nook and cranny on a girl.. it does not help a bloke to think of 'women' in a healthy way...

So.. teamwork is needed.. moral framework... purity in attitude.. non immodest attire.

Ah, the 'uncovered meat' argument.

<< moral framework... purity in attitude.. non immodest attire. >>

Sounds familiar... has Boazy converted to Islam?

SM makes some valid points as MTR also points out - sexual harassment is illegal. What can we do about it?

Well that is the hard part, making something illegal does not necessarily stop it from happening, it just builds an assumption (or should that be presumption) of respect in the workplace.

We can only hope that most people out of a sense of decency and commonsense agree on that premise, regardless of apeman comments about cleavage etc. And most people do, the workplace is a far less sexually harassed environment than times past. There will always be troglodites who do not take responsibility for their own behaviour as OLO always serves to remind us.

Men do look at breasts at some time, whether they be liberally displayed or hidden under a sweater or blouse. My male friends talk about the allure of mystery under a women's clothes so arguing about cleavage and fleshy bits hanging out is superfluous.

Bottom line is harrassment is unacceptable in the workplace. It is not the first time I have heard about this sort of attitude within the legal profession. And the irony is it is the lawyers that represent complainants in Court.

The response from the usual suspects has not waivered. First to ooooh aaahhh waah wahh about gay footballers in locker rooms but heaven forbid a woman complain about SH.

Good grief. Some people really need to take a hard look at themselves.

I agree Pelican- there are certainly some interesting views on this subject!
JonJ <"But the point some commentators are making here is that two people can act in identical ways but -- because you find one of them attractive and the other unattractive -- one can end up accused of sexual harassment while the other is regarded as a valued friend and admirer."

Jon, sexual harassment involves 'repeated, unwanted attention'.
I would put forward that if a man made a suggestion to a woman and she welcomed the idea, he wouldn't have to repeat the suggestion?

If another man uttered the same suggestion and the woman said 'no thanks', but he wouldn't take no for an answer and kept coming back again and again with the same unwanted suggestion, then he is a problem.
Do you see what I mean?

We are not having a go at so-called 'unattractive men' here at all.
One woman's prince is another woman's frog!

"I would put forward that if a man made a suggestion to a woman and she welcomed the idea, he wouldn't have to repeat the suggestion?"

So sexual banter and flirting in the workplace is a myth, and women just drag the men they want into the nearest broom closet as soon as they get the go-ahead? Life doesn't work that way. For most men finding a sex partner is a long slow process of trial and error which involves a great many dead ends and false starts. If you have any way to tell in advance whether a woman is going to take a particular comment as flattering flirtation or sexual harassment, please let me know: I could use the information.