Sexual Harassment: The Workplace’s Dirty Little Secret

re's my take on it as a psychologist who has counseled about 500 men over the years.

"What is it with men that they want to make women receptacles of their pain!?" Lady Gaga The tsunami of men's bad behaviors is seen in allegations of sexual harassments by Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Donald Trump, Bill Cosby, Louis C. K., etc. etc., and the revelations in #metoo. I wrote a book “The Phallic Imperative: Why (Some) Men Are Hard To Get Along With!?” Sub-titled “Male Dinosaurs: A View From The Swamp” It's about men’s learned behaviors that can result in us acting out REALLY bad behaviors on others. Here they are: 1.Men are taught to be problem-solvers, not intimate relators 2.Men don’t take women seriously, while at the same time are terrified of women 3. Vagina envy: men think we need sex & women should give it to us 4. Men have weak masculine egos 5. Men mysticize women 6. Men’s bodies are armored against intimacy 7. Men lie when we feel cornered 8. Men don’t understand why so many women are so angry at men 9. Achievement-oriented men have a self-perception of brutal omnipotence 10. Men have a strong tendency to dominate others, particularly the women they say they “love” Question: “Besides a dinosaur wadda ya wanna be when you grow up?” I’m thinking that people are off the mark when they say sexual harassment is a power play over women. Yes - and - it is, i think, much worse and sinister than that - its about men attempting to snuff out the feminine of which many - not all - men are terrified.

You left out the religious factor - every major religion has at its core some tenet historically used to subjugate women. we've been burned, hanged, stoned, beaten, sold, enslaved, etc. in the name of religion because we hold the power to reproduce. Sad.

Zero tolerance is fine as long as it doesn't mean automatic termination for any infraction. The new manager who calls staff members honey or sweetie doesn't need to lose their job. Automatic termination will cause women not to report. They won't want everyone fired, they just want the comments, jokes, references or even hugs to stop. Additionally in order to improve the likelihood of reporting women, and men who feel they have been harassed, should be encouraged to report it to any member of management they feel comfortable talking to. Don't assume this is HR, their manager or an EEO officer. When word is out that managers have a requirement to report it is just as effective. I read advice today that the first response should be, "Thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention. We take them very seriously."