When I wrote the first draft of this post I had considered myself lucky for not having experienced any type of confrontational sexual harassment. It’s demeaning, it’s disrespectful and it’s only helping the problem. ![]() The problem begins with even the smallest of actions: a suggestive comment or “love tap” is considered appropriate behaviour. I couldn’t believe that over the course of the week, every women I talked to had an example of an experience where a man either tried to exploit his authority or spoke to her in an inappropriate manner in a professional setting. Where there are men and women together in the workplace, women are vulnerable to sexual harassment. Though women have come a long way fighting for equality, they continue to encounter men behaving inappropriately on a regular basis whether they’re in the spotlight or not. ![]() With recent allegations and what I’ve experienced in my job, does it mean I have to change the way I dress? Do I have to give up my signature red lipstick that makes me feel happy, bright and ready for the day when I leave the house? When I put together my outfit everyday I’m putting on my uniform I’m going out into the world as my most confident self. Isn’t that what fashion is all about? A way to show your personality, your mood, your energy? A way to put your best self forward and make a statement about who you are and what you stand for? Fashion is a way to express your confidence and the power of being a woman. I couldn’t help but think of all the comments about women “asking for it” when they dress a certain way how they’ve been accused for attracting the wrong kind of attention by expressing themselves. In my mind I was praising them for having the confidence to run sans-shirt as I was dying of heat in my own. ![]() There was a guy sitting alone on a bench with his bike, “people watching.” How terrible is it that my first thought was whether he was enjoying the view or all of the women running by? This came to me only moments after I was internally applauding all of the women who had decided to take their shirts off due to the crazy humidity. I really started thinking about this when I was running today. Without sharing our stories and experiences, women are going to continue to be sexualized. But then I realized that was precisely the reason I had to write. I tucked this story away, but after recent events led to a heated conversation at a women’s get-together last week, I decided that I too had an opinion and a platform for my voice to be heard.Īt first I wasn’t going to blog about this I thought the topic too controversial and emotional. When I shared the story with other men their reactions varied from brushing it off as “no big deal,” to laughing, to understanding how incredibly offensive and degrading it was to have a man expect women to dress and act a certain way in order to be considered professional. I was at first shocked, embarrassed, and then downright angry. ![]() He was calling to advise me that it may be in my best interest to dress more conservatively for my meeting later that day as he felt that this woman’s appearance had offended his boss. He had just come out of a meeting with his new boss who had behaved strangely in the presence of a female saleswoman. It wasn’t long ago that I received an awkward call from a customer.
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