Heterophobia: Sexual Harassment And The Future Of Feminism

Q: A local radio personality was sent to do a live show from a donut shop. Durning a brake a young lady who worked there brought him a cup of coffee. This guy noticed a name tag pinned to the left side of her chest. Instead of saying, "Thank you" for the coffee he said, "Whats the other ones name?" A few men sitting around chuckled. The young lady did not reply to the comment. At the end of the day this guy returned to the station to learn the station was being sued by the donut shop for sexual harassment stemming from his "Whats the other ones name" comment. The station settled out of court paying the woman $10,000.00.

A: The reason the law shouldn't be written in such a fashion is that being a jerk shouldn't be illegal. It doesn't have a regular impact on her work environment because the DJ isn't a regular part of her work environment. Even ignoring that rather essential point, she didn't attempt any non-lawsuit channels first (such as explaining to her boss she'd prefer not to serve that customer anymore), which is legally required by the sexual harrassment laws, iirc. If this story

is true (BIG if -- I note no citation is given, and commercial posts aren't usually noted for their truthfulness), the radio station was insane to settle. Any judge would have thrown this case out (just as Paula Jones' suit was thrown out). But if idiots settle when they didn't need to, that's not the law's fault. Finally, I have a friend who is suing her former workplace for sexual harassment. It was constant, humiliating, and hurtful; and the lawsuit promises to be more of the same (at least during the many hours she can expect to sit there being questioned by her former employers' lawyers). It's not anything fucking like "easy money," contrary to Angi's claim