My friend got canned for comments made outside work.

[errantember]

It's worth noting this entire thread was supposed to be a comment on troyisburning's LJ. I can only blame pumpkin inhalation.

I agree that there should be a reasonable recourse for anyone who feels uncomfortable at work because of someone else's behavior, but the current state of affairs regarding sexual harassment is definitely disproportionately unfair to men. Much the same as the damage that can be done to someone's reputation by a false accusation of rape, women in a corporate environment can do almost any amount of damage to someone's career an livelihood, up to an including getting them fired and making it very hard for them to find another job. Troy's experience here is an uncomfortably real-world example. The fact that this environment exists is directly the responsibility of feminists' efforts to deal with the *other* inequality of institutionalized sexism in the workplace.

Until we work to rectify *all* inequalities for *both* sexes, there will be good reason for complaint. In most cases I agree with feminism's efforts to earn equality for women, but in circumstances where all it's done is reverse the direction of discrimination, it needs to be resisted, like any other form of oppression. I need to hear people who identify as feminists say "in some cases we have gone to far, and we will willing relinquish in some cases hard-earned power because having it makes things unequal."

Comments

[greendreams.livejournal.com]

I have a simple rule: co-workers and students are NOT friends.

I don't really like it, but I made the rule to protect my family and lifestyle.

A presenter at a workshop recently commented how we now have a choice between accepting total honesty from every person or completely living in fear.

There is no way to have "privacy." I actually carry a camera with me everywhere so I can have my own picture of what happened just in case I ever need one.

[terriblelynne.livejournal.com]

I'm totally down with you on this one. It's a rare, RARE occasion when I exchange anything other than work-related information and very light niceties to coworkers, and unless I already know them from some aspect of my personal life, they get to know NOTHING about mine. I get my social interaction needs met in other ways, and my life is otherwise none of their damn business.