I was doing sexual harassment training for a recent part-time job, and taking the quiz at the end of a section. One of the questions asked if sexual harassment was about power or desire. Wow, they really ran out of questions to ask -- isn't that obvious? I clicked on desire.
Incorrect. What?
That question cost me a perfect score. I had to print out the certificate that I completed training, and since my printer hasn't been plugged in for years, I was at the library. I pressed print. Nothing happened. I had to call the librarian over. SEXUAL HARASSMENT was plastered in huge letters on the computer screen, along with a score of 93.
"What is that?" asked the librarian.
"It's not what you think! I was doing sexual harassment training."
"And you didn't get a perfect score?"
I explained the question, and she agreed that sexual harassment is about desire. The tech support guy came over. "A 93?!" I repeated the question again. "Of course it's about power."
A huge argument ensued. I just wanted to print out my certificate and get out of there, but they wouldn't stop talking about it. I don't want to make this about gender, but the female said that sexual harassment is about expressing your desire for a person, and the male said that sexual harassment is about showing your power over someone.
Which is it? Is it silly to say that power and desire are often the same thing?
Comments (32)
It can be a desire for power over a person. I'm sure with some people it could be desire, but I figure it's mainly about power. Just like with rape.
well i think it could be both, depending on the situation. If its someone over you at work, then its a possibility of power, but hey, if its someone in the same department or so, it might be that they like your tush? haha or it could be power of a false confidence...
I think it depends on the individual. Ive never been sexually harrassed at work or anything like that, so, my tush is safe =) and just speculating
I can see how they can assume power. I agree with that on some levels.Â
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Shouldn't a post about sexual stuff be on datingish?
Or wifekicker?
I say it's about power.
@Dare2BDiferentt@xanga - its about a workplace related situation. It's not an actual event but a work related questionnaire
power for desire. haha. um what?
Most women get raped because a man, "wants to feel in control and in power" usually because his life is messed up.
Sexual harrassment can also be something as little as making a sexual or gender related joke, and someone halfway across the room hearing it and getting offended.
It's a dangerous world out there - you really have to watch everything you say and do.
I think they go hand in hand..but rape, for example, is said to be about power--not about desire. Desire has a role in it, but it is ultimately about power. Sexual Harrassment can be a lot of things--like RandomSobriety said, it can just be a gender-derogatory joke...or it can be a boss pressuring his or her employee to have sex with him or her while threatening their job, or promising a raise. I think it's about power.
I would have to agree that it is usually about power. But that doesnt mean there isnt some desire in there!
Im sorry you had to deal with that situation. What crap! Dont you usually have to do that kind of stuff at work?
It's about power. A person who simply desires someone isn't going to just reach out and grab that person's butt. It's socially unacceptable, and most humans have sufficient self-control and understanding of basic common morality to know that that's not okay. We're not a bunch of monkeys, after all.
Yeah. It's about power. Exerting that you can treat that person however you like, that you're the superior Alpha male.
Power.
Both. Totally dependent on the situation. Women in their 60's+ have been victims before, so it's not ALWAYS about desire.
Although I do hate it when women act like they're the only ones who can be victims of stuff like that.
Well, I think desire and power in a woman's mind come from the same place. We're taught from a young age that our beauty/sexuality is a source of power for us, so I think it's very easy for us to think that they are the same thing...they both have to do with passion, I think it's a matter of interpretation.
lol. srys but that;s a funny scenario. ^_^;; arguing about it in a library. i think it could be either way depending on the person;s character.
lol, i'm sorry you had to be in this situation hahaha
but i think sexual harrassment is desire, too
you get a perfect score in my book
They say it is about power because of the harassers need to control and exert power over the victim.
Both.
The harasser wants to exert power over the victim, but he must also have some kind of perverted sexual desire in order to even want to do such a thing.It's a power trip, wanting to control something, while letting a desire run totally rampant.I would say sexual harassment is about power. Think of the difference between flirting and harassment. Flirting is a bit of desire, but a person should check him or her self if it is unwelcome. In a case of sexual harassment, it isn't always about whether or not the harasser finds the victim attractive, but the mere fact that the victim is whichever gender is being targeted makes the harasser want to assert his/her dominance. It doesn't have to be physical touching, either; it can just be a constant, slightly threatening reminder that the harasser is there and is in control.
Well, by definition, something like quid pro quo sexual harrasment would be about power, because the harrasser has to be in a position of power for it to have taken place.
totally different. it is about power.
I read this book one time and this kid raped another kid, not because he was gay, but because it was about power.
In cultures its more about power, but I think in the workplace, it could be classified desire.
I think it depends on the situation. If someone says something like, "Wow. Nice rack!" without thinking, I'd say it's desire. Where as if someone were to say, "How's about we relocate your office under my desk, sweet cheeks? Other we might, uh, have to look at budget cuts, if you know what I mean..." that's more of a power-trip.
its definitely about power.
I had chosen power before I read that that was the correct answer. I guess it depends on your point of view. That's where people differ. I think that if a man sexual harasses you it's because he wants to prove to himself that he is in control and can do what he wants. If it were desire, he wouldn't act in a despicable way toward the woman, he would want to ask her out or tell her he likes her, such and such. But if a man goes to the extreme, then it's about power I think.