Planet of the Arts Vol. 5 no. 1 Fall 1989 PEPE Sex & Lies HOTLINES Anew Hotline has been proposed in the College-on the walls of the cubicles in the women’s washroom next to the cafeteria-asking for sexual har- assment stories. So, | thought I’d give you some of mine, but first... Question: Sexual harassment: what is it? how do I know whether I’m doing it or getting it? Answer: Sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes it’s more complicated. Sexual harassment as a legal term, refers to unwelcome sexual attention from someone in an authority position in relation to you, which interferes with, limits, or undermines your performance in the workplace, or your access to the enjoyment of public services and facilities. This also includes sexually oriented remarks and behaviour which may be reasonably perceived to create a negative psychological environment for work or study. Question: How can | tell whether the compliments about my appear- ance from-someone-in-an-authority- position were innocent and suppor- tive gestures, just stupid, or a power manipulation? Answer: a) depends on your reaction, whether you experience it as respectful and welcome it or whether it creeps you out and you feel vampired; b) depends on what other clues you get about whether s/he is caring about your well-being, ignorantly inappropriate, or selfishly exploitive. Question: So, | decide that I’m getting uninvited and unwelcome sexually-referenced attention from my employer/supervisor/instructor, how is it hazardous to my health? Answer: a) depends on whether you can dismiss it or stop it and how much co-operation you get from the offender and/or the system in which it happens; b) if you feel powerless you’re vulnerable to distress symptoms, lowered self-esteem, reduced perform- ance, diminishing opportunities and an alienation from the community in which it happened. Question: What should | do when | feel harassed? Answer: Assess the costs/benefits of your options with someone who can help you figure out what it would be like for you to a) just let it go; b) confront the offender; c) report the offence to the harasser’s supervisor; d) lay a formal complaint with the agency or office which deals with grievances about sexual harassment. Sometimes the harassment is very obvious, you Eva Allen can deal with it directly and it gets resolved. At other times, it’s more confusing. Here are a couple of sex/ power scenarios. You get to wonder about the resolutions. Scenario #1: You as student or you as instructor-supervisor have a mutual attraction for each other-two consenting adults appreciating each other’s body/mind/soul and all that. A couple of scenes later on one of you has to make some sort of performance evaluation about the other, a letter grade or a recommendation for a scholarship, etc. Can you think of any fair, clean resolutions to this one, so that neither of you or your immediate community feels harassed or ripped off? Try it from both perspectives: the relationship that’s still hot and the one that’s cooled. Scenario #2: You've got a super- visor with a predatory style. You're irritated by the corny come-ons but you don't take it personally. You usually dismiss the pestering with your drop- dead look or ironic one-liners. But today you’re kind of vulnerable and end up feeling undermined. You're mad at both of you for it getting to you. What do you do and why? Scenario #3: Last year you felt flattered and appreciative of the “spe- cial” interest that your instructor took in you- you thrived and your work took a ~ surge upward. Today you are less certain whether it was all positive for you and you’re having trouble sorting out whether you were exploited in any way and have some anger, guilt and shame about it. How do you sort out the ambivalences and clean out the garbage you’re left with? Many colleges and universities have developed codes of conduct and procedures for the assessment of whether harassment has happened and grievance procedures for fair resolution. We are looking into establishing this at ECCAD. If you have any questions or concerns about this please contact the Dean, Maurice Yacowar, or the Coun- sellors, Eva Allan and Joanne Mah. And to end on lighter note about the anxieties that surface from a focus on what is good attention and what is not so good, I’m including a tongue-in- cheek memo exchange with a staff member about how should we address the assessment of codes and viola- tions: Dear Eva; | heartily support a policy or proce- dure for above (guide-lines for conduct, etc.)-but what about those of us that would welcome say, 15 min of sexual harassment every other day? ... Where do we fit in ... How about the harassees and harassors all in 2607? ... a little wine & cheese thing. love, Wondering Dear Wondering, I’m glad that you support a policy or procedure for above and | don’t know where you fit in. Maybe you just need reassurance that some sort of mutual flirting is still o.k. and won't become an endangered species. | certainly hope so but it gets pretty confusing when | start to think about it too self-con- sciously ... | mean, | feel insecure at this point what it means to close my letter with “love”, or “yours” or “sin- cerely”. Don’t want it to come across as a lie or a hot line ....... with respect, Eva P.S. The definition of sexual har- assment comes from the pamphlet Against Sexual Harassment: a hand- book for students at post-secondary educational institutions in B.C. 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So, I thought 'd give you some of mine, but frst Question: Sexual harassment: what Is it? how do I know whether 'm doing it or getting it? ‘Answer: Sometimes i's obvious, ‘sometimes it's more complicated. ‘Sexual harassment as a legal term, refers to unwelcome sexual attention from someone in an authority position in elation to you, which interferes with, limits, or undermines your performance in the workplace, or your access to the enjoyment of public services and facilities. This also includes sexually oriented remarks and behaviour which ‘may be reasonably perceived to create a negative psychological environment for work or study. ‘Question: How can | tell whether the compliments about my appear- ance from-someone-in-an-authority- position were Innocent and suppor- tive gestures, just stupid, or a power manipulation? ‘Answer: a) depends on your reaction, whether you experience it as respectful and welcome it or whether it creeps you out and you feel vampired; b) depends on what other clues you get, about whether s/he is caring about your well-being, ignorantly inappropriate, or selfishly exploitive, Question: So, | decide that I'm getting uninvited and unwelcome sexually-referenced attention from my employer/supervisor/instructor, how is it hazardous to my health? Answer: a) depends on whether you can dismiss it or stop it and how uch co-operation you get from the offender andior the system in which it happens; b) if you feel powerless you're vulnerable to stress symptoms, towered self-esteem, reduced pertorm- ‘ance, diminishing opportunities and an alienation from the community in which it happened. Question: What should | do when | feel harassed? Answer: Assess the costs/benefits of your options with someone who can help you figure out what it would be like for you to a) just let it go; b) confront the offender; c) report the offence to the harasser’s supervisor; d) lay a formal complaint with the agency or office which deals with grievances about sexual harassment. Sometimes the harassment is very obvious, you Eva Allen ‘can deal with it directly and it gets resolved. At other times, it's more ‘confusing. Here are a couple of sex! ower scenarios. You get to wonder about the resolutions, ‘Scenario #1: You as student or you as instructor-supervisor have a ‘mutual attraction for each other-two consenting adults appreciating each other's body/mindisoul and all that. A couple of scenes later on one of you hhas to make some sort of performance ‘evaluation about the other, a letter grade or a recommendation for a ‘scholarship, etc. Can you think of any fair, clean resolutions to this one, so that neither of you or your immediate ‘community feels harassed or ripped off? Try it from both perspectives: the relationship that's stil hot and the one that’s cooled. Scenario #2: You've got a super- visor with a predatory style. You're irritated by the comy come-ons but you don't take it personally. You usually dismiss the pestering with your drop- dead look or ironic one-liners. But today you're kind of vulnerable and end. up feeling undermined. You're mad at both of you for it getting to you. What do you do and why? ‘Scenario #3: Last year you felt flattered and appreciative of the “spe- cial” interest that your instructor took in you: you thrived and your work took a Surge upward. Today you are less Ccertain whether it was all positive for you and you're having trouble sorting ut whether you were exploited in any way and have some anger, guilt and shame about it. How do you sort out the ambivalences and clean out the Garbage you're left with? Many colleges and universities have developed codes of conduct and procedures for the assessment of whether harassment has happened and. grievance procedures for fair resolution. We are looking into establishing this at ECCAD. If you have any questions or ‘concems about this please contact the Dean, Maurice Yacowar, or the Coun- sellors, Eva Allan and Joanne Mah. ‘And to end on lighter note about the anxieties that surface from a focus ‘on what is good attention and what is ‘not so good, I'm including a tongue-in- cheek memo exchange with a staff ‘member about how should we address the assessment of codes and viola- tions: Dear Eva; \ heartily support a policy or proce- dure for above (guide-lines for conduct, etc.)-but what about those of us that ‘would welcome say, 15 min of sexual harassment every other day? ... Where do we fit in ... How about the harasses and harassors all in 260? a litle wine & cheese thing. love, Wondering Dear Wondering, I'm glad that you support a policy or procedure for above and I don't know where you fit in. reassurance that some sort of mutual flirting is still o.k. and won't become an ‘endangered species. | certainly hope ‘80 but it gets pretty confusing when | start to think about it 100 selt-con- sciously..| mean, | feel insecure at this point what it means to close my letter with * love", or “yours” or “sin- ‘cerely". Don't want i to come across as alle or a hot line . with respect, Eva P.S. The definition of sexual har- assment comes from the pamphlet ‘Against Sexual Harassment: a hand- book for students at post-secondary ‘educational institutions in B.C. 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