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Locker Room Talk and Sexual Harassment

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DebateChallenge

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All too often young men in high school and particularly college like to engage in "locker room talk" where they talk about and boast about sexual stuff they've done. They say stuff such as "I did this, she did that, ect." Anyway, I don't always want to engage in locker room talk and as a matter of fact most of the time I don't. So lets say a guy tries to have locker room talk with me, lets say he asks me something such as if I've ever been laid, can I press charges for sexual harassment? After all, he is making lewd conversation which I believe would be grounds for sexual harassment.
 
DebateChallenge said:
All too often young men in high school and particularly college like to engage in "locker room talk" where they talk about and boast about sexual stuff they've done. They say stuff such as "I did this, she did that, ect." Anyway, I don't always want to engage in locker room talk and as a matter of fact most of the time I don't. So lets say a guy tries to have locker room talk with me, lets say he asks me something such as if I've ever been laid, can I press charges for sexual harassment? After all, he is making lewd conversation which I believe would be grounds for sexual harassment.
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No idea, but logically I think it could be...I don't think the law is different depending on gender of either the victim or the abuser...
 
You don't have a right to not be offended. What you do is simply tell the person you want a change of subject.
 
DebateChallenge said:
All too often young men in high school and particularly college like to engage in "locker room talk" where they talk about and boast about sexual stuff they've done. They say stuff such as "I did this, she did that, ect." Anyway, I don't always want to engage in locker room talk and as a matter of fact most of the time I don't. So lets say a guy tries to have locker room talk with me, lets say he asks me something such as if I've ever been laid, can I press charges for sexual harassment? After all, he is making lewd conversation which I believe would be grounds for sexual harassment.
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Depends on where you are. If you are in a school or work place they usually have a no tolerance policy on that which could result in administrative action of some sort. Of course keep in mind that could very well turn into a "he said / she said" thing (just using he and she as examples, it could be he said/ he said, etc.).

However, if you are outside the workplace, outside of office hours, and not working with that person or in a position to hire then you get into a very grey area.

While federal and state laws differ, the "general" definition of sexual harassment is :

sexual harassment consists of unwelcome sexual conduct that either creates a hostile work environment or is used as a basis for employment decisions.
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So to a stranger outside of your work, school, place of employment, hours or potential hiring situation "locker room" talk may not be sexual harassment. Of course different states have different laws about it.

EDIT: There are some outliers as well. A military member of the Armed Forces is expected to maintain military discipline even while not in uniform. Some workplaces may also have that stipulation as well.
 
KevinKohler said:
You don't have a right to not be offended. What you do is simply tell the person you want a change of subject.
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What if they don't change the subject, or they persist in engaging in "locker room talk" when I made it clear I don't want to talk about such stuff?

Anyway what you said would imply this, lets say I go up to a woman on the street and ask her if she would like to do this or that or whatever, (not that I ever would) based on what you said she could simply tell me she wants a change of subject or she could walk away. What I would expect is that she would run to the nearest police officer and I would get arrested. Again, not that I ever would go up to a random woman and ask her if she would like to do stuff.
 
KevinKohler said:
You don't have a right to not be offended. What you do is simply tell the person you want a change of subject.
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Again, that depends. In the work or school environment, that could be construed as sexual harassment. I'm talking legally, not what "should" happen. Personally I would just tell that person it's none of their business.
 
DebateChallenge said:
So lets say I go up to a woman on the street and ask her if she would like to do this or that or whatever, (not that I ever would) based on what you said she could simply tell me she wants a change of subject or she could walk away. What I would expect is that she would run to the nearest police officer and I would get arrested. Again, not that I ever would go up to a random woman and ask her if she would like to do stuff.
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you wouldn't be arrested for it if that was your first time. However, if you did it several times in a day, each day, yes you might get a harassment charge filed against you.

The whole reason to fight against sexual harassment is to not create a hostile work environment. You are there to work, not pick up chicks.
 
Praxas said:
Depends on where you are. If you are in a school or work place they usually have a no tolerance policy on that which could result in administrative action of some sort. Of course keep in mind that could very well turn into a "he said / she said" thing (just using he and she as examples, it could be he said/ he said, etc.).

However, if you are outside the workplace, outside of office hours, and not working with that person or in a position to hire then you get into a very grey area.

While federal and state laws differ, the "general" definition of sexual harassment is :



So to a stranger outside of your work, school, place of employment, hours or potential hiring situation "locker room" talk may not be sexual harassment. Of course different states have different laws about it.

EDIT: There are some outliers as well. A military member of the Armed Forces is expected to maintain military discipline even while not in uniform. Some workplaces may also have that stipulation as well.
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I thought sexual harassment was not limited to just work or school but that it applied to society in general and that in most cases its against the law. Its common sense that you would get in trouble if you do what I mention in post #5.
 
DebateChallenge said:
I thought sexual harassment was not limited to just work or school but that it applied to society in general and that in most cases its against the law. Its common sense that you would get in trouble if you do what I mention in post #5.
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Again, if that was your first time and you didn't work with that person or were in a hiring situation with that person no, you would not be arrested. At best if she went screaming to the police, they would just give you a warning worse case scenario and tell you to leave her alone. Now if you touch her that is where the assault comes in.
 
DebateChallenge said:
What if they don't change the subject, or they persist in engaging in "locker room talk" when I made it clear I don't want to talk about such stuff?

Anyway what you said would imply this, lets say I go up to a woman on the street and ask her if she would like to do this or that or whatever, (not that I ever would) based on what you said she could simply tell me she wants a change of subject or she could walk away. What I would expect is that she would run to the nearest police officer and I would get arrested. Again, not that I ever would go up to a random woman and ask her if she would like to do stuff.
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Unless you're threatening her, cops just gonna tell her to go someplace else. They have actual, real issues to deal with.
 
DebateChallenge said:
So lets say a guy tries to have locker room talk with me, lets say he asks me something such as if I've ever been laid, can I press charges for sexual harassment? After all, he is making lewd conversation which I believe would be grounds for sexual harassment.
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Harassment is generally something that continues despite clear signals from the person they don't want it. If a guy asks you if you've ever been laid, you are free to say something to the effect of "I don't kiss and tell," or "none of your damn business." Now if he keeps badgering you about it and teasing you about it. If he's making fun of you and claiming you're a loser for not having sex and he won't leave you alone then it might be appropriate to talk to the person in charge of the locker room area and let them know that this person is bothering you and won't leave you a lone.
 
Praxas said:
Again, that depends. In the work or school environment, that could be construed as sexual harassment. I'm talking legally, not what "should" happen. Personally I would just tell that person it's none of their business.
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A guy bragging about banging the cheerleader in a locker room with other guys is not sexual harrasment.

Google the definition of sexual harassment.
 
DebateChallenge said:
I thought sexual harassment was not limited to just work or school but that it applied to society in general and that in most cases its against the law. Its common sense that you would get in trouble if you do what I mention in post #5.
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In most cases sexual harassment, as opposed to sexual assault, is not against the law. It can be against work place rules but it is not an actual crime. If you are disrupting the peace, making threats, or exhibiting stalker behavior you may be arrested. But as rude as it may be, making lewd comments in and of themselves is not against the law.
 
Sexual harassment is unwanted sexual attention or advances. Bragging about banging a girl is NOT sexual attention. It is crude behavior, but he is not giving you sexual attention, getting into your pants is not his intent.

Remember? Intent? That little word?

Otherwise, anything and everything could be construed as offensive and harassment, based solely on the judgement of the "victim".

You could come up to me and put out your hand, and I could construe that as you trying to grab my balls, instead of the offered handshake that it was. Is that the world you want?
 
MrWonka said:
Harassment is generally something that continues despite clear signals from the person they don't want it. If a guy asks you if you've ever been laid, you are free to say something to the effect of "I don't kiss and tell," or "none of your damn business." Now if he keeps badgering you about it and teasing you about it. If he's making fun of you and claiming you're a loser for not having sex and he won't leave you alone then it might be appropriate to talk to the person in charge of the locker room area and let them know that this person is bothering you and won't leave you a lone.
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And even then, its not sexual harassment...its another hot key trigger word...

Bullying.
 
DebateChallenge said:
All too often young men in high school and particularly college like to engage in "locker room talk" where they talk about and boast about sexual stuff they've done. They say stuff such as "I did this, she did that, ect." Anyway, I don't always want to engage in locker room talk and as a matter of fact most of the time I don't. So lets say a guy tries to have locker room talk with me, lets say he asks me something such as if I've ever been laid, can I press charges for sexual harassment? After all, he is making lewd conversation which I believe would be grounds for sexual harassment.
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Yes, and the proper progressive answer in this day and age is if someone talks to you one time in a *suggestive manner then you should press charges and discuss at length how you've been victimized.

*feel free to be as subjective and contradictory as you need to be when it comes to "suggestive" talk in order to maximize media exposure.
 
DebateChallenge said:
All too often young men in high school and particularly college like to engage in "locker room talk" where they talk about and boast about sexual stuff they've done. They say stuff such as "I did this, she did that, ect." Anyway, I don't always want to engage in locker room talk and as a matter of fact most of the time I don't. So lets say a guy tries to have locker room talk with me, lets say he asks me something such as if I've ever been laid, can I press charges for sexual harassment? After all, he is making lewd conversation which I believe would be grounds for sexual harassment.
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lewd conversation does not equal sexual harassment


oi....people need to toughen up
 
KevinKohler said:
A guy bragging about banging the cheerleader in a locker room with other guys is not sexual harrasment.

Google the definition of sexual harassment.
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A guy bragging about banging the cheerleader in a locker room is not sexual harassment, a guy asking another person if they have been laid CAN be construed as sexual harassment. Cool the tone.
 
Praxas said:
A guy bragging about banging the cheerleader in a locker room is not sexual harassment, a guy asking another person if they have been laid CAN be construed as sexual harassment. Cool the tone.
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So can a hand shake.

If I ask you if you banged a chick, it's not sexual harassment.

Intent matters.
 
DebateChallenge said:
All too often young men in high school and particularly college like to engage in "locker room talk" where they talk about and boast about sexual stuff they've done. They say stuff such as "I did this, she did that, ect." Anyway, I don't always want to engage in locker room talk and as a matter of fact most of the time I don't. So lets say a guy tries to have locker room talk with me, lets say he asks me something such as if I've ever been laid, can I press charges for sexual harassment? After all, he is making lewd conversation which I believe would be grounds for sexual harassment.
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Hey, feel free to expose the character of the other guys...but sexual harassment (if you were going to go with legal charges) generally means someone with power or authority to effect your job or grades or other aspect of your life.

And I know this isnt a serious OP but hey, I'm happy to join in and highlight how and why.
 
DebateChallenge said:
What if they don't change the subject, or they persist in engaging in "locker room talk" when I made it clear I don't want to talk about such stuff?

Anyway what you said would imply this, lets say I go up to a woman on the street and ask her if she would like to do this or that or whatever, (not that I ever would) based on what you said she could simply tell me she wants a change of subject or she could walk away. What I would expect is that she would run to the nearest police officer and I would get arrested. Again, not that I ever would go up to a random woman and ask her if she would like to do stuff.
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Why, what did you say that was illegal? Are you implying that speaking to women is against the law? WHat 'stuff' are you referring to?

Again...I realize you are trying to show that women are 'making a big deal out of nothing,' but pretty sure you wont be successful.
 
reinoe said:
Yes, and the proper progressive answer in this day and age is if someone talks to you one time in a *suggestive manner then you should press charges and discuss at length how you've been victimized.

*feel free to be as subjective and contradictory as you need to be when it comes to "suggestive" talk in order to maximize media exposure.
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Really? What is the charge?
 
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