In my last Ethical Musings post, Employment
and ethics, I argued that inculcating virtue is the best approach to
Christian ethics.
Women refusing to accept sexual harassment, especially in
the workplace, have spawned the Hashtag Me too movement. Women
are denouncing harassers; employers are beginning to take those complaints
seriously, appropriately disciplining or firing abusive male employees instead
of paying the accuse hush money upon signing a confidentiality agreement.
One explanatory factor for the movement, although in no way
a mitigating factor in terms of a harasser’s culpability, is that women
historically were not part of the workforce. World War II marked the first
widespread entry of women into the labor force. Regrettably, women entering the
workforce did not become a catalyst for men treating women with the dignity and
respect with which men treated male members of the workforce. Instead, men
continued to devalue women. Too often, men regarded women as lesser beings to
be exploited as sexual objects rather than human beings equally worthy, along
with men, of dignity and respect. This treatment of women as subordinate beings
is evident in women typically earning less money for the same work than do men,
slower or more limited promotion opportunities for women, categorizing certain
tasks (domestic work, teaching, caring for the sick and elderly) as “woman’s work,”
and sexual harassment.
In the Book of Common Prayer’s Baptismal vows, Christians
promise to respect the dignity of every human being. No distinction is made for
gender (or sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, political views, etc.). Sexual harassment
– in any context – is immoral and unchristian.
Given human imperfection, sexual harassment will never entirely
disappear. But the Hashtag Me too movement is an overdue growing pain as
our society moves towards becoming more just, more equitable. Instead of being dismayed
by the prevalence of sexual harassment, recognize that the growing refusal of women
(and many men) to accept immoral behavior in the workplace and elsewhere is a sign
of progress in an otherwise discouraging time.
Critically, cultivate in yourself, your friends and colleagues,
and, most importantly, children and young people habits consistent with perceiving
and treating all people with equal dignity and respect. These habits include use
of appropriate language and touch, avoiding demeaning thoughts or words, and seeking
to see God, or at least the good, in each person. Then, when confronted with a situation
in which you have the opportunity to ill treat someone for your pleasure or gain,
a situational temptation that is generally inevitable if not frequent, have confidence
that your habits reinforced by God’s luring, will cause you to act rightly without
having to think about what to do.
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