Please, SOMEONE Ask Herman Cain To Define “Sexual Harassment”!

by Michael Matheron · November 7, 2011

So far we’ve heard very little from Mr. Cain about his actions that led to sexual harassment claims back in the late ’90s when he led the National Restaurant Association. Yesterday, he told reporters he simply was not going to answer any questions on the matter. O.K. Perhaps, though, he’d answer a very general question, “What, sir, do you think ‘sexual harassment’ is? What’s your understanding of the real world meaning of the term?” His answer would help us understand what he means when he repeatedly says, “I have never sexually harassed anyone.” So, please, some brave soul with a press pass, ask him! . . . .

“This bill opens the door for opportunists who will use the legislation to make some money,” Cain, then CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, told Nation’s Restaurant News. “I’m certainly for civil rights, but I don’t know if this bill is fair because of what we’ll have to spend to defend ourselves in unwarranted cases.”

Politico [Cain was referring to the Civil Rights Act of 1991, where Congress created the right of victims of intentional discrimination, including sexual harassment, to seek money damages in court, rather than just a court order or the like.]

Potentially, Mr. Cain’s definition of what he considers to be “sexual harassment” will reveal far more than has been thus far about his character. Certainly, we’ve heard a lot from Cain himself about his present predicament, most of which can be boiled down to “Quit asking about that,” “Excuuuuuuse me,” and “Get out of my face.” That approach, of course, is standard, and no surprise at all when a politician does it. But no one in the media has to my knowledge asked him,

“Just what, Mr. Cain, do you think sexual discrimination is?”

It’s time to do so. I’d bet my dollars to his pizzas his answer would be very interesting. George Will once wrote, “Conservatives define themselves in terms of what they oppose.” Would that characterize Cain’s response? In any event, his answer is important. It would reveal more about his character. It could help him. It could sink him. So, please, someone ask him!

Please Give Us Some Examples of “Nothingness”

But, like some of us think a tomato is not a fruit, but a veggie (I do, despite so-called “science”), I guess we all have our own definition of sexual harassment. Here’s the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s:

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment, (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. [29 C.F.R. § 1604.11]

The laws prohibiting sexual discrimination were, by the time of the infamous Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas showdown, already on the books, aka The Civil Rights Act of 1964. [Link is to the as amended version]

The EEOC definition above, as in most laws intended to have a long reach, is couched in general terms. Some phrases do appear to be commonsensical, though. “Requests for sexual favors” is one. But others, from the first sentence in the EEOC regulation, leave room for disagreement, for example,

Unwelcome sexual advances,
other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature

What do most of us label as verbal conduct of a sexual nature? Telling a sexually loaded joke? calling a woman a “babe”? how about a “cutie”? These are just a few of many possibilities, and remember that they apply to males as well. And, of course, women can themselves be guilty of sexual harassment. And it also covers all gender identifications.

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Here’s some explicit examples deemed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to be sexual harassment. It’s from their agency-wide guidance, Understanding Workplace Harassment (FCC Staff):

Examples of actions that may create sexual hostile environment harassment include:

Leering, i.e., staring in a sexually suggestive manner

Making offensive remarks about looks, clothing, body parts

Touching in a way that may make an employee feel uncomfortable, such as patting, pinching or intentional brushing against another’s body

Telling sexual or lewd jokes, hanging sexual posters, making sexual gestures, etc.

Sending, forwarding or soliciting sexually suggestive letters, notes, emails, or images

Perhaps some cub reporter will ask Mr. Cain what kind of actions he considers to be sexual harassment. I think we’d all love to hear the answer.

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