ChristinePauley:
Love happensin the workplace all the time. In fact, it’s where most affairs start. Most relationships. It happens. So do breakups.
Asa woman, I am offended by theonslaught of these lawsuits. As neutral as thelanguage may be, sexual harassment law is gender biased. It exists to protectwoman. It feeds into the perception that women are weaker than. It goes all theway back to common law where women were denied the right to enter intocontracts because we lacked mental capacity. Today’s harassment law is designedto protect us from sexual banter in the workplace because we just can’t take it. I can take it. Can you? Can you? Do we really needto cleanse the workplace of all sexual expression so that it’ll be safe for us?These laws treat us as if we were either psychologically or emotionallyimpaired. And I’m sick of it.
Are some caseslegitimate? Absolutely. But here, this woman is a grown up. She entered into anadult consensual relationship with her boss. Itended. Perhaps bumpy. He’s hurt. He’s still in love. So she sues.
Shewasn’t fired. She is a college-educated vice president of a brokerage firm.She’s 34 years old. She’s a professional.
She’shere today to tell you that she can’t stick up for herself. She is here todaytrying to take advantage of a law that declares women to be the weaker sex. Notfor me, ladies and gentlemen. Iwouldn’t have gotten in my car and driven off. I’d have sooner driven over him.Let’s treat these people—both of them—as if theywere grown-ups.