Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 16, 1993 TAG: 9305170262
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: F-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
As a woman, I'm tired of hearing the lame, sick excuse of men that every sexual harassment charge is "boys will be boys." At what point in a "boy's" life does he enter manhood and can distinguish right from wrong? We live in a society that labels women as "asking for it" because she dresses the way men, society and social situations dictate.
As an Equal Employment Opportunity investigator, I can attest that men often complain about conduct and language of women. However, I find it interesting that even in those cases the woman is labeled as the individual at fault.
I entered the work force in the mid-'60s, and have seen tremendous advances and changes due to the necessity of women holding down full-time jobs for mere survival. The majority of men are intelligent enough to accept this and to realize that the basic right for men and women is to work, free of harassment.
It disheartened me to read the front page of the April 22 Roanoke Times & World-News about the Guns N' Roses incident, and to learn that even the young woman's mother told her she asked for it. Then I turned to the editorial page and read the letter to the editor by David W. Garland, UVa '91, entitled "Whining women at odds with ideals." Obviously, he is a woman-hating "boy."
Everyone has a right to go to their place of employment for the sole purpose of working for a paycheck, free of harassment. Gee "boys," isn't that a difficult concept to learn? D. PAMELA STAMPER MONETA
by CNB