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[neutralname]

Katie Roiphe in her quest to promote sexual freedom:
In Favor of Dirty Jokes and Risqué Remarks
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/opinion/sunday/sex-harassment-what-on-earth-is-that.html?_r=1&src=tp&smid=fb-share

I've never been much of a fan of Roiphe, and this anti-PC rant strikes me as missing the point as much as her earlier writing against Take Back the Night movements etc.  But she is right at least that we need to think carefully about when crudeness and suggestiveness are appropriate.  Many of the NYT readers' comments make good criticisms of her. 

[tuxedo_cat]

Roiphe is a waifish, overprivileged idiot.

[tuxedo_cat]

I apologize, neutral -- I seem to have killed your thread!  And I didn't even have the courtesy to read the column.  I don't have a subscription to the NYT and couldn't bear the thought of wasting one of my paltry # of allowed articles on her tired drivel.

This response on Slate is pretty interesting.

[neutralname]

Thanks Tuxedo, that's interesting. 

I haven't seen any overbearing regulations of the workplace that make people scared to joke or express any sexuality.  Am I just lucky?

[tuxedo_cat]

Thanks Tuxedo, that's interesting. 

I haven't seen any overbearing regulations of the workplace that make people scared to joke or express any sexuality.  Am I just lucky?

Well, I think being in academia probably helps!  I confess, I haven't read a lot of research on this, but I think that the class angle on the whole issue of harassment is way more compelling.  I suspect that the less education you have, and if you work in service-industry professions, you may be far more likely to deal all kinds of harassment and hostile work environment issues . . . *all* the time.

My younger sister is an accountant without a college degree who has worked at a whole bunch of male-dominated business, and she has just put up with it.  But you know, your average pink-collar female worker probably didn't go to Princeton and probably isn't writing columns for the NY Times.

[oldfullprof]

Roiphe rocks!  PC is often more rationalization.  I'm definitely for non-abuse, but reconceiving social change as prissy, middle-class politness is silly.  

What we should have is more control of corporations, less control of personal lives.  We've received the opposite, of course.

Every movement for social change seems to get fitted into corporate agendas.  Much of the PC stuff is a mask for increasing control over the workplace.

Take Back the Night was positive.  Except that Dworkin, who is basically a gender-fascist, often showed up and spewed gender-hate speech.  I've heard it.