"Bit*ches" in the Workplace
The President of the New York Knicks basketball team and the head coach, Isaiah Thomas has been recently found guilty of sexual harassment in the workplace. The complainant in the case was Anucha Browne Sanders. Part of her complaint had to do with inappropriate touching, as well as a hostile work environment based on her gender. During the civil case, it was revealed that Mr. Thomas and Knicks point guard, Stephon Marbury, regularly referred to Ms. Sanders as a “bitch.”
What was most telling about Mr. Thomas was a videotape of his pre-trial deposition in which he stated that it wasn’t okay for a White man to refer to a Black woman as a "bitch." However, he did see a distinction, when a Black man was the one making the remark to a Black woman. He didn’t feel it was equally offensive. After the videotape aired in court, Mr. Thomas left the courthouse and begged the media to explain to viewers that the comments weren’t really reflective of his opinion on calling women a “bitch” and who can throw around the name.
I’ve never been called a “bitch” by a man or woman at work. But, I don’t imagine a scenario where I would tolerate either a man or a woman making that comment. Those are fighting words. If a conversation degenerates to name-calling…it works both ways.
So, MY QUESTION TO YOU:
Have you ever been called a “bitch” by a man at work? Was he White or Black? Were you offended by the remark on its own or was your reaction related to the race of the man doing the name-calling? Have you been called a "bitch" by a female coworker?
What was most telling about Mr. Thomas was a videotape of his pre-trial deposition in which he stated that it wasn’t okay for a White man to refer to a Black woman as a "bitch." However, he did see a distinction, when a Black man was the one making the remark to a Black woman. He didn’t feel it was equally offensive. After the videotape aired in court, Mr. Thomas left the courthouse and begged the media to explain to viewers that the comments weren’t really reflective of his opinion on calling women a “bitch” and who can throw around the name.
I’ve never been called a “bitch” by a man or woman at work. But, I don’t imagine a scenario where I would tolerate either a man or a woman making that comment. Those are fighting words. If a conversation degenerates to name-calling…it works both ways.
So, MY QUESTION TO YOU:
Have you ever been called a “bitch” by a man at work? Was he White or Black? Were you offended by the remark on its own or was your reaction related to the race of the man doing the name-calling? Have you been called a "bitch" by a female coworker?
Labels: hostile work environment, in the news, same race harassment
posted by S. Mary Wills at 11:03 AM
1 Comments:
Unfortunately, I have! Each time, I made it perfectly clear that it was unacceptable. The offender was a white female and the incident occurred three times. The last time, she asked me to justify why I didn't want to be called that name. It took everything in me not to slap the sh*t out of her as I knew I would be the one to lose my job. That time I made a formal complaint to HR. They suggested I speak to my manager, who knew about the first incident and did nothing. When I did, she said, "In her defense, she was only joking!" The saga continues, as there have been some managerial changes and they are now aware of the situation. I've been assured more reprimands are forthcoming. My manager recently asked me if I had considered leaving and that she would give me a good recommendation!
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