Sex Is Not the Problem: What David Letterman and Steve Phillips Demonstrate About Women in the Workp

[joeycola]

Good article.


http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thehumancondition/archive/2009/10/28/Sex-Is-Not-The-Problem-What-David-Letterman-and-Steve-Phillips-Demonstrate-About-Women-In-the-Workplace.aspx

Posted Wednesday, October 28, 2009 4:50 PM

Sex Is Not the Problem: What David Letterman and Steve Phillips Demonstrate About Women in the Workplace

Kate Dailey
Steve Phillips (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

The recent revelation of a summertime affair gone wrong between ESPN's Baseball Tonight analyst Steve Phillips and a 22-year-old production assistant seemed like just another postscript of a year plagued by sex scandals. Now it's been reported that Phillips has been fired for his office affair. "His ability to be an effective representative for ESPN has been significantly and irreparably damaged," said a spokesman for the network. Phillips is apparently set to enter a "treatment facility" to address his sex-addiction issues. His romantic partner is also out of a job and will be forever (or at least as long as Google exists) remembered as a "tubby temptress" and "bunny boiler." Meanwhile, the sports blog Deadpsin has gone on an unsubstantiated gossip dump, bringing up several more rumors about the sexual shenanigans of ESPN talent and executives (most of which involved younger women). ESPN is not the only place with a problem. On Tuesday, Nell Scovell, a former Letterman employee—one of only seven women writers in the show’s 27-year tenure—wrote for Vanity Fair about the hostile work environment caused by the senior staff's roving eyes.


Did Dave hit on me? No. Did he pay me enough extra attention that it was noted by another writer? Yes. Was I aware of rumors that Dave was having sexual relationships with female staffers? Yes. Was I aware that other high-level male employees were having sexual relationships with female staffers? Yes. Did these female staffers have access to information and wield power disproportionate to their job titles? Yes. Did that create a hostile work environment? Yes. Did I believe these female staffers were benefiting professionally from their personal relationships? Yes. Did that make me feel demeaned? Completely.



Though one affair ended in a ruined career and the other in lots of “aw, shucks” apologia, both bring up larger issues about the role of men, women, and power in the workplace. Office affairs are as old as offices, and people often date, fall in love with, and marry their co-workers. But the picture becomes much muddier once issues of authority come into play. Power, as Henry Kissinger pointed out, is the greatest aphrodisiac, and the chances of stopping all office affairs between bosses and employees is slim. But the real issue is not that too many bosses are sleeping with their employees. It’s that a disproportionate amount of all bosses are men......................

[glinda]

1. Letterman was single. I might have been attracted to him if I had worked for him too.

Dating in the workplace should be avoided if can but I have worked at many places where people have "dated". Happens. Should be avoided but happens. Time to drop the subject IMHO.

[Skittles]

10. the subject is not "dating in the workplace"

it's office dating when there is an IMBALANCE OF POWER and that is a SERIOUS ISSUE - say we both work for Letterman and you're fucking him and I am not because I DO NOT FUCK MY BOSS - it creates a HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT

[Schema Thing]

2. those were some unknown knowns!

;)

[noiretextatique]

3. wow...the comments are eye-opening

everything from don't dress like sluts, to just say no. people really don't "get it" on this issue. some people still seem to believe a man's attraction to a woman justifies almost anything, whether in the workplace or not. neil scovell's comments are right on. i witnessed our cfo sexually harass a co-worker, but she didn't file a complaint. i didn't either because i am not sure that she would have told the truth. she's too afraid of losing her job.

[imdjh]

4. The business world is full of people who wouldn't last ten minutes working in a gay bar.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

8. What the hel is that supposed to mean, and what does it have to do with the OP? -nt

[Better Today]

5. It's no better if the business starts with a married couple or any other type of nepotism.

This type of personal discrimination is going to happen whether it's due to sex, due to family ties, due to political comradery, similar drinking habits, similar drug habits. . . it's going to go on.

I am looking more at DL's issues, where no one's job was on the line to perform sexually. I don't know the details of the other mentioned affairs.

As awful as it is, there's no way to really make it stop on all levels. I think we should be focused on the line being where, when, and if one person is coerced, threatened, forced in anyway to perform sexual acts or sexual harassment as a part of getting or securing one's job.

[Warpy]

6. The last sentence in the OP is the important one

Nobody much cares about affairs between peers. It's when there's an imbalance of power on the job that it becomes problematic.

It's unusual for a male boss to get into trouble for any sort of consensual affair. It's the woman subordinate who loses her job when the affair cools off and she becomes an embarrassment to the boss. If she manages to cling to her job for any period of time, she finds out how much she's been resented by her peers.

I've seen this dynamic at work too many times to blow it off completely as 'boys will be boys' and all that garbage. The powerless woman is always the loser in such relationships, no matter how the affair ends.

And most of them do end.

[Tutankhamun]

9. Men aren't the only ones who harass.

In my first job out of college, the girl who hired me apparently thought she was hiring her new boyfriend. After I rejected her advances, she became obsessed with trying to destroy me. She would lie about me to the boss, steal my files, insult me, try to turn others against me, etc. She absolutely hated me, and eventually she got me fired.

This girl was obsessed with her hatred of me and all I did was say no when she repeatedly asked me out.

[thelordofhell]

7. They also have to compete against the office slut

Y'know, like Monica Lewinsky, who said whe was going to sleep with President Clinton way before she actually did.