Other weird sexual news

I'm actually sort of confused as to why sexual harassment exists, other to explain for unwanted sexual advances or employers abusing their position of authority, the concept seems strange to me.

Assume that many of the complaints would happen from co-workers, rather than authorities, then it's these that I have trouble understanding. In an environment of sexual equality, it's unlikely to be an issue, there are enough women to push back and keep things on a gender neutral level, with nothing more than the occasional remark back and forth made in the usual routine of friendly banter, and likely or ideally removed from greater sexual tensions. With a male working in a female dominated environment, I assume this happens, but I regard it as unlikely (perhaps I have some stereotypical assumptions about female sexual competition over scarce men or, more likely, I'm assuming that women are less likely to be assholes toward these "intruders" and the problem would be between women rather than directly involving the male intruder). I assume there's some homosexual tensions that give rise to this as a problem, but there are still many social factors that would tend against it at least in terms of a homosexual being overly aggressive in language or pursuit of a heterosexual individual. I assume there is commonly harassment that involve the opposite forms of annoyance flowing into outright intolerance, but these can also be dealt with now under other discrimination laws as a form of hate crime. Plus as a general rule homosexuals just aren't that common anyway, much less working in a way or a field that requires people to know the sexual relationships and comings and goings of their co-workers if it is not necessary (note: I regard this as something which best remains the private domain of the individual irrespective of sexual orientation anyway. But absent this ideal, people should be free to express their sexuality and activity therein to willing parties without fear of recriminations and harassment over what the gender is of their privately bedded partners). That leaves: women working in a male dominated field A women in a male dominated field seemed to me someone who 1) might appreciate being shielded from undesired alpha male attentions or more importantly 2) might appreciate being treated as an equal, assuming she was as good or better than her peers at her job, regardless of her status as a female, single or attached.

Whether or not either of those activities would improve the chances of a prospective male (or female) of gaining a more significant attachment than "co-worker", up to and including the somewhat remote possibility of an office romance, it seems like a natural game theory outcome to gang up on the assholes if only to improve productivity in the workplace by reducing in-group sexual competition and just letting the chips fall as they may, with the supposed lone woman making her own determinations about relationship levels existing or not rather than having to conform to the group (in other words, giving her a considerable bargaining power within the co-workers). I'm guessing that sexual competition is a much stronger driver of human activity than I'm willing to accept and have perceived in work places. Or, if not that, then gender stereotypes still maintain some powerful assumptions which are acted upon without verification.

As for the story itself, I'm not sure how the described form of discrimination qualifies precisely as "sexual harassment", unless it takes the explicit form of discussion of sexuality in an unwanted or undesirable fashion or some related version. It sounds more like assholes at work still trying to assert some sort of gentleman's club in the modern world without quite recognizing that one aspect of the "gentleman's agreements" includes not really going out of the way to tell bawdy stories and jokes in uncertain company. True even the icon of immortal and marble gentlemen, Washington, is well-known to enjoy the off-color joke and remark, such a thing addresses itself around well-known company (who would understand the joke for example). Not mere associates or worse, underlings, unless it were deemed necessary to endear some level of trust in them by making some self-deprecating remark. Somehow I doubt these bosses and office bullies are going around asking their co-workers for advice in dealing with their wives and girlfriends in a sexual manner.