Sexual harassment entails unwelcome and inappropriate sex-based conduct that usually offends or hurts the recipient. In many cases, women have been on the receiving end of sexual harassment. In a news article published in Politico on March 19, mounting concerns over sexual harassment perpetrated by U.S Congress representatives have been raised (Niedzwiadek, 2021).
In the article found Politico, house representative Tom Reed has been accused of sexually harassing Nicolette Davis, who is an army second lieutenant. The event, which happened in 2017, is set to negatively impact Reed’s race to the governorship. On the same note, Reed spoke on sexual harassment allegations facing the current New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, terming them as unacceptable and abhorrent (Niedzwiadek, 2021). Six women have accused Governor Cuomo of sexual misconduct, an issue that has led to mounting demands for his resignation.
In view of the weekly readings, the news event described above highlights how sexual harassment and politics affect personal and social interactions. The article has revealed that power is abused by many U.S. representatives who use their political positions to engage in sexual misconduct. According to our course text, sex is biological, while gender is the socially constructed concept that determines how men and women conduct themselves (Andersen & Witham, 2011).
As shown in the articles, men have been accused of sexually harassing women, even while working in the same executive chamber. The ongoing investigations are set to bring an end to the error in society that involves powerful men sexually harassing women. Sexual harassment training has been suggested as one of the strategies for curbing sexual misconduct among members of Congress (Niedzwiadek, 2021). While Reed supports anti-sexual harassment campaigns, his own conduct remains questionable.
References
Andersen, M., & Witham, D. H. (2011). Thinking about women: Sociological perspectives on sex and gender (9th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
Niedzwiadek, N. (2021). Rep. Tom Reed, who is eyeing a Cuomo challenge, accused of sexual misconduct on 2017 trip.Politico. Web.