Harassment

It seemed like harassment of some sort to be subjected to yet another harassment policy pow-wow with the HR people and the lawyers at my new job. And it seemes especially hypocritical since the men's magazine I work for could be considered a tangible piece of sexual harassment month after month, as its very existence could be considered a monument to chauvanism and a continual provocation to commit insensitive acts of sexism in order to feel like a "real" man. But I suppose that is what the harassment policy is all about, shifting responsibility for sexism to individuals and away from the institutions (like this magazine) in which it is entrenched. So we as individuals are perpetually feeling guilty and responsible for things that the institutions we serve adovocate in myriad ways. We focus on changing ourselves, and continually struggle with that, while we ignore the institutional problems that guarantee we will fail.