Oleanna and Sexual Harassment
Oleanna is a play from one of America’s most acclaimed playwrights—David Mamet. ... During their session, the interaction between them causes Carol to accuse John of sexual harassment, which is then followed by further events. The situational interaction between the characters in the play created a great deal of controversy among viewing audiences, which sparked debate about political correctness and sexual harassment. Oleanna invited us to take a close look at the argumentative subject of sexual harassment. In relating to this play, I think the definition of the sexual harassment is overly vague; John did not commit sexual harassment despite some unsuitable behavior that was easily misinterpreted; and Carol with her feminist agenda purposely framed John. Sexual harassment has been a widely debated subject as public awareness of women’s rights and abuse issues have grown lately. Many companies and universities have written their own definitions of sexually harassment, which are used to determine if sexual harassment has occurred, and whether a certain individual is guilty. The definition of sexual harassment for the different campuses in the University of California system is relatively uniform. According to the University of California, Berkeley, sexual harassment is defined as follows: “Unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when: 1. ... In determining whether the alleged conduct constitutes sexual harassment, consideration shall be given to the record of the incident as a whole and to the totality of circumstances, including the context in which the alleged incidents occurred.” I think the definition of sexual harassment is overly vague because one person’s interpretation of the interaction between two people can easily be construed to fit the requirements for sexual harassment. ... ” (page 525) Carol may interpret this comment as verbal conduct of a sexual nature meaning that her grade depends on spending time with her professor, but John would interpret the same comment to mean that helping Carol achieve a better grade requires that they work together on the class material. ... Ultimately, the definition of sexual harassment requires that both the offender’s intent and the “offended’s” state of mind be known. ... With so much at stake in sexual harassment cases, it may still come down to a “he said, she said” battle. In reviewing John’s character in Oleanna, even though he sometimes behaved inappropriately, I consider John a fairly honorable professor. ... Although John’s behavior may not be politically correct, I don’t think his words would be considered “unwelcome verbal conduct of a sexual harassment. ... ” (page 523) This sentence is not carefully phased, but it does not necessarily contain a sexual connotation as Carol later claims.