The sad saga continues: monied men are being outed for inappropriate treatment of women (mostly) who are seeking employment or already employed in service rôles. I am trying to use neutral language here – so that the wood is distinguishable from the trees.
You see, surprise! There are two genders involved here. Granted that many men are predatory and assert a right to victimise women (mostly). So shall we examine the female participants? First, yes, many are victims of abuse and must be defended. But there is a wide grey area occupied by women who are prepared/determined to use their charms to reach their goals. Think Marilyn and Monica. Were they merely the innocent puppets of the male conspiracy?
The latest UK event under scrutiny, at the Presidents Club -dubbed an all-male charity gala, required scores of attractive young hostesses to attend to the guests’ needs. And the meeja persisted with its coverage of male misbehaviour by highlighting the evening’s activites. Do such occasions always become orgies of male chauvinism? Are they different in principle from ‘hen nights’? Were the hostesses, many of whom wore black nail varnish to signify their intention to ‘stay late’ just doing a job?
On a personal note, I recall that as a very green and no-doubt thrusting young executive I was pursued by a comely female colleague at a company function. I did not call the cops or phone the Daily Mirror.
Boadicea's Chariot 
There are a number of middle-aged women who target young men. They don’t want middle-aged men, they want men 18-25 years old; when they’re at their physical peak. Germaine Greer went so far as writing a book in which she encouraged the objectification of pre-pubescent boys. That said, many women play the ingénue to advance their interests. A femme fatale in an ingénue’s clothing is nothing new. Women using their assets, intellectual and physical, to advance their interests is nothing new. Wu Zetian became the only empress regnant in China’s history this way. Ci Xi became the power behind the throne this way. (Nota bene, like Wu Zetian, she was smeared by her political enemies and her reputation for a very long time was tarnished by malicious rumours and lies) Catherine the Great became Czarina of Russia this way. At Versailles women did as much as they could to become maîtresse-en-titre. Louis XV’s Madame de Pompadour was the reason why le Petit Trianon was built.
Once a month I go to an art class not that I’m particularly interested but go at Mrs J’s request to keep her company. There are only two men in the class the rest are women of (slightly past ?) a certain age. Anyway the subject of the President’s Club dinner came up and to my surprise the ladies were unanimous in condemning the fuss, and they thought Gt Ormond St Hospital nuts for returning the donations. The consensus was that everyone at the event particularly the young women who had been told to turn up in skimpy dresses with matching underwear knew exactly what it was all about.
I have to say that I agree. The air surrounding this affair is thick with hypocrisy.
I second jazz.
I am sure that all the ladies at the art class were of a certain age to have grown up with this and had either protected themselves or used it to their advantage!
I fail to understand the young women of today who couldn’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag. But they troll the streets inadequately dressed, pissed out of their minimal brains just asking for molestation and then get upset when some male duly obliges! Most of whom are so unattractive they should say thank you! I can only assume the boys think they are ‘ten pint princesses!’ Until the morning.
I had this ancient aunt, who had worked in the fashion trade all her life, as a model, then as a director of a clothing company and ended up with a string of dress shops. She always said, don’t give anything for free, don’t wear revealing clothing and no one values anything they had for free out of the gutter, the more that has been paid for anything the more highly it is valued and looked after. I thought her rather hard at the time as a youngster but these days acknowledge, she was dead right! PS, even her bloody dog had a diamond collar! Let alone her own’ rock supply’ measured by the square inch. Retrospectively rather funny.
I always found an excellent defence was to outswear them better than a London docker. They were so appalled they backed off pdq. As I always worked with men and never women, I always ended up being treated as one of the boys, that suited me fine. forget the rape and pillage lets go down the pub instead! (And get the barman to discreetly call a cab!)
Personally until they find a way of reproducing by a sexual budding or something I don’t think it will ever change, why should it? Can’t see that 5 minutes of PC claptrap can outfox millions of years of developing the species. When the teensy weensy mammals that survived the dinosaur cull emerged from their burrows, rat sized, they reckon it took 10 million years to develop to the mammals we see today!
Lots of luck ladies!
I agree with Jazz & Christina… I really have no time for young ‘starlets’ who want to be ‘sex-symbols’, dress the part and then complain because that’s exactly how they are treated.
As far as I can see, most of the women of ‘that certain age’ feel just as annoyed with all the nonsense being talked as I do. As a teenager I worked as a waitress at places like the Liberal Club in London. A gentle reminder that the soup might well land in the lap of some over-enthusiastic male was quite enough to keep his hands under control – and if all else failed … there were the low, but very pointed stiletto heels…
Unfortunately social meeja offer’victims’ endless opportunities for self-promotion, while the alleged transgressors have no court of appeal.
It takes two to tango.
OZ
May I call you Victor Silverster? A-one-two-three-and…….dah dah dah dah dah dah dah ……..:-)