Girl Watching In The Workplace

Quinn wrote about a study she conducted on the girl watching habits of male employees within the workplace. Girl watching, which is defined as sexually evaluating women usually alongside other men, seems to be quite prevalent, and men think of this activity as merely being playful. Quinn says that the social interactions done through girl watching brings the men closer to one another, and relationships can be formed between them. This is also a way for them to show their masculinity to the other men. When girl watching, the men did not consider the womens’ feelings. They only needed an image of the woman, but their participation in the activity was not needed. The way men understand the situation differs from how the women understand it. When asked to imagine their day as women, the men were uncomfortable in describing girl watching, and tried to avoid it because they were able to realize that it was demeaning to be objectified in that way. This is different from what they initially thought, which was that girl watching was harmless, and merely being playful. The interviews reveal that the men do understand and realize the harmful effects of this activity. Quinn also suggests that asking the men to imagine themselves as the other gender gave some of them a chance to feel empathy, …show more content…
Imagining oneself as the other sex makes the men understand the situation for a moment, but it does not make the problem go away. It goes beyond a lack of understanding, sexism, and misplaced sexual desire. The problems must be uprooted from its deepest causes. Perhaps a more immersive experience is needed for men to be able to understand the effects of their actions when girl watching, and also to better develop their empathy towards women. Maybe it would also be better to expose men to situations where they are given opportunities to value and to show respect to