Sexual Harassment Argumentative Essay

Sexual harassment is broadly defined term used by the United States Government to refer to situations of harassment where sexual advances or offensive behaviors and remarks occur. With the broad nature of the terminology used, the enforcement of sexual harassment laws and the determination of guilt is left to the citizens. One such case, in which sexual harassment in a situation was questioned, involved the interpretation of an art piece and its display in a pubic environment. The art piece was removed was deemed as being “offensive and degrading” to women, however, the removal was a violation of the artist’s first amendment right. These incidents allow a debate to be made in regards to the situation being defined as sexual harassment in the form of a hostile work environment or a violation of the first amendment. Through discussion, …show more content…
The artist selected 40 of her pieces to be displayed at City Hall, of which included a painting of a woman partially in the nude. This female figure covered herself in an appropriate fashion, with little of her breast or buttocks showing in the image. Though the image was removed under the same concept as the prohibition of nude images in a fire station, the image itself did not contain the same content as a centerfold image would contain. For instance, the displaying of nude centerfold images in a fire station would most often be displayed for sexual purposes, not for the artistic quality. The content of such centerfolds also often contain images that display the entirety of the nude figure, especial the breast and buttocks. The city attorney insinuating that the image removal was no different that the prohibition of centerfolds goes against the city’s initial decision to display the image. Since the image was displayed to the public, it was inferred that the City Hall code was not violated in the initial