[Korea Times] With #MeToo movement in Korea, more men wary of interacting with women...

[GirlBye]

 

 

#MeToo movement puts male workers on guard

By Kim Jae-heun

An increasing number of male workers are becoming wary of interacting with their female counterparts, out of concerns that they may be implicated in possible sexual misconduct allegations.

Some even choose to go to the extreme by shunning all contact with women amid the escalating #MeToo movement. They organize company get-togethers only among men and do not go on business trips with female colleagues, among others.

"I've become cautious about speaking to women at work these days," a 46-year old businessman, only identified by his surname, Kim said. "Anything I say can be taken as sexual harassment, depending on how women interpret it. It doesn't mean that I've been making sexual jokes. I am just discouraged from talking to women face-to-face, in case, I make a slip of the tongue when I talk to them."

A 31-year old office worker Jeon Jae-ho recently requested his boss not to send him on a business trip with women colleagues. Jeon did not want to get involved in any type of misleading situation.

"During a business trip, you will have to work with your partner all day long. You never know what can happen and I want to prevent any possible scenario beforehand. Nowadays, I only communicate with my women colleagues online, it's safer that way," Jeon said.

An increasing number of men showing extra vigilance around women at work have created a "Mike Pence Rule" situation in Korea.

In an interview with the American political newspaper "The Hill" in 2002, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence talked about his life principle of not having dinner with a woman one-on-one except his wife. Pence said he cuts off personal exchanges or meeting with women to prevent any possible trouble or scandal. 

A high ranking executive at a firm said he sent all female workers home after eating dinner with his team and afterward drank only with male colleagues. 

"There is the big possibility of sexual misconduct to occur when people drink heavily at team gatherings. It just makes me feel safer if I send the women home early," the senior manager said.

However, many women are worried that this situation may lead to more sexual discrimination at work.

A 31-year-old female bank teller, Park Won-ji, said men avoiding interaction with women can cause deeper conflict, and at the same time influence her career. 

"I feel like I've become a criminal in the office. I have done nothing wrong, but men are leaving me out of their gatherings and sometimes treat me as if I am invisible," Park said.

"Even my manager said he does not want to participate in team gatherings and gave me the company card to enjoy time without him. I can definitely sense managers and executives are trying to avoid any possible contact with female workers."

Experts warn the Mike Pence Rule is the wrong approach to the #MeToo movement in Korea. 

"Trying to avoid the essence of the problem only deepens conflicts between men and women. Men have to discuss solutions to deal with sexual misconduct at work with women, and they must continue to communicate with each other," Prof. Go Kang-seop of the Department of Sociology at Kyung Hee University said.

 

Ignoring women altogether is not the solution...seems like some men don't want to look at the root cause of the problem

 

this is silly imo and will not fix the problem, only worsen it

 

thoughts? 

 

source

[Onetooth]

 

and gave me the company card to enjoy time without him

 

 

use that card girl. don't have to be around co-workers, free time for yourself, and free?

[youtrieditduh]

why are they avoiding women ? if you're not harassing or assaulting there is nothing to be afraid of,  and it makes them look guilty of something they did  before and wanna make the women feel guilty

[Zenist]

why are they avoiding women ? if you're not harassing or assaulting there is nothing to be afraid of,  and it makes them look guilty of something they did  before and wanna make the women feel guilty

 

They are worried of women falsely accusing them.

[waycrispy1]

If the drama Misaeng is any kind of reflection of what a woman in the workplace in Korea actually experiences then these guys should be wary. 

[youtrieditduh]

They are worried of women falsely accusing them.

that's really ignorant not like all  women who are accusing men falsely

whats next?? all women should avoid  all men cuz they may get assaulted or harassed  ?

[Nsfw]

oh please

[Grape Soda]

This #metoo movement has brought along a lot of false allegations with it. People who had bad hookups or just didn't express their discomfort in the situation.

[Zenist]

that's really ignorant not like all  women who are accusing men falsely

whats next?? all women should avoid  all men cuz they may get assaulted or harassed  ?

 

Maybe that'll happen.

[halow31]

 

I have no words 

[CamCam]

See.....I was worried something like this would happen. Not to say that it's right, but one of the issues with #MeToo (as well as with many other movements that gain a huge following rapidly) is that the larger it's gotten, the more the original message has become watered down. There have been cases where people have started using the movement not to call out the most sinister of perpetrators, but to use it either for personal gain or for vengeance. #MeToo is about creating a conversation that prevents incidents like this from happening. But it's turned into an situation where even saying someone is pretty, or bumping into someone could turn into a full-blown sexual harassment case, and where some gray areas become clumped into the same category as brutal sexual abuse/assault or worse....

[Anri Sonohara]

I don't blame them, especially if you have some women asserting that breathing in a women's direction is genuinely sexual harassment.

 

the area of accusation is way too broad, especially if people are automatically siding with 'victims'.

 

If I was a man, and I cared about my livelihood, I'd avoid women like the plague in this climate.

[H e r e]

going nowhere

[Iceprince]

It's a double-edged sword

[Stars&Stripes]

better safe than sorry I guess, there's an avalanche of warnings against men in general in the media, seen many articles exaggerating and instilling fear in women

[Nirgil]

They are wary because they might get falsely accused over something in a situation without any outside witnesses. In cases like this the woman's word usually tends to have more weight. (at least in my country) 

 

Personally I don't exactly avoid women in my workplace but this movement has made me legitimately consider the chances of getting falsely accused. You never know.

[Dongminfan]

that's really ignorant not like all  women who are accusing men falsely

whats next?? all women should avoid  all men cuz they may get assaulted or harassed  ?

i agree

[cake mf]

Idk how to feel.

 

It’s hard to prove anything with situations like this...I think we should at least be neutral until the feds sort it out. We’re not on jury duty, there’s really no reason to immediately take a side before hearing more news.

[Qüintéssèntiæl Bitçh]

Prevention is better than cure. Well they're not wrong though but its worrisome if this kind of situation continue because it will definitely affect their society and views to each other.

[Yoonability]

Oh ffs, this is ridiculous. Men painting it as if women are just hysterical people who'll accuse men of sexual harassment on a whim, while the poor men stand helpless as the true victims here.

 

If you don't understand when you're making people uncomfortable, I don't know what to tell you.

[Buttered Sone]

Ridiculous. If you can’t interact with the opposite sex without being accused of something then that’s a you problem, not spooky females out to get you

[BeatrixKiddo]

Ridiculous. If you can’t interact with the opposite sex without being accused of something then that’s a you problem, not spooky females out to get you

 

lmao basically.

 

"oh boo hoo i have to try extra hard not to be a fucking creep :((((((" someone call the wahmbulance. 

[Sdm]

There's something wrong with you if you can't interact normally with females without seeming like a creep. 

[Buttered Sone]

lmao basically.

 

"oh boo hoo i have to try extra hard not to be a fucking creep :((((((" someone call the wahmbulance.

 

This is an issue close to my heart and yeah some of these reactions are quite telling.

 

 

Hell there’s been stories about celebs pushing sex upon people literally saying ‘no’ multiple times but they didn’t punch them in the face or crotch so obviously they were just being coy and didn’t REALLY want to get out of it. This has shown me how much people really don’t understand creepiness and consent and it’s so depressing :/

 

[pururin]

lmao. I guess when you don't see women as humans who are equal to men, stuff like this could happen

 

maybe korea times should focus on the victims and sexism in society but painting men as poor victims who are afraid of women must be more relevant for their interests. A joke