by Anne-Marie Harris

About the author: Anne-Marie Harris teaches law and government part time at Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Jody Oncale, who worked on an oil rig for Sundowner Offshore Services, told company officials of “being restrained by two co-workers, while the supervisor placed his penis on my neck, on one occasion, and on my arm, on another occasion; threats of rape by the supervisor and a co-worker; and the use of force by the supervisor to push a bar of soap into my anus while a co-worker held me.” These complaints of sexual harassment fell on deaf ears.

How could any self-respecting 1990s manager fail to identify Jody’s experiences as sexual harassment? The answer? Jody Oncale is a man.

During the 1990s, employers have experienced a rise in the numbers of...