Making STEM a better place for women

[Madison]

Originally Posted by Philip Arola

Understand that the offended party feels a particular way, but also try to inform the offender softly. Try to inform the other party of what they were doing wrong without coming down as the hammer of Thor.

Language like this exemplifies why our attitudes about this subject still need work. It minimizes the experience of the victim by portraying it as little more than a feeling and can be construed as condescending. It is also more concerned with how the offender is treated in a way that, by my reading, implies that you don't want to come down too hard on them because the offense wasn't a big deal or, perhaps, the victim is overreacting.

Perhaps you'd do a great job handling a situation like some of those we're alluding to in this conversation; we're not judging you. We're just trying to point out that the language that is used, frequently by men, often places higher importance on the potential consequences to the offender than the victim.