Have you ever felt a queasiness in your stomach after an interaction with a male where something about your exchange just didn’t sit right?  You feel violated.  You aren’t quite sure how to react or who you can talk to about the incident, especially if the man is your occupational superior.  You feel like whoever you tell may misunderstand or say  that you’re overreacting.  But you feel like you should do something.

Watch the #ThatsHarassment Video Series here

Israeli director and writer Sigal Avin is here to give your intuition the dose of validation it needs.  She created a series of videos called #ThatsHarassment, which follows different women through a number of work-related situations as they are made to feel uncomfortable by their male peers.  Avin teamed with Friends star, David Schwimmer, who fell in love with Avin’s version of the videos that aired in Israel.  He helped Avin to recreate the Israeli versions as American adaptations of her scripts.

Upon first watching the videos, I thought the harassment they were depicting came off a bit obvious.  One of them features a newly hired female employee at a law firm being kissed by her male boss, who then tries to play his assault off like he was expressing appreciation for her work.  Another shows an actor putting his genitals on display for his stylist and asking her to give him sexual favors.  Then there’s a photographer who shouts suggestive commentary at a model as she’s posing, asking her to do things like touch herself for the camera.  Meanwhile, an entire crew of people stands behind them watching, and not intervening.  The other videos cover similar situations, but with varying work environments.

'[Avin] wanted to tell them it’s okay to report, to tell them that yes, they should do something.'

After watching them all I felt, in a way, irritated.  Of course all of these acts were sexual harassment; I thought that anyone with a sliver of morals would know that as well.  However, after further contemplation, I realized their obviousness wasn’t Avin’s point.  The women’s faces at the end of each video display confusion, disgust, and shame, and they aren’t sure where to go from there.  They’ve just been harassed by someone with more authority and resources than themselves, and they could potentially put their jobs at risk by reporting what has just occurred.  Avin, alongside Schwimmer, created these videos so that women would feel empowered to take action against what happened instead of retreating in fear of what more they might risk.  She wanted to tell them it’s okay to report, to tell them that yes, they should do something.

For bSmart women, watching and sharing these videos is of the utmost importance.  We want to thrive in our professional lives, but we can’t do that while also living in fear of holding male authority accountable for wrongdoings.  If you or a colleague have been subject to this treatment, it’s important to have your situation validated. You should be encouraged to demand justice.  Watching these videos is one place to start.

Madeline is a student-athlete at New York University studying Journalism and English.  Given her school’s location in Manhattan, Madeline loves to explore the city and document her various adventures on her blog, CrookedViewpoint.com.  You can also find her wandering around bookstores searching for her next read and sipping an iced coffee.  For a more holistic view of her creative and professional style, check out her portfolio website, MadelineHoward.com.