"A little butt slap here or innuendo laced comment there was tolerated and sometimes even expected, but those days suddenly ended when even the powerful and inf

"A little butt slap here or innuendo laced comment there was tolerated and sometimes even expected, but those days suddenly ended when even the powerful and influential Harvey Weinstein could fall." That's the thing - 'what is it'? A 'slap on the butt' is point blank harassment and never really accepted in any culture. You could 'get away with it' but it was not ever considered perfectly ok. 'Sexual innuendo' - that is normal in many places in the world, 'Commenting on a woman's appearance' is a positive trait in many places in the world. 'Showing up at your door in a bathrobe' - is not unethical behaviour. There has to be a lot added onto that to make it inappropriate. And there are huge levels of inappropriate. What if you are out drinking with a co-worker, then back at your place drinking, you're both flirting - and then you go in for the kiss? A sales lady jumped in the pool naked at a hotel where we were staying. Nobody cared, we were drinking, it was funny. But if it's a dude - it's wrong? Putting drugs in a girls drink and then raping her ... well that's beyond immoral and very illegal. The problem I think - is that a lot of this stuff is getting lumped together. A lot of this behaviour is really only 'no acceptable' wherein there are very high bars for behaviour. You don't put your hand on a woman's knee at the office. You can put your hand on a woman's knee if you're out on a date with her. What if you are co-workers? What if one works for the other. ... This is all complex and nuanced stuff, I don't think we can just lump it all together. FYI - it was 'progressives' in the 1960's pushing for sexual liberation - and 'consent' is in the vast majority of even positive cases, not exactly given verbally. So there is a 'new set of norms' but a lot of it is based in fear. Have you seen the 3 second video of Gigi Hadid who received a 'buddha doll' (possibly not buddha, just a fat man), it's really cute. She makes a face, puts the doll next to her, and smiles like the doll. It's just fun, I don't think racist at all - and yet the Chinese government got involved. The smallest mis-step - one person - in one place - can say something - and it blows up. The 'new order' will not be a 'moral order' - it will be a 'sanitized order' - wherein every word - every action - every thought - will be scrutinized so intensely that I'm weary we're giving up a lot for this. So yes - the 'new norm' of 'don't harass your interns and grab their asses' is really good - but I fear it won't just create a 'safe place' for people, it may ultimately create a hostile place where we can't just be human. I stayed at a friends house in SF recently, she came out of the kitchen naked, and went into her bedroom - just as I was falling asleep on the couch. She was giggling. She was not flirting with me - just kidding. And I laughed because it was funny. We work in the same industry. Should I charge her with sexual assault? Anyhow - it's complicated. A few steps forward a few steps back.