If you're a woman in the workforce, there's a very good chance that you've been sexually harassed at some point during your career. We know this, because 60% of women have reported that they've experienced sexual misconduct, and the majority of them said it happened while on the clock. In light of the allegations against high-profile men, we've been focusing a lot on survivors who have endured unwanted touching, comments, or advances from men – but have we really stopped to ask ourselves about the men's feelings? (Spoiler alert: Many have!)
According to The Cut, Portlandia aimed to answer this question in its recent sketch, "I'm Not Bad, Right?" in which a recently promoted woman (Carrie Brownstein) tries to make a speech about her 17-year tenure at the company.
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Things were going well (read: she was able to say a few words) until she made this statement: "Sometimes, it has been hard for me here as a woman."
Instead of hearing, "I'm proud of my accomplishments in the face of adversity," the men heard, "You're all MONSTERS." Needless to say, every man in the room (and in one case, on the phone) needed her to assure them that they were not, in fact, bad people. But no one took it quite as far as her boss (Fred Armisen).
"There was a day, when, in front of everybody, I complimented your eyes. I want to say that I would have complimented anyone's eyes," he said nervously. "Bill, for example, if he had nice eyes, I would have complimented him. He does not have nice eyes. Brilliant attorney, but the eyes are smaller than I would have designed, maybe [I'd have gone] just a little bigger. So, I complimented you because of your eyes and I'm still, I'm not bad, right?"
If you're expecting a happy resolution, I'm sorry to say that you won't be getting it. And, yes, you can confidently say, "That is bad."