Sexual Harassment in Novels

Today, fellow author and friend, Janet Greger (J.L. Greger), talks about writing sexual harassment in novels.

 

Sexual harassment is common in the workplace. #MeToo moments are a way to build empathy in readers for characters and to show, not tell, about what motivates these characters.

The following is an excerpt from the mystery Games for Couples. It’s closely based on a real incident. The character is describing “her longest moment” more than twenty years later to her current partner:

 

“I seldom speak of it. I was an assistant professor at Michigan State and up for tenure. My department head called me at five and ordered me to come to his office at five-thirty. When I arrived, the main office was empty and dark. There was only a desk light on in his attached office.”

 

I closed my eyes and remembered. “My department head was standing in front of the big arched window in his office watering his fig tree, which was at least five feet tall. He turned to me and said, ‘The campus tenure committee doesn’t think you are ready for tenure unless I provide more details. I don’t want to bow to their whims.’”

 

Sanders (the character’s partner) was silent but he put his hand on my shoulder.

 

“I remember I was angry. I blurted out, ‘I have twenty publications in scientific journals—more than enough to win tenure.’ My department head said, ‘They agreed but doubted your teaching credentials.’ I was even angrier as I pointed out that I’d received a small teaching award and had favorable reviews from my classes. He said, ‘Yes, but I didn’t include that info in your file because I didn’t think those details were necessary. Now I’m too busy to bother.’”

 

Sanders grip tightened on my shoulder.

 

“My department head stepped toward me and said, ‘There’s an easy way... to gain my cooperation.’ His brown eyes stared expectantly at me as his right hand reached toward me. The next minute was my longest one. Each second felt like an hour.”

 

You’ll have to read the novel to learn the character’s response, but her comment below gives insight into the long-term effect of the incident.

 

“I forgave that department head years ago. What I couldn’t forget was what I learned about myself… That minute changed me.”

 

Advice for writers: Dramatic moments, like the above #MeToo moment, should not be overly long or overpower the pIot. They are simply tools for developing multi-dimensional characters. As an author you want to build empathy, not sympathy, for the character.

Games for Couples has interesting characters and a strong plot. Here’s a thumbnail sketch:

 

A biotechnology company is desperately racing to develop cultured meat products—meat made from cells in a test tube—-before their competitors. Disaster strikes. A subject in a clinical trial testing one of their new cultured meat product dies. Was his death caused by sloppy mistakes made by the biotechnology company, sabotage by a competitor, or hidden past incidents?

 

In this mystery, four women react differently to sexual harassment but all are changed by their #MeToo moments. The book is available on www.Amazon.com.

J. L. Greger writes is a biologist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison who consulted internationally. The pet therapy dog Bug (shown in the picture) in her novels is exactly like her own stoical Japanese Chin. https://www.jlgreger.com