Poll: Guys, would it bother you to be in a workplace where women viewed porn?

[Rigamarole]

@Evil Captor

OK, let’s assume you’re working in a big corp and all the women at the corp are into porn in a big way. A lot of them have screensavers with stiffies. They’ll sometimes get together and ogle pics of guys, and of guys and gals having sex. There are a lot of calendars with pics of handsome hunks on the wall, some of them with their butts hanging out. (No stiffies on the wall calendars, though.)

And where does a workplace like this exist, exactly?

[Antinor01]

Wouldn’t bother me. Actually, as a gay male I’d want them to forward me copies of the good stuff.

[Guinastasia]

@Evil Captor

Sam, even the most Draconian of offices give their employees breaks every couple of hours. They look at it on breaks, maybe on lunch hours, of if they spend a lot of time on the phone waiting for people, as many office folks do, they look at the eye candy while they wait. Etc. etc.

Considering how many porn sites are usually great places for spyware and viruses, I hardly think it’s harmless, even if they’re on their breaks.

That and it’s unprofessional as all hell-do your wanking at home.

[11811]

@Evil Captor

OK, let’s assume you’re working in a big corp and all the women at the corp are into porn in a big way. A lot of them have screensavers with stiffies. They’ll sometimes get together and ogle pics of guys, and of guys and gals having sex. There are a lot of calendars with pics of handsome hunks on the wall, some of them with their butts hanging out. (No stiffies on the wall calendars, though.)

Would this bug you?

Wouldn’t bug me. Guess because I woudln’t feel threated by it. I’d find it, well … kinda funny.

But others may differ here. That’s why this is a poll.

I’ve worked in an office/shop with mostly male workers and seen at least one very tame pinup/calendar picture of a woman – the boss thought it looked like the employee he was currently screwing. Distasteful even without knowing the back story. I’ve also worked in offices with a fairly high percentage of women. You will occasionally see women with very tame pictures hung up in their cubicles: hot looking movie star, etc. You don’t see guys with that stuff hung up. I suppose it’s just discrimination coming full circle, but I think it’s childish in the workplace.

[BrainGlutton]

Wouldn’t bother me on a sexual-harrassment, hostile-work-environment level. Of course, I agree porn-surfing above the most discreet, unobtrusive level is not appropriate for a workplace and might hinder productivity.

[Evil_Captor]

@Rigamarole

And where does a workplace like this exist, exactly?

Like I’d ever tell.

Obviously, it’s a thought experiment, designed to get people to consider the idea of sexual harassment via porn coming from the opposite gender. Isn’t working too well, as a lot of people are getting bogged down in productivity/professionalism/what have you issues.

[John_Carter_of_Mars]

I wouldn’t want to work there. I also wouldn’t want to work in a place where people put political signs or slogans all around, or where they stop to say grace before everybody grabs a slice of the delivery pizza.

Do those sorts of things on your own time, at times and places where others can leave if they don’t like it.

[Diogenes_the_Cynic]

Wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.

[Cervaise]

@dwc1970

Porn at work is simply not appropriate, period.

What if you work in porn?

[Yookeroo]

Can’t say I’d be much bothered by it.

[Velma]

Ok, so we are talking purely theoretical and no issues with productivity, legal issues etc?

I would not have a problem with it IF I did not have to see it all the time. An occasional glance if I entered someone else’s private workspace is one thing, but displayed for all to see would bother me. I don’t want to be forced to see it, and I don’t want to have to work to avoid it. It’s hard to have a discussion with a coworker about the latest sales figures when a giant cock is flashing on her computer.

It’s hard to even consider this as a hypothetical though. For me it so obviously screams inappropriate that I can’t even consider someone doing this just because they find it relaxing or whatever. I would just wonder what their intent was - that they are looking for a reaction. I find that kind of provoking childish at best. So I don’t think you are going to get very many answers here about the hypothetical workplace where this could happen - it’s outside the realm of possibility and so we are conditioned to be distracted by that kind of thing at work, just like a juggling clown or something. At a bachelorette party or at the circus it’s different. It’s all about context.

[Draax]

Wouldn’t care at all.

[Sunrazor]

I think different people have different levels of tolerance. My wife worked in a women’s law firm years ago (she was a para-legal, the lawyers were all women, they handled only women clients. Wanna’ take a guess where in Colorado this was?) Anyway, they had a huge calendar in the break room with photos of “guys from Hawaii.” And there was nothing “tasteful” about these hunks and their surfboards. This was pre-internet, and the ladies loved those photos. I didn’t mind 'em, and if one of my female co-workers wanted to hang that calendar in her office, it wouldn’t bother me a bit. It’d be pretty inappropriate if she watched porn videos, but only because that stuff ought to be done in private, not because I think pornography is evil.

On the other hand, if she started comparing me to the guys in the calendar (and it wouldn’t be a flattering comparison, believe me!) that would be completely unacceptable.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

@kunilou

I worked in an office full of women, many of whom had worked together for a long time. They were quite used to letting their hair down and discussing – um, stuff – among themselves. At times I had to remind the boss that while I wasn’t offended by their conversation, I felt that it would be inappropriate for me (as a man) to join in.

At one point I actually said “I’m feeling very uncomfortable with the direction this is going.”

Dear Penthouse Forum: You’re never going to believe this, but…

[Elendil_s_Heir]

@kunilou

I worked in an office full of women, many of whom had worked together for a long time. They were quite used to letting their hair down and discussing – um, stuff – among themselves. At times I had to remind the boss that while I wasn’t offended by their conversation, I felt that it would be inappropriate for me (as a man) to join in.

At one point I actually said “I’m feeling very uncomfortable with the direction this is going.”

Dear Penthouse Forum: You’re never going to believe this happened to me at work, but one day…

[Elendil_s_Heir]

Double post! :smack: Sorry.

Anyway, as the OP described it, it wouldn’t particularly bother me. I work closely with two women (neither of whom interest me sexually in the slightest, FWIW), but if they wanted to partake of such diversions on their breaks, it’d be fine with me.

[Anastasaeon]

I worked in a place just like this. One section of the factory was about 95% women, two male bosses, two male forklift drivers, two male workers, one of those workers being gay.

Porn everywhere. Screensavers, risque wall calendars (in main areas as well as in the bathroom), frank talk…

It embarrassed a couple of the men, and the gay man not at all.

No one ever put a stop to it, even the most prudish among us would smile occasionally about the whole thing. The boss once said to one of the embarrassed forklift drivers that if it were a bunch of men, it would be the same way, so if he was that uncomfortable, maybe he’d better work in a different department. Nothing more was said.

I didn’t belong to that department, but I did get sent over there several times a year to help out, and it was always a blast. We always got our work done. Granted, it wasn’t an office setting, it was general labour*, but hey. Still the workplace.

• • not construction or anything too heavy; just cleaning, culling goods, piling boxes, with a little paperwork and form filing. We were in great shape!