Those Sexist Good Old Boys

Please respond by marking the appropriate box: “I consent to the following forms of sexual harassment. . . .”

The 17 possible answers range from “Salutory Greetings” and “Eye-to-Eye Contact” to “Feelies” and “Gropies” and . . . well, I’m not writing for cyberspace. Another query begins “I certify that I will accept sexual harassment from. . . ,” with possible answers being “Anyone”, “Anyone but: (fill in the blank)” or “Only: (fill in the blank).”

The “Sexual Harassment Consent Form,” an office gag that first surfaced during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas, made a comeback at City Hall this week. Times reporter Hugo Martin received a copy from a woman who found it amusing, not disgusting.

The woman wasn’t Councilwoman Laura Chick.

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The West Valley councilwoman inspired the gag’s revival in a luncheon speech last week before an audience that included Mayor Richard Riordan and other high-ranking city officials. Addressing an organization of women police officers, Chick lambasted City Hall as “the most sexist, good old boys work environment” she had ever experienced and, in a later interview, went on to describe the circulation of “off-color” jokes and “dirty pictures and dirty cartoons.”

She talked of the paternalistic, condescending attitudes, of male council members overheard muttering “bitch” and “must be that time of the month” in reaction to their female peers, and even of one councilman directing sexual innuendo her way during a public hearing.

It happened, Chick said, during a committee meeting. When the councilwoman said an issue needed to be examined more deeply, she says, a male colleague replied: “Oh really, Mrs. Chick? How deeply would you like to examine this issue?”

Sexism is sometimes obvious and sometimes not. Even when the facts are clear it’s often difficult to come to consensus. In this case, the question is whether the comment directed to Chick was sexually suggestive or just the words of an exasperated colleague eager to move forward. Without having been there, and not knowing the history of the two parties, it’s hard to form an opinion. But in her City Hall office this week, Chick told me “there is absolutely no doubt in my mind” about the speaker’s intended double meaning.

It would be nice to hear the councilman’s defense, but Chick has decided not to name names, preferring to speak of sexism as an institutional problem. By not singling out alleged offenders, however, Chick may be accused of male-bashing, of tarring fellow council members and various male city officials with the same brush.

Chick says that wasn’t her intent--that there are, indeed, well-behaved men on the council and elsewhere in City Hall. But why, I wondered, hadn’t she simply confronted the councilman when the alleged innuendo occurred? Three years ago, Supervisor Mike Antonovich apologized after a public hearing in which he suggested to fellow Supervisor Gloria Molina, then the only woman on the county board, that the county budget shouldn’t be altered just because “someone has a hot flash.” His comment elicited gasps from some listeners; Molina’s retort was to laugh and shake her head--and answer press questions after the meeting.

“To blow it up in public,” Chick told me, “was not my style. And I was quite taken aback, quite honestly.”

Had she spoken to the councilman about the incident privately? The answer was no. But, she added, she had previously expressed her distress over other comments he had made.

“The response is either, ‘You’re uptight and don’t have a sense of humor’ or ‘You’re just trying to make something out of nothing.’ ”

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During Wednesday’s council meeting, Councilman Hal Bernson stepped aside to answer a few questions.

“Well, I was a little surprised, quite frankly,” he said. “But, obviously, Laura had been uncomfortable and she made it known. . . . I’m certainly not a sexist. . . . I don’t think it’s necessary to defend myself.”

Be that as it may, Bernson is known for his sometimes bawdy sense of humor. The veteran councilman is, as one longtime observer of L.A. politics put it, “a very ‘50s kind of guy,” the kind who appreciates a racy cocktail napkin. Bernson tells locker room jokes in council chambers, but says he knows better than to offend folks who may not like such humor.

The sexism flap, in fact, reminded Bernson about the guy who visits a psychiatrist, examines some inkblots, and then tells the shrink that he sees all kinds of lewd behavior. The psychiatrist concludes that the man is very disturbed.

“Doc, why ya getting upset at me,” the man says. “They’re your pictures!”