Workplace sexual harassment is never acceptable. But it is even worse when it’s targeted at a 17-year-old. Honestly, this harrowing story that Ashley Graham’s shared sounds like it came seconds away from being a case of assault . We all know Ashley Graham as a stunningly gorgeous supermodel , but there was a time when she wasn’t so famous, or even an adult. She’s never shared this sexual harassment story before. “There was an incident on set of a campaign job when I was 17 years old … and there was a photo assistant who was into me.” That would sound like an innocent enough beginning if she hadn’t been a minor at the time. “He was like, ‘Hey, come here,’ and he led me into a closet. And I was like, ‘What?’ I thought he was going to show me something.” One of the reasons that people are so protective of minors is because their lack of world experience gives them a disadvantage when dealing with people who are older. Ashley Graham was basically an adult at 17, but clearly less experienced than this photo assistant. That’s probably why he targeted her. “And he pulled me in, and he pulled his penis out.” Whoa , there. That goes beyond inappropriate comments — also unacceptable — and goes into flasher-in-the-park territory. Except that flashers in parks are easier to avoid than coworkers. “And he was like, “Grab it.” And I was like, ‘No! That’s disgusting.’ I freaked out. And thank God I was closer to the door, and I just bolted out.” All things considered, particularly the fact that they were alone in a closet at the time, it’s a very good thing that she got out. She says that she never told anyone, but that’s not at all uncommon. Society pressures women to not “cause problems,” for a man, as if harassers aren’t the problem — just the people who report them. There are always fears that it might impact someone’s career. And of course the endless victim-blaming. Ashley Graham’s career has flourished, but we’d have totally understood if that encounter had caused her to quit the industry. Thank goodness that it didn’t, of course. But we all know that there are much shadier moves that people can pull to target young models. It shouldn’t get worse, but it does. And, just so that we’re clear, even if that tale hadn’t taken place in a workplace closet and involved a minor, it would still have not been okay. Outside of some very specific sex party-type situations, it’s considered polite to exchange words and even consent before genitals start flopping out into the open.
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Ashley Graham: I Was Sexually Harassed at Work … at 17!
