European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 30, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Says absolutely that if it s a Man and a woman and that situation occurs and she says no at the very last moment that s absolutely within her rights. She s a victim throughout the whole encounter. But when you reverse the roles and look at it you d say no that s not right at All. He s a participant. He has a role. He could have backed out earlier. So what going on Here q what does that Tell you about sexual harassment in the workplace a there Are some cases of harassment that Are just Clear certain kinds of behaviour that Are no longer acceptable and Haven t been acceptable for a Long time. There s another kind of behaviour that rep resents hypersensitivity. In the Middle it s Muddy and the Middle is wide. And what attorneys say i there s almost always something else going on be tween two people beyond sexual tensions. Q where does modern feminist thought fit into All this a i be always welcomed More powerful and inde pendent women. But i absolutely do not favor the protectionist vict Mist posture of some feminist groups. I think it s bad for women and it s a bad strategy for men. Egalitarian feminism says men and women Are equal and should have equal Opportunity. A protectionist feminism says women have special nods and special requirements. Women must be specifically protected. And that protectionism is de fended by a group of men and women. A tall imposing Man Crichton Speaks in the measured tones of an academic. Although some dismiss him As a pop writer who hops the latest trend it s hard to ignore his credentials. A graduate of har Vard College and the Harvard medical school he has written 13 books and directed several films. Worldwide there Are More than 100 million copies of his works in print. At 51, Crichton is married to his fourth wife actress Anne Marie Martin and has a 4-year-old daughter Taylor. Throughout the interview the author stresses that he does t want his words or his Book to be seen As a diatribe against women. The key Point he says is that both sexes have to live and work together equally and with a lot More Mutual re  los Angela times in food Arti Timichael Crichton wrote Jurassic Par a film smash in 93, and directed the gnat train robbery in 79. Q at the end of this Book a character says sexual harassment issues won t be resolved until50percent of All executives Are women. What do you mean a traditional corporate America is a roomful of men. White men usually. And the most important differences Start to occur in the workplace when you re not the Only woman in the room. The More women there Are the More that kind of level changes. So when will these problems go away when there Are More or less equal numbers. When we see that there s a spectrum with women executives As with men. Some Are nurturing some Are not. Some Are Curt some Are polite. Some abuse their Power some Don t. Some have to be fired. A How do you see harassment disputes changing in the workplace a As More and More women become supervisors they la get charged with harassment. The charge is easy. The charge is a snap. And you arc presumed guilty in this country it s astounding. The charge can be used to get rid of somebody you Don t like. So More and More women Are going to see this. Q there Are Many men and women who would object to those comments they d say you were creating a misleading and unlikely incident to sell books. A i Don t want to tiptoe through my life. It s a drag. And i Don t want to feel that the world is dangerous. I think part of my tendency to be outspoken is the desire to contradict that prevailing caution. The Book hot plot with cold questions by Christopher Lehmann Haupt . Times if you think Japan got a bashing in Michael Crichton s rising Sun just wait till you see what happens to the cause of equal Opportunity in his Clever new novel disclosure Alfreda. Knop about a sexual harassment suit. The Story opens with its protagonist Tom Sand ers looking Forward to the acquisition of the Seattle based company he works for digital communications by a new York publishing conglomerate. This merger stands to bring Tom a promotion As Well As lucrative Stock options when the division he works for goes Public. But after rejecting a sexual Advance by sex flame and current Boss Meredith Johnson Tom learns from the company lawyer that while Meredith s complaint of sexual harassment will not be made Public Tom will have to accept Transfer to a division of the company he secretly knows is about to be sold off. Rather than capitulate he decides to hire a Law yer and sue. Now Meredith As Crichton paints her happens to be the embodiment of All those antiquated chauvinistic stereotypes of the Power hungry woman she is two faced underhanded manipulative under qua lifted for her position and delighted to Wield sex As a weapon. You quickly grow to loathe her. Yet for a Reader to admit this is to risk making common cause with the neanderthal characters in the Story who cry out we told you so or ridicule Tom for Effe Tely failing to service the Boss and keep the peace. Meanwhile Crichton seems to remain above such flinging around of raw meat. He is too Busy lecturing on the True meaning of his subject. Sexual harassment is about Power says the lawyer whom Tom hires Louise Fernandez and so is the company s resistance to dealing with it. Power protects Power. And once a woman gets up in the Power Structure Shell be protected by the Structure the same As a Man the author wants us to know that while Only 5 percent of sexual harassment suits Are brought by men against women Only 5 percent of corporate supervisors Are women. As Fernandez concludes so the figures suggest that women executives harass men in the same proportion As men harass women. And As More women get corporate jobs the percent age of claims by men is going up. Because the fact is harassment is a Power Issue. And Power is neither male nor  finally Crichton offers an afterword in which he solemnly intones the advantage of a role reversal Story is that it May enable us to examine aspects concealed by traditional responses and conventional rhetoric. However readers respond to this Story it is important to recognize that the behaviour of the two antagonists mirrors each other like a Rorschach inkblot. The value of a Rorschach test lies in what it tells us about  can you flunk a Rorschach test Why you almost feel ashamed for getting so worked up Over disclosure and for cheering on Tom Sanders the poor in Nocent and hissing at Meredith Johnson the vile scheming wretch still you do get involved to the Point where you worry More about the Story than the issues. So along with rooting for Tom Sanders you wonder about technical flaws in the Book s elaborate narrative. Why for example can the Story switch away from Tom s Point of View when it serves to heighten the tension but not when it might satisfy the Reader s curiosity Why docs so much depend on Tom s errant memory when a major attack in the Book is levelled against therapists who rely too a sedulously on Chil Dren s errant memories Why Are there More scenes of unlikely eavesdrop Ping than in an Early Shakespeare comedy and Why is Tom s marriage so cold that his wife goes away with his children when his troubles begin and never once telephones until the Story is resolved actually i know the answer to these questions. Crichton s Only real concern is to keep his pot boil ing. In fact disclosure reads As if a fourth of it were dedicated to answering some editor querying its potential implausibility is. Still the results keep your blood boiling too. Dis closure is an elaborate provocation of rage in which a thousand fragments of revenge finally fall into place like acid rain on wildfire. That this vision is so much fun and so easy to Fol Low seems pleasantly flattering. It partly makes up for the discomfort of enjoying in disclosure what is deep Down an old fashioned Battle of the sexes. January 30. 1994 sunday Page 23