In light of recent events, I have some advice for men:
- Don't touch a woman without her specific consent. Consent, to be consent, must be informed. Don't resort to trickery, subterfuge, dissimulation, or manipulation (including getting her drunk or high).
- Compartmentalize your life, difficult though that may be. No flirting, romance, compliments, or sexual jokes or comments at work.
- Don't make women feel uncomfortable, even in a public place where you are equals. If she rebuffs your advance(s), leave her alone. She is not interested in you as a romantic or sexual partner.
- Stay away from underage females. Nothing good (and much bad) can come of it.
- Be a gentleman, not a brute or a lout. Think courtship, which is respectable, not seduction, which is sleazy. Real men respect women, which means respecting women's autonomy.
- If it's hard for you to imagine how a particular woman feels while she is interacting with you, imagine that she is your sister (or mother) and ask whether you would want a man treating her as you're thinking of treating her.
This advice is not merely prudential; it is moral. In other words, I'm not trying merely to help you to stay out of trouble; I'm trying to help you do the right thing. Prudence (self-interest) and morality sometimes converge.
