Sexual Harrassment on the Job

Okay, so I've had to deal with this twice. The first time, it was a really nice man, who is a Christian, who just was not thinking. He was in a playful mood at the time and made a mistake. All humans make mistakes. We discussed it and moved on. The incident: He hit me with a rolled up piece of paper on the back of my thigh.

Just last week, another guy, who is not as nice and tends to be flirty, hit me on the butt with a stick. It was a light tap on the top of the butt cheek. I was facing him and standing with my weight in my right hip. (You know how we stand, sistas.) He tapped it with the stick. I looked at him and asked if he realized what he did and he told me to turn and let him do the other side so it would be even. That made it worse and when I went home that night I became more mad and upset the more I thought about it. I discussed the issue with a good, reliable male in a management position in another company like mine. He suggested I do not report it, but address it with the guy very firmly. If it happens again, he says to report it. The reason for not reporting now, he says, is that it could make me look bad (in a nut shell - he said it in a more professional, politically correct manner).

Not make me look bad??!???? Um, excuse me, but he hit me on the butt and then told me to turn around and let him do the other side. BS! I understand what my advisor saying and where he's coming from. In a white, male-dominated area, we (blacks and females) have to be "blue;" you want to blend in. Anything that makes you stick out based on gender or race, you don't necessarily want to do, but my body, my pride, my integrity as a human trumps my career.

Question: why is it that I, as a black female, have to worry about my reputation when someone (a white male) violates my space? Just cause I'm a black female in a white, male-dominated career, must I swallow everything that comes my way to succeed?

Talk to me!