Butts, targets of domination in the workplace: 'He told me that slap was like a pat on the shoulder to a friend.'

A former seasonal worker has recounted a deeply unsettling experience of workplace sexual harassment, where her employer slapped her buttocks in front of colleagues. The incident, which occurred during her first job as a diver in a campsite in the south of France, has left a lasting impact.

Maeva, who was 19 at the time, described the moment her boss, a man in his fifties, approached her and slapped her backside. This happened during a team briefing before service began, in an atmosphere described as "camaraderie" with "banter flying everywhere." Maeva initially thought she had "made one joke too many" and that the slap was a form of punishment for her perceived forwardness.

However, she quickly realized the gesture's sexual undertones, especially when the boss apologized by saying it was "not a sexual act, but like a pat on the shoulder to a friend." Maeva felt this was an attempt to absolve himself of guilt. She interpreted the slap as a message: "Your body, your buttocks, I can do what I want with them, and no one will do anything." The profound discomfort stemmed from the conviction that her boss would never have treated a male colleague in the same manner, underscoring the gendered nature of the harassment.