What defines sexual harassment

The verdict is out and the line that defines harassment has now been defined. Sexy is fine (thank you, NCW) but bitch is taking it too far (ok, Madras High Court). I am glad it's out in the open now. My personal confusion with these tags began in 1997 at the Miranda House college festival. I was on a date with this girl who I was drawn to because of her strong opinions on gender equality and her ability to roll thin cigarettes.

She told me she smoked them to make a statement. We were sitting next to the basketball court sipping fountain Pepsi and sharing her thin lizzy, watching the DJ belt it out. A handful of bored girls lazily moved their torsos on the makeshift dance floor like they were severely underpaid to do so.

After a while, the DJ who'd had enough of this nonsense turned up the volume and screamed into the megaphone "Come on you sexy bitches, I want all of you on the dance floor shaking that ass." I choked on my Pepsi and turned to my date to express my sincere disapproval at this sort of behaviour but she had vanished. The sexy bitch was right up there on the dance floor shaking that ass.

Over the years, I saw rappers, friends and even other women call the ladies all sorts of names and get away with it. I was led to believe that it was fine, we were now a progressive society after all, biatch! Under this illusion, I finally pushed my luck while launching a lad mag and found my team slapped with a defamation case for a seemingly witty caption in the magazine directed at a south Indian star. She refused to take it lying down.

To make up to my distraught team, I took them to a club where everyone went ballistic to some hip-hop song where the guy went "You sexy bitch!" With Dutch courage, I turned to a female colleague and asked her whether she'd mind if I called her a sexy bitch every once in a while. She said she wouldn't if I really meant it. "It's all about the context, you dog!" she laughed and went back to pointing her finger at the DJ and dancing. How about cow? "Absolutely not," her voice turned grim and she left the dance floor. I made a note. Bitch - yes, Cow - no.

I am happy that our courts are making similar notes. I have a list of adjectives that will work with the ladies in a variety of situations and would be glad to share it with the courts or genuinely interested men. But till the time we finish compiling the dictionary of politically incorrect words to avoid with the ladies, here's a piece of advice to you men - Don't call them sexy bitches unless you are a DJ and she's walked into your club.