Are Men really punishing women for the whole MeToo thing?

I read an article (link below) analyzing some "fallout" from the MeToo movement.  As many of you know, Mike Pence (Vice President of the U.S.) refuses to have a one-on-one dinner with any woman who is not his wife.

The article analyzes some findings, and concludes that men are avoiding women at work, going so far as refusing to touch a woman in any way, including handshakes.  And a survey found that some men would consider not hiring a woman just to avoid the whole problem.  Of course, it's not just men, but women also show some bias against hiring women.

The author then notes that the survey shows that both men and women seem to know what constitutes harassment, so the only possible conclusion is that men are just being dicks to women as a way to punish women for the whole MeToo movement.

My take:  Personally, I don't go as far as our Vice President, but I also try to avoid situations that have even a small chance of an appearance of impropriety.  I don't think men (or at least not most of them) are "punishing" women for the MeToo movement (and I don't think that most women actually think that, either).  I think that men are simply responding rationally.  Even if men and women agree on what constitutes harassment, it's better to not even get close to the line, because if there is a disagreement, the man's career could be over.  That's pretty high stakes for no real benefit.

Like I tell my kids when we go hiking, you won't fall into the river / fall off the cliff if you stay a safe distance away.  Sure, you're probably fine most of the time if you get really close, but if you want to make sure you're safe, you won't even get near the edge.

In conclusion, men just can't win.  I mean, I think we all agree that harassment is wrong, and some of the more extreme examples in the MeToo movement are absolutely unacceptable, but to say on the one hand that men are all pervs and harrassers, and then when men move the other way, they become prudes, misogynists, and "overreactors," I'm just not sure what a man's supposed to do? 

Disqus.  Or Blogger.  Not the same ring to it.

Also, women of the commentariat, please share your voices so I can better understand your position.  Being for real about that.  My wife has some interesting stories about male superiors, though most of them boil down to the guy being an a$$hole regardless of the gender of his underlings.


(https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/aug/29/men-women-workplace-study-harassment-harvard-metoo)