Echoing a peculiar double standard regarding sexual harassment charges made by Arkansas state worker Paula Jones against President Clinton—compared to earlier charges made by Oklahoma law professor Anita Hill against conservative Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas—Gloria Steinem was quoted as saying she believed then-governor Clinton had asked Jones for sex but wasn't forceful or punitive when she said no—even though his alleged actions fit harassment law's main requirement of implicit coercion by employer against employee. "It wasn't wonderful behavior [by Clinton]," commented Ms. Steinem, "but we're not the Ayatollah here."

Pat Schroeder, congresswoman from Colorado, commented on Anita Hill's skeptics: "They treated her like we treated rape victims in the 1950s." Schroeder recommended that Hill, a law professor, be nominated for attorney general after Zoe Baird's nomination faltered. Ms. Schroeder later commented on Paula Jones: "The charges are not considered very credible." And, "the issue just makes me want to throw up."

Anne Conners, president of the National Organization for Women, also frowned on Jones's accusations. "The way I understand it, she [Jones] agreed to come to his room, he asked for oral sex, she said 'I'm not that kind of girl,' and he said, 'Okay.' That's not sexual harassment. It may be inappropriate behavior, but he didn't punish her for refusing him—if in fact that's what happened."

Feminist matriarch Betty Friedan echoed this skepticism. "According to what she said, one could say that if the President actually did proposition her, one could disapprove, it's boorish, one could hope Hillary could do something about it. But [Jones] said 'no.' She wasn't killed. She wasn't harassed. She wasn't fired. Her boss wasn't told to get rid of her."

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