Fraternization
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Fraternization, or "to become like brothers," is a term that carries within it the connotation of impropriety in terms of morals, ethics, social expectations and professionalism. Militaries typically prohibit officers and enlisted ranks from personally associating outside of their professional duties and orders, perhaps to avoid accusations of favoritism, which would challenge military discipline; excessively familiar relationships between officers of different ranks may also be considered fraternization, especially when between officers in the same chain of command; and another reason involves avoidance of spreading military top secrets, a crime that carries legal charges (see United States military law) under treason or sedition in extreme cases.
[edit] Fraternization outside the military
Other professions and public places prohibit fraternization. Professional and college sports teams in North America had enacted anti-fraternization policies between athletes and cheerleaders, only one known professional team the American football Oakland Raiders of the NFL allows permitted casual contacts with player and cheerleader. The reasons are obvious to prevent problems between players and cheerleaders during game mode, and the consequences intensifies whenever the athlete is married while courting his team cheerleader. To avoid a case of adultery by married sports athletes is considered a good idea to regulate fraternization with cheerleaders, whom could be victims of sex crimes (esp. if the advances are unwanted) and legally defined sexual harassment, as well the risk of personal problems between a player and cheerleader may arise to interfere with the sports team.
Private for-profit schools may prohibit fraternization between teachers and students, perhaps to prevent the teachers from contracting with the students for private tutoring or perhaps to avoid potential sexual harassment problems. In the early 2000's, the issue on increasing incidents of improper and illegal sexual relations between teachers and students in US public schools has stirred public emotion, then it's feasible for more US states and countries to regulate fraternization between teachers and students to avoid possible sex crime charges, but only when an adult is engaged in sexual activity with minors. There has been controversy surrounds unionized public education teachers may have tenure except if they are convicted, and unable to lose their jobs, even if there was hard evidence of unethical fraternization and illegal activity with students.
Since the 1990's, more business corporations adopted anti-fraternization policies to protect the status of professionalism and improve workplace productivity, as well to combat sexual harassment lawsuits. But critics assume this is done to prevent labor unions if the company has an union-free policy and a reactionary form of political correctness to promote gender "equality", since women's rights and equal rights groups addressed the issue of female coworkers are major targets of sexism and gender harassment starts with open or subliminal forms of discrimination, improper association and unprofessional fraternization. In fact, some US states recognize a superior taking advantage of a coworker of the opposite sex, if gender was the motive a hate crime.
It's been widely said corporate CEO H. Ross Perot endorsed these anti-fraternization policies ever since his companies adopted them in the 1980's might began a corporate trend.[citation needed] Some U.S. states through court case decisions began to regulate and allow business the legal right to restrict co-employees from fraternizing with each other, a challenge to the individual's freedom of association. In the U.S. Bill of Rights under the title freedom of religion and state laws, the person only has the right of association that workplaces must abide (when anti-fraternization policies are exempt) if the two co-workers/persons share the same religious denomination and can freely meet in a church or for worship services. These policies accelerated in prevalence in the 1990's in part of threats of ligitation and widespread acceptance of anti-fraternization mores in the workplace.
Workplace romance is a hot topic in recent years, when the majority of US corporations restrict or prohibit any casual romantic affair between co-workers of the opposite and same sex, and coworkers must agree to company policy in their contracts whenever they are hired. These anti-romance and fraternization policies stated if any co-worker(s) are found in "improper" romantic or sexual affairs, the company has the right to discipline or terminate one or both of them, and some state laws actually allow or tolerate companies in order to protect businesses as some romantic affairs causes friction, declined productivity, and civil rights violations of any coworker in case they are victimized from a worksite fraternal relationship.
