Okay, I'll say it... Jon Snow is not alone in thinking about sex with colleagues

Poor old Jon Snow. After saying that “sex comes into every evaluation of a woman” he’s been sneered at by the Spectator, had his views described as “shocking” by the Mail and labelled “gross” and “creepy” on Twitter. By others he’s been championed as “honest” and after receiving a volley of tweets on the matter, said his original interview with the Evening Standard has been distorted in other publications.

Yet the Channel 4 news veteran is right to say sex inevitably plays a part in our relationships, no matter where we meet people. To tuck it tidily under the desk just because you are colleagues with that person is both impossible and unhelpful. Plus boredom is an aphrodisiac. You know those times in meetings when things are moving quite slowly? That’s an ideal time to indulge in quick daydream. Mmm. Jon Snow is not alone in thinking about sex.

Equality for both genders will be helped along if we focus on the ways we are similar. I wager women think about sex just as much as men and we both probably think about carnal desire even more at our desks. Even the way to work can be filled with exquisite naughtiness of thought. The commute is an fantastic opportunity to think about sex. Next time you board the bus take a travel through your ripest imaginings to kill time. Like you need me to tell you.

The homemakers amongst us women also think of other, equally inappropriate, things when we consider our colleagues. Whether your feet are manicured, if you take off your jeans and leave them in a denim cowpat on the floor. Whether you make the bed in the morning or you walk around the house with your toothbrush leaving a white spotty trail of minty spittle. What your wife looks like and whether she’s a good cook.

But like every emotion, it is only through acknowledgment we can move on from it. I don’t want to judge my colleagues based on how sexy they are. I also don’t want be considered *just* based on my gender, but neither do I think it’s helpful to ignore I’m a woman altogether.

Pretending you don’t see that I’m female is as offensive as ignoring that someone is a different colour or has a different background from you. If you have to *ignore* it to treat me fairly, well then you are harbouring some pretty ugly prejudices. Let’s think about that before we suggest no one should be imagining sexy times with their colleagues.

Plus, since when did we all stop thinking about people in a sexual way just because we’re not supposed to? I bet most of us think about it even more because we’re not supposed to. Personally I like to think my own throbbing sexuality is very hard to resist, even once I don my most professional demeanour. I’m not blaming you, boys. As Jon Snow says, sex is “a natural animal instinct.”

It’s human to think about sex, so let’s get over it. And under it. And behind it. Jon Snow can evaluate me anytime.