WEEK 12 - Harassment Flashcards
what is sexual harassment?
behavior that derogates, demeans, humiliates an individual based on that individual’s sex
what motivates sexual harassment?
to protect or enhance their own sex-based social status and able to do so by a social context that pervasively and fundamentally stratifies social status by sex
prior views of sexual harassment
loss/denial of job related benefits for refusing to co-operate sexually
biological approach to sexual harassment
expression of natural sexual urges that are expressed more by men than by women because, men are inherently more sexually aggressive than women
sex-role approach to sexual harassment
socio-sexual behavior gone wrong. guided by sex roles that assign men the role of sexual agent and women the role of sexual object
power approach
use of power to extract sexual compliance
why is viewing sexual harassment as motivated by sexual desire problematic?
undermined the ability to understand harassment as a form of sex discrimination and to eradicate it in the workplace
- it keeps the sexes separate and therefore unequal in order to avoid sexual issues from arising
- reinforces the negative stereotype of men as bad ut bold; asociated with societal male dominance and likely to reinforce it
why was there resistance to the idea that socio-sexual behavior at work was a bad thing?
some forms of sexual expression may be pleasant, and many workplace romances become long lasting relationships
what is the most common form of sexual harassment?
gender harassment which involves sexual ans sexist comments, jokes, and materials that alienate and demean victims based on sex rather than solicit sexual relations with them
what is SBH?
behavior that derogates, demeans, or humiliates an individual based on that individual’s sex
what motivates SBH?
power.
to protect or enhance social status when it seems threatented
what are some examples of SBH?
sexually objectifying women
silencing, exclusion, sabotage that are experienced by an individual because of sex
-portraying the individual as unworthy, inferior, serviles
what does harassment require?
a difference in actual or perceived power between the harasser and the target of harassment that leaves the target little recourse for self-defense or retaliation
why can cumulative SBH be worse?
since it is coming from many sources, it is harder to escape
why are men more motivated than women to defend their sex-based status against threat?
beacuse meeting masculine ideals is associated with more benefits for men than meeting feminine ideals is for women
who are likely to engage in meeting gender ideals?
Average men have more to gain from being seen as masculine and much to lose from being seen as less masculine
Average women have more to gain and moreto lose
the more an individual endorses beliefes that justify gender hierarchy:
the more that individual will define his or her own and others social status in terms dfined by this hierarchy and the more that individual will want to defend his or her status
both men and women are motivated to protect their status in terms defined by:
male dominance
what triggers a desire to protect sex-based status
(1) disctintiveness threats which blur distinctions between sexes
(2) acceptance threats which challenge an individuals status as a good or prototypical member of his or her sex
(3) category threats which categorize and individual in a sex-based group against his/her will
(4) derogation threats which threaten the value of an individuals’ sex group
what do derogation threats trigger?
desire to defend on’es group or to distance oneself from it
what do acceptance threats trigger?
desire to prove one is a typical and worthy member of one’s group
what do category threats trigger?
desire to disidentify from the group with which one has been unwillingly associated
who are likely targets of SBH?
individuals who pose the threat to the harasser’s status in the first place
individuals who blur distinctions between sexes, challenge someone’s achievement of sex based ideals, categorize someone in a sex-based group against his or her will, or threaten the value of someon’s sex based group
individuals who are less powerful than the person threatened, the latter may target another who is less powerful for harassment
what are some implications of dress codes?
define what is acceptable
normalize certain forms of girlhood while problemizing others
suggests girls’ responsibility for the school’s moral climate
what are consequences of girls being labelled sluts by their peers?
applied to girls who develop sooner than others,
are isolated, fail to conform and have experienced sexual abuse at some point in their lives
women actively participate in a sexualized North American culture in which female raunch is now celebrated. why?
false belief that it is a liberating and powerful progression of feminism
how do girls police other girls’ reputations
by using the term slut or slag
how are dress code details often framed?
in terms of respect for others, self-respect,
how is wearing provocative clothing considered?
lack of self respect
how was this article conducted?
focus groups with local groups of secondary students located through word of mouth and direct requests to community organizations
-participants showed up for drop-in program were interested in the topic and who remembered their parental consent forms
how did the girls comment on dress details?
girls recognized a fine line between acceptable and unacceptable clothing
how did the girls critique dress details?
referred to practical needs (temperature) and occasionally to self-express
- tank tops when its hot out rather than to look good
- rules against revealing dress and enforcement unfairly target girls
what did participants criticize boys for?
for preferring to go out with girls who wear sleazy clothes
why did the subjects feel the need for formal dress codes?
to control behavior of other girls
help young women avoid sexual or peer harassment
how did the girls frame slutty dressing?
individually problematic and inviting harassment
othering used in context of dress?
positioning other girls as sluts helps to prevent the label from being attached to themselves
what did the findings suggest about bodily display
that it is meant for someone else, specifically boys
what did Orenstein argue
that when girls come of age, they learn to suppress their sexuality and convert it into disgust, projecting that disgust onto others
how do girls’ regulations of other girls’ self representation reproduce gender inequaliites?
by narrowing ideas of acceptable female sexuality and policing anything consiered excess
what did Levy suggest about the power of the provocative dress?
that it is an empty form of power as it fulfills a consumerist and patriarchal script
what was the most evident missing discourse among these focus groups?
desire
sexual beings
why is it difficult to challenge the fine line between acceptable, expected, and attractive and what is seen to go too far?
context
changing fashion
girls’ own changing age
definitions of taste that vary by culture and class
what makes the stakes so high when challenging dress?
being considered attractive and desirable can bring a girl popularity and acceptaince whereas being considered overly sexual or sleazy can bring hostility and ostracism
laws of gender
- therer are two genders and everyone is/has one
- gender is a lifelong, invariant, and unchangeable
- exceptions to two genders are jokes or abnormalities
- genitals are essential sign of gender
- categories are created by nature and membership in gender category is assigned by nature
