Theorizing Gender Power and Gendered Institutions: Sexual Harassment and Resistance to Feminist Activism

Reasonable men: Sexual harassment and norms of conduct in social psychology

Feminism & Psychology ◽

10.1177/0959353519855746 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 453-474 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jacy L Young ◽

Peter Hegarty

Keyword(s):

Social Psychology ◽

Sexual Harassment ◽

Knowledge Production ◽

Experimental Social Psychology ◽

Sense Making ◽

Human Sciences ◽

Thick Description ◽

Feminist Activism ◽

Production Practices ◽

Object Of Knowledge

Sexual harassment has received unprecedented attention in recent years. Within academia, it has a particularly reflexive relationship with the human sciences in which sexual harassment can be both an object of research and a problematic behavior amongst those engaged in that research. This paper offers a partial history in which these two are brought together as a common object of social psychology’s culture of sexual harassment. Here we follow Haraway in using culture to capture the sense-making that psychologists do through and to the side of their formal knowledge production practices. Our history is multi-sited and draws together (1) the use of sexual harassment as an experimental technique, (2) feminist activism and research which made sexual harassment an object of knowledge in social psychology, and (3) oral history accounts of sexual harassment amongst social psychologists. By reading these contexts against each other, we provide a thick description of how sexual harassment initiates women and men into cultures of control in experimental social psychology and highlight the ethical-epistemological dilemma inherent in disciplinary practices.

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Hashtag Feminism in Romania: #MeToo and Its Effects on Cyberspace Behavior

Transilvania ◽

10.51391/trva.2020.12.07 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 62-70

Author(s):

Andreea Voina ◽

Anișoara Pavelea ◽

Lorina Culic

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Sexual Harassment ◽

Gender Inequality ◽

Power Relations ◽

User Behavior ◽

Women's Activism ◽

Feminist Activism ◽

Online Platforms ◽

Raising Awareness ◽

Culture Of Gender

In the recent years, cyberspace has become an incubator for feminist activism. Cyberfeminism has gained momentum through various online platforms, campaigns, movements, and galvanized women (and – to a certain extent – men) to “move beyond the hashtag” and engage in actions meant to drive socio-political change. The Women’s March on Washington in January 2016, for instance, was triggered by a Facebook post, and turned into an unprecedented women’s activism action, replicating across the globe. A more recent movement, #MeToo, has emerged into cyberspace and raised issues of credibility, as it tapped into a culture of gender inequality and power relations that created and fostered an environment of intimidation and silence. The unprecedented wave of sexual harassment allegations brought to surface countless confessions from regular women and celebrities who have been pivotal in raising awareness on this issue. However, this cyberfeminist movement also intensified the cyberbullying phenomenon, as the mechanisms of storytelling engaged in #MeToo have not only generated a wave of gendered solidarity, but also one of trivializing – even bashing – such stories, and the individuals who reported previous incidents on social media. This paper analyzes the emergence and development of the #MeToo movement in Romania in the fall of 2017, focusing on storytelling mechanisms employed on Facebook and effects on user behavior, an assessment of social media users’ navigation of the phenomenon, in terms of solidarity networks and bullying generated by Romanian women’s tackling of a cultural taboo.

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Institutions

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199328581.013.19 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Celeste Montoya

Keyword(s):

Institutional Analysis ◽

Power Dynamics ◽

Central Component ◽

Feminist Analysis ◽

Gendered Institutions ◽

Key Concepts ◽

Gender Power

This chapter addresses “institutions” as a central component of feminist analysis. It provides an overview of the ways in which feminist scholars, informed by varied feminist traditions and approaches, and working across a range of disciplines, have used different conceptualizations of institutions to explore gender power dynamics. It differentiates between “institutions” and other key concepts, such as “structure” and “organizations” andexplores “gender as an institution,” “gender in institutions,” “gendered institutions,” and “institutions as producers of gender.” Furthermore, it addresses the limitations of uni-dimensional understandings and methodologies, and argues the importance of incorporating more dynamic, inclusive, and intersectional lenses in contemporary institutional analysis.

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Intellectuals Debate #MeToo in China: Legitimizing Feminist Activism, Challenging Gendered Myths, and Reclaiming Feminism

Journal of Communication ◽

10.1093/joc/jqaa033 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 70 (6) ◽

pp. 895-916

Author(s):

Qi Ling ◽

Sara Liao

Keyword(s):

Sexual Harassment ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Public Intellectual ◽

Legal Action ◽

Digital Activism ◽

Feminist Activism ◽

The Public ◽

Chinese Scholar ◽

Critical Responses

Abstract This study focuses on the intellectual debate over #MeToo in China provoked by an article written by a well-known Chinese scholar and public intellectual Liu Yu. Raising such countervailing issues as women’s supposed complicity in sexual harassment and the drawbacks of digital activism in comparison with legal action, Liu’s article marked a crucial moment in the public awareness and discussion of #MeToo and digital activism in China in 2018. By analyzing the critical responses to Liu’s argumentations, we examined the discursive impact of these critical efforts to destabilize Liu’s hegemonic reading of the sexual harassment culture in China. We show how Liu’s critics offered a compelling defense of #MeToo, deconstructed enduring gendered myths, and had a significant impact in terms of reclaiming feminism in China. We argue further that the critics’ intellectual and deliberative efforts exemplify China’s local struggles in the global #MeToo movement and feminist activism.

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Sexual harassment against men: Examining the roles of feminist activism, sexuality, and organizational context.

Psychology of Men & Masculinity ◽

10.1037/a0039151 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 17-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Kathryn J. Holland ◽

Verónica Caridad Rabelo ◽

Amber M. Gustafson ◽

Rita C. Seabrook ◽

Lilia M. Cortina

Keyword(s):

Sexual Harassment ◽

Organizational Context ◽

Feminist Activism

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Reasonable men: Sexual harassment and norms of conduct in social psychology

10.31234/osf.io/6wysq ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jacy L Young ◽

Peter Hegarty

Keyword(s):

Social Psychology ◽

Sexual Harassment ◽

Knowledge Production ◽

Experimental Social Psychology ◽

Sense Making ◽

Human Sciences ◽

Thick Description ◽

Feminist Activism ◽

Production Practices ◽

Object Of Knowledge

Sexual harassment has received unprecedented attention in recent years. Withinacademia, it has a particularly reflexive relationship with the human sciences in which sexual harassment can be both an object of research and a problematic behaviour amongst those engaged in that research. This paper offers a partial history in which these two are brought together as a common object of social psychology’s culture of sexual harassment. Here we follow Haraway (1997) in using culture to capture the sense making that psychologists do through and to the side of their formal knowledge production practices. Our history is multi-sited and draws together (1) the use of sexual harassment as an experimental technique, (2) feminist activism and research which made sexual harassment an object of knowledge in social psychology, and (3) oral history accounts of sexual harassment amongst social psychologists. By reading these contexts against each other, we provide a thick description of how sexual harassment initiates women and men into cultures of control in experimental social psychology and highlight the ethical-epistemological dilemma inherent in disciplinary practices.

Download Full-text

Reasonable Men: Sexual Harassment and Norms of Conduct in Social Psychology

10.31234/osf.io/q3zd6 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jacy L Young ◽

Peter Hegarty

Keyword(s):

Social Psychology ◽

Sexual Harassment ◽

Knowledge Production ◽

Experimental Social Psychology ◽

Sense Making ◽

Human Sciences ◽

Thick Description ◽

Feminist Activism ◽

Production Practices ◽

Object Of Knowledge

Sexual harassment has received unprecedented attention in recent years. Within academia, it has a particularly reflexive relationship with the human sciences in which sexual harassment can be both an object of research and a problematic behaviour amongst those engaged in that research. This paper offers a partial history in which these two are brought together as a common object of social psychology’s culture of sexual harassment. Here we follow Haraway (1997) in using culture to capture the sense making that psychologists do through and to the side of their formal knowledge production practices. Our history is multi-sited and draws together (1) the use of sexual harassment as an experimental technique, (2) feminist activism and research which made sexual harassment an object of knowledge in social psychology, and (3) oral history accounts of sexual harassment amongst social psychologists. By reading these contexts against each other, we provide a thick description of how sexual harassment initiates women and men into cultures of control in experimental social psychology and highlight the ethical-epistemological dilemma inherent in disciplinary practices.

Download Full-text