scholarly journals Filling in the (gendered) gaps: How observers frame claims of sexual assault

2021 ◽  
pp. 026975802110618
Author(s):  
Eva Mulder ◽  
Alice Kirsten Bosma
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Frame Analysis ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Sexual Scripts ◽  
General Knowledge ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Claims of sexual assault are especially prone to scrutiny and (re)interpretation as something else. We investigated how people judged the veracity of sexual assault claims and how they subsequently framed their interpretations of these claims using ‘general knowledge’ in the form of sexual scripts, rape myths, and gender stereotypes. Participants ( n = 161) read about a sexual assault allegation by a male or female claimant and were asked to describe in more detail what they thought had happened. Data were analyzed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative frame analysis. A key finding was that although participants mostly accepted the facts of the claim, this did not automatically imply they shared the claimant’s interpretation of the event as (serious) sexual assault. The analysis revealed that participants drew upon distinct frames to interpret the claim, including frames – such as regretted consensual sex and miscommunication – that exonerated the accused and emphasized claimant responsibility. Frames were differentially employed in response to male and female claims of sexual assault. We discuss how our research design and findings can contribute to an increased understanding of the underlying mechanisms of victim acknowledgment.

scholarly journals Personal Strivings as Markers of Adolescents’ Quality of Life: a Gender Based Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Shilpi Aggarwal ◽  
Prof. Punam Midha
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Gender Comparison ◽  
Community Belonging ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Personal Strivings ◽  
Purposive Sample

Adolescence is a very complex and crucial phase of life, where teenagers are caught up in their own web of personal strivings, such as the issues of being, belonging and becoming. Such strivings play a pivotal role in determining their quality of life. Further whether these intrinsic motives (i.e. 3Bs being, belonging and becoming) are being influenced by gender stereotypes is a big issue for the psychologists to explore. Thus the current study is an attempt to explore and compare the levels of being, belonging and becoming (comprising of overall QOL) among male and female adolescents. A purposive sample of 98 adolescents aged 16-18 years, both male (n=44) and female (n=54) was drawn from the colleges of Rewari and Gurgaon districts of Haryana. For measuring personal strivings, Quality Of Life Profile for Adolescent Version Questionnaire (Raphael, Rukholm, Brown, Hill-Bailey & Donato, 1996) was used. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to assess the levels of being, belonging and becoming and overall quality of life and gender comparison was done on these variables. Results indicated adequate level of personal strivings leading to overall good quality of life among adolescents (total as well as in both male and female separately). Both males and females have similar levels of quality of life. However, females superseded males in spiritual being and community belonging.

scholarly journals Gender Discourses as a ‘Technology of Power’ in Nepalese Primary Level Textbooks

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 129-140
Author(s):  
Pragya Paneru
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Gender Representations ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Primary Level ◽  
Gender Binary ◽  
Nutritional Health ◽  
And Gender

 The Gender gap is one of the most prominent problems in the context of Nepal. Even if Nepal constitution promotes gender equality and equity, there is still a huge gap between male and female. Women lag in literary percentage, nutritional health conditions, ownership, and employment opportunities. One of the obstacles in the path of gender equality is our systemic education materials especially our textbooks which reinforce the stereotypical concept of male and female through textbook representations. Researchers have shown that gender stereotypes have been seen in the textbooks of highly developed countries like America, Australia, and Hongkong. In this context, all the compulsory textbooks of grade four and five prescribed by the Curriculum Development Centre in the context of Nepal were observed. In all the books, stereotypical representations of male and female characters were found. Most of the men and women were presented doing conventional gender roles, and male-centered themes are found in the narratives. This research claims that when conventional attitude regarding gender is transferred to young children, it ultimately reproduces similar gendered personalities and helps to maintain the gender gap. This research uses the concept of ‘technology of power’ by Foucault to interpret gender representations in textbooks. A Ccritical Discourse Analysis has been used to analyze the data from textbooks. The findings suggest that there are biased gender representations suggesting stereotypes and gender binary which could potentially affect the learners both male and female as it fosters false knowledge regarding gender and overburdens the male whereas humiliates the females.

scholarly journals Perception of Faces and Elaboration of Gender and Victim/Aggressor Stereotypes: The Influence of Internet Use and of the Perceiver’s Personality

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margherita Bracci ◽  
Stefano Guidi ◽  
Enrica Marchigiani ◽  
Maurizio Masini ◽  
Paola Palmitesta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Visual Exploration ◽  
Facial Emotion ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Questionnaire Online ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Image Exploration ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

The use of social media, particularly among youngsters, is characterized by simple and fast image exploration, mostly of people, particularly faces. The study presented here was conducted in order to investigate stereotypical judgments about men and women concerning past events of aggression—perpetrated or suffered—expressed on the basis of their faces, and gender-related differences in the judgments. To this aim, 185 participants answered a structured questionnaire online. The questionnaire contained 30 photos of young people’s faces, 15 men and 15 women (Ma et al., 2015), selected on the basis of the neutrality of their expression, and participants were asked to rate each face with respect to masculinity/femininity, strength/weakness, and having a past of aggression, as a victim or as a perpetrator. Information about the empathic abilities and personality traits of participants were also collected. The results indicate that the stereotypes—both of gender and those of victims and perpetrators—emerge as a consequence of the visual exploration of faces that present no facial emotion. Some characteristics of the personality of the observers, such as neuroticism, extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, and affective empathy, have a role in facilitating or hindering stereotype processing, in different ways for male and female faces by male and female observers. In particular, both genders attribute their positive stereotypical attributes to same-gender faces: men see male faces as stronger, masculine, and more aggressive than women do, and women see female faces as more feminine, less weak, and less as victims than men do. Intensive use of social media emerges as a factor that could facilitate the expression of some stereotypes of violent experiences and considering female subjects as more aggressive. Findings in this study can contribute to research on aggressive behavior on the Internet and improve our understanding of the multiple factors involved in the elaboration of gender stereotypes relative to violent or victim behavior.

Real men can't get raped: an examination of gendered rape myths and sexual assault among undergraduates

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 314-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina L. Reitz-Krueger ◽  
Sadie J. Mummert ◽  
Sara M. Troupe
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Male Victims ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
Relative Neglect ◽  
Male Rape Myths

Purpose While awareness of sexual assaults on college campuses has increased, the majority of efforts to address it are focused on female victims. The relative neglect of male victims may be due in part to problematic rape myths that suggest men cannot be sexually assaulted, especially by women. The purpose of this paper is to compare rates of different types of sexual assault between male and female undergraduates, and explore the relationship between acceptance of traditional rape myths focused on female victims, and rape myths surrounding male victims. Design/methodology/approach Students at a mid-sized university in Pennsylvania (n=526) answered an online questionnaire about their own experiences of sexual assault since coming to college, as well as their endorsement of male and female rape myths. Findings While women experienced more sexual assault overall, men were just as likely to have experienced rape (i.e. forced penetration) or attempted rape. Acceptance of male and female rape myths was significantly correlated and men were more likely than women to endorse both. Participants were also more likely to endorse female than male rape myths. Research limitations/implications By analyzing sexual assaults in terms of distinct behaviors instead of one composite score, the authors can get a more nuanced picture of how men and women experience assault. Practical implications Campus-based efforts to address sexual assault need to be aware that male students also experience assault and that myths surrounding men as victims may impede their ability to access services. Originality/value This paper contributes to our knowledge of a relatively understudied topic: undergraduate male victims of sexual assault.

Walking the Talk? Gendered Rhetoric vs. Action in Small Firms

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer E. Cliff ◽  
Nancy Langton ◽  
Howard E. Aldrich
Keyword(s):  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Organizational Characteristics ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Employment Relationships ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Do So ◽  
As If

This study challenges the assumption that male and female business leaders establish gender-stereotypic organizational characteristics in their firms. Data collected from 229 businesses in Vancouver, Canada, indicate that an owner’s sex has no effect on the extent of a firm’s bureaucracy or the femininity of its employment relationships. These findings hold even in situations theoretically conducive to eliciting gender stereotypes. Rather than conforming primarily to the archetypically masculine model of organizing, both male and female owners manage their firms with a mix of masculine and feminine approaches. Subsequent analyses revealed, however, that business owners tend to talk as if they organize and manage their firms in different (and gender-stereotypic) ways, even though they do not do so in practice. This finding may help explain the persistent belief that a leader’s sex leaves an identifiable imprint on organizational characteristics.

scholarly journals Rape as ‘one person’s word against another’s’

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candida Leigh Saunders
Keyword(s):  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Independent Evidence ◽  
Witness Credibility ◽  
Contentious Issue ◽  
Critical Scrutiny ◽  
And Gender

According to the conventional wisdom, rape is generally a case of ‘one person’s word against another’s’ and, in the absence of independent evidence, judgements regarding the truth or otherwise of an allegation are influenced by ‘rape myths’ and gender stereotypes. The meaning of ‘one person’s word against another’s’, however, and the extent to which it accurately describes the evidence in most rape cases, or usefully explains case disposal, are largely unexplored. This article subjects the conventional wisdom of rape as ‘one person’s word against another’s’, and the implicit claims and assumptions underpinning it, to close critical scrutiny. Drawing on original empirical data, I argue that the concept of ‘one person’s word against another’s’ is vague, ambiguous and uninformative. It tells us virtually nothing about what rape cases look like evidentially, still less about case progression, and presents a partial and misleading view of English criminal proceedings and the process of proof. If we are to better understand attrition in rape cases, we need to meaningfully engage with the contentious issue of witness credibility and reliability—not only in the absence of independent evidence that supports or corroborates a witness’s account, but in the presence of evidence that undermines or contradicts it.

Evaluations of Sexual Assault: Perceptions of Guilt and Legal Elements for Male and Female Aggressors Using Various Coercive Strategies

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 799-815 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda L. Russell ◽  
Debra L. Oswald ◽  
Shane W. Kraus
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Scripts ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Physical Assault ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Sex Control ◽  
Verbal Coercion ◽  
Female Aggressors ◽  
Jury Instructions ◽  
And Control

This study examines the extent to which verdict, guilt, and legal components associated with jury instructions of sexual assault differ as a function of aggressor gender, participant gender, and sexual strategy used (consensual, verbal coercion, alcohol, or physical aggression) to obtain sex. Participants (N = 423; 276 women and 147 men) read a vignette depicting either a couple having consensual sex (control), or a male or female aggressor who initiates sexual intercourse via verbal coercion, use of alcohol, or physical abuse. College students were provided with legal instructions of sexual assault then asked to provide a verdict, degree of guilt, and legal components. Female participants rated guilt and coercion higher than did male participants. Ratings of guilt were highest in the physical assault condition followed by the alcohol, verbal, and control conditions. Female aggressors were rated less guilty than male aggressors. Results are explained in relation to sexual scripts and legal decision making. Lack of significance in verdict decisions and interaction effects suggests male and female aggressors are evaluated similarly using coercive strategies; yet, consent for sex was assumed and attributions of guilt was lower when the aggressor was female. Implications for jury instructions and future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Gender Stereotypes among Teachers and Trainers Working with Adolescents

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (24) ◽  
pp. 12964
Author(s):  
Adrián Mateo-Orcajada ◽  
Lucía Abenza-Cano ◽  
Raquel Vaquero-Cristóbal ◽  
Sonia M. Martínez-Castro ◽  
Alejandro Leiva-Arcas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Physical Education ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Male Teachers ◽  
Years Of Experience ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Gender Beliefs ◽  
Female Teachers ◽  
And Gender

Previous scientific literature has not determined the influence exerted by trainers and teachers of adolescents on the development of gender stereotypes in sport. For this reason, the aims of the present research were to establish differences in gender stereotypes in sport among teachers and trainers as a function of profession and sex and to analyze the influence of age and years of experience of male and female trainers and teachers on the gender stereotypes in sport. For this purpose, 127 teachers and trainers completed the questionnaire “gender beliefs and stereotypes towards physical activity and sport”. The results showed a significantly higher score of the teachers in “beliefs about physical activity and gender” (p = 0.048) and of the trainers in “physical education classes and gender” (p = 0.006). Concerning sex, women showed higher scores in “sport and gender” (p = 0.005), and men in “beliefs about physical activity and gender” (p = 0.045). Regarding covariates, age showed significant differences in “sport and gender” (p = 0.029), with female teachers showing higher values with respect to female trainers and male teachers, while years of experience showed differences in “beliefs about sport and gender” (p = 0.044), with male teachers showing higher values than male trainers and female teachers.

scholarly journals Scripted Reality: How Observers Make Sense of a Non-consensual Sexual Encounter

Sex Roles ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Mulder ◽  
Stephanie Olsohn
Keyword(s):  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Female Student ◽  
Sexual Experience ◽  
Sexual Scripts ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Sexual Encounter ◽  
Objective Reality ◽  
Sexual Violation ◽  
Articulated Thoughts ◽  
And Gender

AbstractResearch on third party reactions to (transgressive) sexual encounters has frequently bypassed the question of how observers categorize such encounters as normal sexual experience, sexual violence, or potentially as something else. In the present study, we investigated the ways in which participants made sense of a nonconsensual sexual encounter between a man (i.e., the initiating party) and either a male or a female student (i.e., the targeted party). We specifically focused on how participants utilized sexual scripts and gender stereotypes to describe what happened and as a means of attributing responsibility to the actors. Using the Articulated Thoughts in Simulated Situations (ATSS) technique, 52 Dutch participants (26 men and 26 women) responded aloud to a vignette. Data were analyzed using discourse analysis as employed in discursive psychology. The findings demonstrated that participants constructed the event described in the vignette as normal while depicting the targeted party as abnormal and accountable. Participants strategically employed sexual scripts and gender stereotypes to describe the event as predictable and not serious and the initiating party’s actions as in little need of explanation. The targeted party was positioned as detached from this “objective reality” and was held accountable for neither following nor sufficiently breaking with the script. In consequence, the event was rendered nonthreatening. Our results illustrated the ways in which predominant discourses influence interpretations of encounters as transgressive or “just” sex, having important implications for those who seek to share their experiences of sexual violation.

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