Women’s Work
Inside and Outside the Home
Resisting
Violence Against Women
Read: Chapters 8 and 10
View: Video 5
Write: (2) Blog Entries
Chapter 8:
Women’s Work Inside and Outside of the Home
Key concepts in this chapter include labor force, women
workers, economic system, global economy, globalization, multinational
corporations, paid and unpaid labor, domestic work, gender division of
household labor, comparable worth, horizontal and vertical segregation,
occupational segregation by gender, primary labor market, secondary labor
market, glass ceiling, glass elevator, glass precipice, sexual harassment,
double day of work, second shift and “pink collar.” Below you will find links
to the AAUW report on the gender gap along with a CNN video that ran when the
report was released.
Chapter 10:
Resisting Violence Against Women
Key concepts contained in Chapter 10 include violence
against women, sexual terrorism, rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual
harassment, stalking, rape spectrum, sexism, misogyny, patriarchy, battering,
physical abuse, incest, global human trafficking, militarism, women and war,
cybersex, forces prostitution and pornography.
For your reference, I have attached a link to RAINN (Rape,
Abuse and Incest National Network), indicating that every two minutes someone
in the United States is sexually assaulted.
July 23: Women’s work
outside the home question
What
are the various kinds of sexual harassment and the statistics on its
occurrence?
July 25: Violence against women question
Describe
a rape myth described in the text. What implication does this myth have for our
society?
Sexual harassment is legally defined as unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors. But it doesn’t just stop there. Sexual harassment also is any verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
ReplyDeleteThere are two types of sexual harassment. Quid Pro Quo is unwelcome sexual advances; requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute quid pro quo sexual harassment.
Hostile work environment is when the conduct being performed is interfering with an individual’s work performance or is creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has created a set of guidelines that the court takes into play when they are deciding whether or not the act is sexual harassment. They look at if the conduct was verbal, physical, or both and how frequently the conduct was repeated. They look at if the conduct was hostile or patently offensive and whether the alleged harasser was a coworker or a supervisor. Also, whether or not others joined in perpetrating the harassment and whether or not the harassment was directed at more than one-person matters too. The court also takes into consideration whether or not that any remarks made were hostile and derogatory. Another thing they take into consideration is the relationship between the charging party and the alleged harasser.
Surveys indicate that up to 30 percent of female college students and up to 70 percent of women in the workplace have been sexually harassed. This is a high percentage of women who have been harassed. Whether or not it is verbal remarks or physical harassment it counts and I believe that with the help of the government, sexual harassment will soon not be such a reoccurring event in the work place.
I feel like no matter what the government imposes, sexual harassment in the workplace will still happen. Some women may be to afraid or do not want to lose their job in order to tell someone. But, women have worked so hard to have equal jobs as men and equal pay as men, we don't need arrogant men sexually harassing us at our job, which we've worked so hard to get in the first place. Your percentages are very high and hopefully the government can help but I think they won't be able to fully rid the workplace of verbal remarks or sexual harassment.
DeleteI will have to agree with you Nicole; sexual harassment of some sort will always be present no matter what kinds of laws/fines there are in place. It would help more if everyone reported their incidents. That would let these offenders know that their behavior is not acceptable. Not only that, there should be more stringent policies on handling these types of things internally because, let's be honest, a majority of sexual harassment cases handled "in house" are usually swept under the rug with someone receiving paid time off.
DeleteSexual harassment is an unwelcome sexual advance or requests for sexual favors. There are two types of sexual harassment, the quid pro quo, which are unwelcome sexual advances and the other is a hostile work environment, where an individual’s work performance is interfered with. In 1986 the Supreme Court declared sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination this was an extension of Title VII, which prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, and/or national origin. In 2005 a poll was conducted that said 44% of working women said they had been discriminated against because of gender and 1/3 said they had experienced sexual harassment. Baker the author of The Women’s Movement Against Sexual Harassment says, “Sexual harassment was a particularly personal and insulting form of discrimination”. This type of discrimination is still seen today in the workplace; Baker says, there are “continuing high rates of sexual harassment…rates of sexual harassment are similar to what they were twenty-five years ago”. Based on statistics from AAUW, in 2011, 31% of female workers reported that they had been harassed at work. Out of the women who had been harassed 43% reported that their harasser was a supervisor, 27% said their harasser was an employee senior to them, 19% said it was a co-worker at their level, and 8% said it was a junior employee. Based on these statistics it is clear that sexual harassment is used as discrimination to women. American culture still embraces male dominance and male sexual dominance both inside and outside the workplace.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aauw.org/what-we-do/legal-resources/know-your-rights-at-work/workplace-sexual-harassment/#cases
Great job on researching the statistics. Male dominance is very dominant in the United States (or American culture as you stated), but it is even more dominant in European/African countries. There were statistics about Guatemala that says 2 women are killed daily, results of domestic violence, sexual injustice, and just plain cruelty by the hands of men. We have it bad here in America, but some women have it worse.
DeleteGood use of statistics here. Showing that of harassed women even 8% are made uncomfortable by and inferior coworker is kind of crazy. This just shows anyone can be a victim or oppressor regardless of gender or power level.
DeleteYour statistics are great! I can totally believe that sexual harassment happens frequently while in the workplace. I also think that most of the time, the harassment is coming from a boss or someone higher on the totem pole, which makes it harder to report.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. As discussed in the text, there are two different types of sexual harassment: quid pro quo (sexual favors are required in return for various conditions of employment) and hostile work environment (no explicit demand for an exchange of sexual acts for work-related conditions but being subjected to a pattern of harassment as part of the work environment). Sexual harassment is not limited to solely women. Men are subjected to this reckless behavior as well. However, sexual harassment predominantly affects women. According to catalyst.org, 1 in 5 women will experience sexual harassment in the workplace, compared to 1 in 20 men. This not only happen in the workplace, worldwide, it also happens to our children, especially our young women. According to endvawnow.org, 83 percent of girls aged 12 to 16 experienced some form of sexual harassment in public schools. This is entirely too much, for both young women in school and in the work force. There have been large discussions in and out of the work place about whether women provoke men or if there are just some creeps in the world that just can’t help themselves. Either way, it is wrong! I have heard within numerous discussions about sexual harassment that if women do not want to be subjected to this type of behavior, they should make sure certain parts of their bodies are covered. I disagree with this 100%. While I agree that women should be more selective about the type of clothes that they wear, and where they wear them, it should not be a reason for them to live/work with unwanted sexual advances from their co-workers/colleagues. As discussed in an earlier chapter, this is just one way for men (or women) to control us; through our sexual freedom, or lack thereof.
ReplyDeleteReferences: http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/sex-discrimination-and-sexual-harassment-0
References: http://www.endvawnow.org/en/articles/299-fast-facts-statistics-on-violence-against-women-and-girls-.html
(left off my references the first time, sorry)
I like that you brought up sexual harassment not being limited to women. It occurs more often than one would think that women are the powerful subject of a sexual harassment encounter. Its a little ironic how women fight to be the same as men, yet when it comes to the bad traits we believe we are not capable of that. Just thoughts to ponder. Good posts and thanks for the references!
DeleteSexual harassment is a despicable "tactic of abuse" that some people use in order to control the actions of others or just to outright violate an aspect of their civil liberties. Sexual harassment is commonly defined as ANY unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors. This includes: physically touching and nonverbal conduct such as sexually explicit photos or gestures. Often times, this harassment goes unreported or "underreported" (meaning there are many incidents left out of a report) because a person is in fear of losing a position that they desperately need to live. " The reality is that most lower-level supervisors have significant authority over their subordinates, even though they do not have the power to hire and fire... There are more than three million of these lower-level supervisors for more than 17 million low-wage workers - virtually all of the low-wage workforce. And another three million lower-level supervisors oversee millions of workers who do not earn low wages" (NWLC, 2014) How much you make can often depict the level of harassment you are willing to subject yourself to. Two types of sexual harassment are Quid pro Quo (this for that)and a hostile work environment( harassment to the point that it interferes with individual work performance). Sexual harassment is dangerous because some people do not know where to draw the line before it becomes sexual assault. Although the Fair Employment Protection Act is supposed to protect us against sexual harassment, people are not always abiding by this act.
ReplyDeletereference: http://www.nwlc.org/resource/reality-check-seventeen-million-reasons-low-wage-workers-need-strong-protections-harassment
**National Women's Law Center**
It's crazy that lower level supervisors which usually don't have that much power abuse their authority. Some men need to feel powerful. Sometimes a man wouldn't never think to sexually harass some one until they are put in a situation where they have more power over someone else, typically a woman. And I agree that sexual harassment can be dangerous. A lot of men don't know where to draw the line and this could lead to rape.
DeleteSexual harassment is anything one considers as an unwanted sexual advance, whether that advance be a provocative comment or inappropriate physical contact. Because of the hierarchal nature of the working world, the work place becomes the number one setting for sexual harassment. Two types of harassment appear, quid pro quo, or unwelcome contact or requests, and hostile work environment in which ones work is affected or suffers due to uncomfortable sexual nature between coworkers and/or superiors. The two may often go hand in hand seeing as a superior engaging in quid pro quo harassment can cause a hostile work environment.
ReplyDeleteIn 2011, a poll conducted showed that 31% of women and 7% of men had reported being sexually harassed in the workplace. To me at least, these statistics do not seem all that alarming. What I found crazy was that of 31% of women who reported being harassed, 62% of them said they did nothing about it. That’s not okay! Women should be informed of the resources available to them such as support groups where they may gain the courage and motivation to confront the situation and also should be taught their states laws and policy on the matter so that they may deal with the problem correctly if it arises.
Resource: http://www.aauw.org/what-we-do/legal-resources/know-your-rights-at-work/workplace-sexual-harassment/
I agree with you that it is alarming that women do not report being harassed. However, I understand why they do nothing about it. Usually someone that is higher up are the ones harassing because they have more authority over the person they are harassing. This makes it hard for the person being harassed to go to someone about it because the person they have to go to are the ones harassing. I agree with you that women should be informed of other types of resources they can go to if this is the case.
DeleteBy the 1970’s, sex became a more open and positive thing, which became known as the sexual revolution. As the sexual revolution became widespread, the antirape movement started, which says women have the right to say no to sex. Sexual harassment in the work place is a form of discrimination. Before any laws were made about sexual harassment, the book states, “Not only were women not taken seriously as workers, but they were treated as sexual objects.” Because of a woman’s sexual autonomy, she may not be able to move up in the work force. Sexual harassment according to the book is, “legally defined as unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors.” Sexual harassment can be verbal, physical, or nonverbal conducts. There are two forms of sexual harassment: quid pro quo and hostile work environment. Quid pro quo is unwelcomed sexual advances, request for sexual behaviors, and other verbal or physical conduct. Hostile work environment is determined by whether or not an environment is hostile. To me, it seems hard for women to be able to stand up for themselves when they are being sexually harassed at work because they are scared of loosing their job, or they are worried they will be called a liar. Usually the one who is sexually harassing is someone of a higher position who has more power over the person they are harassing. Therefore, that makes it hard for the victim to tell anyone because the person they are suppose to go to about this problem is the one harassing them. These situations make it hard for women to stand up for themselves because they are fearful of what the harasser has the ability to do to their position. The book states, “Bernice Sandler of the National Association of Women in Education reports that surveys indicate that up to 30 percent of female college students and 70 percent of women in the workplace have been sexually harassed.” I’m not sure if the book means that college students are harassed by employers, professors, or people in general. If any of you all know which one the book means then please let me know!
ReplyDeleteRape is a sex without consent, and it is a crime of aggression because the focus is on hurting and dominating. Rape usually happens to women. It happened to young, old, people of all races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic status. I think this is a very touchy subject for must of us here on this board. I know it is for me. Being in college I have heard and experienced acts of rape and sexual assault. Rape is very common on college campuses because of male bonding rituals and alcohol. The social myth that angers me every time I read it is, “Women are at least partly responsible for their victimization in terms of their appearance and behavior (encouraging women to feel guilty when they are raped.)” That is so appalling to me! Just because I decided to wear a skirt or a cute tank top does NOT invite any man to sexually assault or rape me. Society is not the same as it once was. It is uncommon for women to wear long dresses to their ankles, and completely covering their body. A woman should never have to wear a specific outfit to indicate they are not welcoming anyone to have sex with them. It is wrong to ever say that someone deserved to be raped because she was drunk, or her outfit was too scandalous. Rape is very serious, and a very traumatic experience to those who are rape victims. After rape occurs it leaves a women feeling ashamed, dirty, or stupid. That to me is the most horrible part about someone being raped.
ReplyDeleteYou touched on some of the points I did as well. I agree that women should not have to dress a certain way to accommodate men (and some women too). If you wear too much of your legs out or your bust, then you are essentially "asking for it". I think that it is so wrong! Again, it's the way society controls every step we make.
DeleteRape is the only crime where the victim especially women are blamed. They are the only victims that feel guilty for being attacked and people blame them for the clothes they wear saying they wanted it. It is one of the worst rape myths and it affects a lot of victims lives.
DeleteIsn't it a tad ironic that todays society praises celebrities that dress provocatively or maybe even act scandalously, but these same behaviors make you partially responsible if someone assaults you? The whole double standard of women's power is displayed here. We idolize women such as Beyonce or even Miley Cyrus who are obviously different in some ways, but both show a lot of skin and praise their figure. So why are real world women condemned for mimicking these "idols"? Good post!
DeleteThe one myth that I would like to discuss t most is the second of the three given in the text. The myth is as follows: Women are at least partly responsible for their victimization in terms of their appearance and behavior (encouraging women to feel guilty why they are raped). I touched on this for the previous question this week. This is just another way of society blaming women for being women. Why should we have to make accommodations for men? Why can’t men just learn how to be men, and learn to stop when no means no? I like the analogy that the book makes: Consider the suggestion that a person who has just been robbed was asking to have his/her wallet stolen. I agree 100%. Rape is an act of violence that may or may not be premeditated. Either way, it happens when a man (or a woman) gets the urge to satisfy his/her sexual needs by forcibly taking away the sexual freedom of another woman/man. Why is it that when women have a certain appearance or wear certain clothes, they were “asking for it”? When men wear nice clothes and nice jewelry, are they asking to get robbed? It is the same concept. Rape is something that can and will change the lives of whomever it affects, as well as those around. Rape is society’s way of controlling women, taking away our freedom, and belittling us. I have seen what it does to families, including mine. It leaves a permanent scar, physically, mentally and especially emotionally. I wish there was a way that rapists could walk in the shoes of rape victims.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to have the exact same views! I agree with you, is a guy asking to be robbed when he wears nice clothing and jewelry? Or is he asking to be raped when he goes to the beach and doesn't wear a shirt? It's a shame that society blames a victim of rape. No one asks to be
DeleteI agree with your post. And I feel like the punishment for rape should be changed and made worse maybe that will lower the rape crimes.
DeleteThe punishment for rape should be much worse than it is... Sadly, I'm not sure there will be much of a change. And you're right, it definitely does change families and people's lives... Some people never recover from these events, others are able to repress it, and the latter use that experience to go out and rape because it was done to them... I'm not sure exactly where the chain can be broken to stop or prevent rape completely, but Lord knows we need to find it quickly...
DeleteOne rape myth described in the text is, women are partly responsible for their victimization. This myth leads on to believe that a woman who was raped dressed a certain way or acted a certain way to lead the violator on and make him believe she wanted it. This myth is encouraging women to feel guilty when they are raped, like it was partly their fault. After being raped some victims will blame themselves, and say, I shouldn’t have worn that slutty top, or I shouldn’t have been dancing that sexually. The implication of this myth on society supports masculine privilege. Therefore, this myth supports men’s tendency to sexually abuse women and control their lives. There are several different kinds of rapists, like opportunistic, situational, and aggressive. What all three of these rapists have in common is that they believe rape myths. Believing in rape myths gives a man more of a chance to rape a woman. Rape occurs all the time and is still very high today. Rape can happen on a college campus, by your spouse, in or outside your home, or in a public place. Also, the majority of women raped know their rapist. However because of rape myths only a few rapes get reported. The reasoning for this is women also believe rape myths too. A woman who believes a rape myth and gets raped will be less likely to report the rape because she believes it was partially or wholly her fault. As a society and women we need to overcome our beliefs of rape myths and seek justice.
ReplyDeleteOne of the social myths that encourage rape victims to feel ashamed, dirty, stupid, or even at fault is one that says men are not totally responsible for their actions. If a woman comes on to a man sexaully it is impossible for him to stop". PAUSE. I think that this is a horrible, horrible, horrible myth about rape and it must have been thought of by a man!! How many times have you gone to the grocery store and put something in your cart, and before you made it to the counter to pay, you changed your mind about purchasing that item? I think that it is absurd to even imply that just because I may have had a flirty conversation with you, it means that we are going to engage in sex or that you're entitled to sex with me. Furthermore, it also sets men back into the primitive ages and says that they cannot control their urges which is also untrue. This myth sets up a precedent for allowing people to say that they are no longer responsible for their actions. Let's just not limit this to rape, it could be anything. A person kills another person and all of a sudden they are not responsbible for it because the deceased taunted and dared them to kill them. So, once the deceased said that, the person couldn't stop. This myth is just as stupid as the garbage that Senator Todd spewed forth from his mouth about women not being able to get pregnant from LEGITIMATE RAPE because they have a mechanism that can shut the whole thing down. This unfounded statement that bears no validity whatsoever, is just another way to add to men not being responsible for their actions. Well, she could've not gotten pregnant if she didn't want to be pregnant. I do not know one rape survivor that has asked to be raped. Women are just as much sexual beings as men are. If we (women) want to have sex with a man, trust that we will let the man know. It is ridiculous to infer that a conversation means that I am sexually attracted to you and furthermore, if you rape me, I am not the one held responsible because you couldn't press PAUSE.
ReplyDeleteDescribe a rape myth described in the text. What implication does this myth have for our society?
ReplyDeleteThe myth I chose to write about is men are not totally responsible for their actions. In the book, it says that if a women comes on to a man sexually, it is impossible for him to stop. This is so false. Men are not driven by uncontrollable biological urges, and it is insulting to men to assume that this is how they behave. It is also wrong for people to assume that a women have to “finish what she started” when it comes to sexual activity. The text states that everyone has the right to stop sexual behaviors anytime they want. This myth helps the “blame the victim” myth that is also a problem in our society. Women are not partly responsible for their victimization in terms of their appearance and behavior. Rape is the only violent crime in which the victim is not de facto perceived as innocent. No one walks around asking to be raped… therefore women are not at all responsible for being raped when they haven’t done anything to lead it on. Myths like these help support the masculine privilege that deals with sexuality. This also supports male tendencies to sexually abuse women and makes it easier to control women’s lives.
You're right, this mindset does further empower men and makes it easy for them to abuse or control women's lives. Many women do not speak up when being assaulted because they don't believe anyone will believe them or be willing to help them. The lack of confidence females have in their fellow women is astounding to me. We need to make sure everyone has someone to run to in times of crisis like this.
DeleteThe myth I would like to discuss is the rape myth stating that rape happens less frequently in our society than women believe and that feminists in particular blow this situation out of proportion. That is completely false. Rape happens an alarming amount and the only reason it is not more easily recognized is due to the very low percentage of women willing to report their attackers. That is exactly how this myth affects social aspects of rape and sexual assault. Because people think that rape is not as common as it truly is women are more likely to feel isolated, alone and scared. Men and antifeminists have all argued that feminists encourage or inflate rape by focusing on women as victims and therefore do not always believe women who claim to be raped thinking that they are lying for money or attention. This is also a myth. Women should not be afraid that people will dismiss their problems in time of crisis such as this. Issues of assault deeply affect people and the survivors deserve support and alliance rather than doubt.
ReplyDelete