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Feminist theory on.sexual harrassment
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Too Revealing or Not At All? “54% (272) had experienced some form of workplace sexual harassment.” (“Statistics”) More than 200 of those victims that experienced the sexual harassment were women. Women are often found with a more strict dress code in society compared to men. In “The Undress Code” by Bonnie Tsui, she addresses the issue of how men look at women depending on what they wear in different environments. This awkward anecdote reveals how a female in the situation of where her previous co-worker has been hitting on her and she doesn’t know the reason why exactly. While Bonnie Tsui’s “ The Undress Code” acknowledges that clothing choices have an effect on relationships between opposite sexes, females should not be forced to keep the “balance” within society. Women are not always …show more content…
Sexism is very prevalent in society today. Women are often not seen as wives or girlfriends but more of as a personal maid or sex object to men attracted to her. Men value the looks of a female before anything else. If a woman is dressed more revealing than another there will be more men that get the idea that she’s not the person she actually is. This leads to more sexual harassment between men and women that is often to be thought of as the female 's fault. An example of this when women are cat called on the street and feel ashamed of their appearance but if it was a man in the situation it would be odd. The female is often made to think that she is the one who promoted these advances on herself as evidenced by Bonnie Tsui in “The Undress Code”. The female within the story believes that a sweater that had no sexual intention to it was perceived as the wrong way by a former co-worker which lead to the constant stalking of the female. She did nothing to promote these activities because she did not feel that way towards the man at
Applying to the dress code, sexism can be seen commonly in schools due to the excessive amount of females who violate compared to the males. Basic arguments for dress code include eliminating distractions, which include the fantasies of a male student, which also leads into rape culture, defined as a society whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalizing sexual assault or abuse. Females are punished for a male capability to be distracted, allowing a male to fantasize about a female. Ultimately, this causes increase in rape culture, which has been very prominent in today's
As a woman in the world, I am a prisoner, trapped in an idea of how women should be and how I should force myself to be. In the allegory one prisoner had escaped, until we can put aside the standards and expectations that were forced upon us, we cannot escape the endless cycle. The shackles bind the prisoners, to only view what the captors allow; the feeling of being held back and being weighed down by invisible forces. Women are bounded by expectations, standards and limited to their success, we are always one step behind. If we speak what we think, we are threatening others and if we act the way we want, we are condemned. Even now, as a teenager when I walk the halls of Weston; I hear derogatory words being thrown mercilessly at a woman for dressing the way she wants, what is seemingly provocative in their minds. Her clothes automatically determine what type of personality or character she is, without knowing who the person really is. One can think that a high school filled with millennials, they would be more evolved in their way of thinking but still that is not the case. Why are women degraded to some type of object? Many of us feel as though, we can’t dress the way we want or a label will be put on us, we think about how we should dress in the morning and how people
A lot of the times what women wear is sexualized, just because a girl is dressed a certain way doesn 't mean that she wants to hook-up with someone or that she is “asking for it”. The way a girl dresses doesn 't have to have a hidden meaning behind it, maybe that 's just what she feels comfortable in. Women are expected to dress respectfully at all times while men can wear whatever they want and there would be no problem with it. Pictures that are posted on social media get different reactions depending on which gender posted it, while there are some things that should not be uploaded for everyone to see, it does not change the fact that we cannot control the reaction that is received. “The idea is that women should look nice and well put-together without turning anyone on, or reminding anyone of sex.” (Throwbridge) We can 't control what others think of when they see us, if their thoughts automatically jump to something sexual we are not to blame. If a guy is wearing shorts with no shirt doesn 't mean there is a hidden meaning behind his choice of clothing, it is in they way you interpret it. Even then, you should not act on your thoughts, just because you believe something does not mean that it is right. As a nation, we need to take the step to stop
In an article by Lisa Mooney about tension in the workplace, Mooney explains that there are many signs of sexual harassment in a place of business such as, the language men use towards their female co-workers, by referring to them as “ladies, babes or gals”, refers to there being a gender bias in the environment. Also if a man makes lots of physical contact with a co-worker of the opposite sex, there is an underlying assumption that he wants to have sexual contact with that person. All of these things and more make for tension for everyone around and also start cases of sexual harassment. Another form of tension is the power struggle between a female with a higher position than another male co-worker. If that woman is a no nonsense type of boss, then she is labeled as an evil boss rather than her just doing her job. These are some of the reasons it’s hard for a women to have and keep a job in the corporate world and why women everyday are fighting for better rights not only in the everyday real world but also just in the
Bates, Laura. "How School Dress Codes Shame Girls and Perpetuate Rape Culture." Time. Time, 22 May 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2016. In this article, Bates argues that today’s school dress codes are sexist and leave a lasting impression on young girls. Bates explains that there are several cases where girls are being punished for their adolescent bodies being distractions to boys. Also, it can teach a young girl that her body is dangerous and that a young boy automatically has the right to sexually diminish and harass adolescent girls in schools. This thought process is what causes a stigma later in college, declaring that when someone is sexually assaulted on campus, the person was asking for it. This can be detrimental to a young girl, and can even
Us girls feel personally attacked by the dress code policies simply because even if so much as a centimeter of skin from under our jeans, or a portion of my bra strap is showing we get sent to the office and we are given the lecture of needing to keep a better image of ourselves, and being more conservative about our bodies. Well from coming from a girl's perspective, we feel like we have to bow down to the boys just because they think inappropriate thoughts if any part of a girls skin is showing. Well, we have society and adults to thank for this simply because when boys are caught doing something they aren't supposed to do or watch something they are not supposed to be watching, adults simply say, “Oh boys will be boys.”. Now adults have conditioned boys to think that thinking these thoughts is a way of life and that it is okay to think them just because they are boys. God made us girls the way we are for a reason, why are we letting guys discriminate us women in such a way that we basically have to dress like a boy in order to keep them from thinking these sinful
In “A distressing summer of workplace sexism reminds us how far we have to go” by Susanna Schrobsdorff, the author states, “according to a Pew Research survey released in August, most American men—56%— think sexism is over and done with. More than half believe that “the obstacles that once made it harder or women than men to get ahead are now largely gone. Of course, most women—63%—disagree” (Schrobsdorff 55). The misbelief that sexism still does not exist allows for the culture in which women continue to only be seen as sexual objects and not competent workers. Ehrenreich describes that, “[you should] watch out for Lon, who has a habit of following his female coworkers into service closets” (Ehrenreich 64). Ehrenreich is warned about a potential harassing employee and that it may happen to you, but most importantly, the behavior is normalized instead of trying to stop it. In “Not Just Fox” by Katha Pollitt, she explains that there is a misconception when it comes to being harassed and it is that, “being harassed is not a matter of weakness; it’s about the enormous power differential between worker and boss” (Pollitt 6). This is further supported by “ a 2015 Cosmopolitan survey, 71% of women said they did not file complaints about sexual harassment, likely because they feared appearing difficult or ‘too sensitive.’And they worry about retaliation and job security” (Schrobsdorff 55). Sometimes the person that is doing the harassing is the supervisor or the manager, when this occurs the victim is left with little options that will not disrupt the workplace. She also runs the possibility of being fired solely to avoid a sexual harassment complaint that she may file against him. Ehrenreich states that, “as a dietary aide, as I understand the job, is dependent on a cook as a waitress is[;] He or she
Dress Codes are commonplace in today's society but in recent years, outrage at restrictive dress codes are increasing. A report by The Guardian illustrates an example of a restrictive dress code. Stephanie Hughes was called to the Principal’s office because the outfit she was wearing revealed her collar bones. Her outfit, comprising of a cardigan with a tank top underneath and jeans, was deemed as by her School Principal as inappropriate attire. The Principal explains that because her outfit revealed her collar bones, it would distract fellow male students and was hence not appropriate for school. Such dress codes only highlight the objectification of females, teaching males that while it is their responsibility to study, attaining poor scores can be explained as a result of distraction by the female students’ revealing clothes. Such dress codes teach males, in this case teenage boys, that they have the right to push the blame onto the females and shirk responsibility. While dress codes are tied to professionalism and etiquette, enforcing unreasonable dress codes that place emphasis on covering up the female body only ascertains the fact that Rape Culture is
Acts of sexual harassment against another individual have sadly become a common incidence in the workplace. It can be either physical or verbal. In 2008 the Association of Women for Action and Research conducted a survey addressing the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace. The study, which included 500 respondents and 92 companies, showed that 79% of the victims are women and 21% were men; 54% had experienced some form of workplace sexual harassment, 27% experienced harassment by their colleague, while, 17% were harassed by their superior. The study also showed that 12% had received threats of termination if they did no comply with the requests of the sexual harassers ("Statistics | AWARE | Workplace Sexual Harassment", n.d.).
According to a recent study, the causes of sexual harassment in the workforce can be exceedingly difficult due to the fact that employee’s are dependent on each other for team work and support, and are reliant on their supervisor’s approval for time off and career advancement. Supervisors and employers take advantage of their supremacy they have over their employees. Such closeness and intensity can distort the professional boundaries which lead people to cross over the line. The report also reported that Politics can be a catalyst, and problems caused by poor management, workplace bullying, frustration, and job/financial insecurity which creates a hostile environments. Furthermore, personal problems can also play a factor, and sexual harassment can be a symptom of the effects of life traumas, such as divorce, or death of a spouse or child (Sexual Harassment in the Workplace).
THESIS STATEMENT: In today’s society 40 percent of the nation’s 55 million working women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.
Clark, C. S. (1991, August 9). Sexual harassment. CQ Researcher, 1, 537-560. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher
Sexual harassment in the workplace has been a huge problem in recent history. It can happen to anyone, and it can happen everywhere. It can affect all types of races, genders and ages. Statistics today show that more and more sexual harassment has become an issue due to the large number of cases presented. Mainstream media becomes consumed covering sexual harassment because of the high-profile cases.
Sanchez, Chelsey et al. "How Dress Code Obstructs Gender Equality". HS Insider. N. p., 2016. Web. 1 May 2016.
Sexual Harassment is a growing problem in today's workplace. The signs and causes of harassment are not always easy to detect. There are a growing number of cases through statistics and actual cases that’s been headlined in news rep...