Concept Rhyme: Concept Creep Or Concept Creep?

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Recently there has been a lot of discussion about sexual harassment and sexual assault. In fact, according to USA Today, more than 100 men have been publicly accused of sexual harassment and/or sexual assault since the allegations against film director Harvey Weinstein arose on October 5th, 2017. The numerous allegations made have launched a discussion into what exactly constitutes sexual harassment/assault. The definitions of SH/SA have expanded in recent years, an idea known as concept creep. Introduced by psychologist Nick Haslam, concept creep occurs when a concept, such as assault, bullying, trauma; etc., broadens its definition by including new factors. Concept creep can occur two ways: horizontally and vertically. Horizontal concept …show more content…

The definition of sexual assault was recently brought into question after a story was released in which a woman, anonymously, accused actor and comedian Aziz Ansari of sexual assault. The woman, dubbed “Grace,” accused Ansari of ignoring her “non-verbal cues.” There are two big issues with this story. The first being that “non-verbal cues” is quite ambiguous and, in many states, is not a clear rejection of sexual intercourse. To be charged with sexual abuse in New York, where the incident occurred, state law requires that the victim did not “expressly or impliedly acquiesce in the actor’s conduct” meaning the accuser must either clearly state or imply they do not want to participate. Based on this definition, Ansari could, arguably, be guilty of sexual abuse in the third degree. One could also argue, however, that by not saying no Grace implied “acquiesce.” He could not, however, be guilty of rape, which requires the victim to clearly state lack of consent. This is the second issue. Grace willingly engaged in sexual activity. While many people chalk this up to a “bad date” others believe it to be sexual assault. This story is an example of vertical concept creep. The differing degrees of sexual assault make it difficult to distinguish exactly what Grace is accusing Ansari

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