Alternative Methods to Eliminate Sexual Harassment
Alternative Methods to Eliminate Sexual Harassment
COMM 486A 201
Qian Zeng (Rose)
#47834122
Although in China, not many cases about sexual harassment have been reported due to the cultural norms and the incomplete legal system, a study conducted by Canton Public Opinion Research Center in 2013 revealed that 35% of 1,500 women surveyed suffered sexual harassment in verbal form, in person, or through text messages or phone calls (Burkitt, 2013). Compared to the situation in China, Western countries with a more open culture and a more complete legal system, in my opinion, had better protection for women against sexual harassment. Nevertheless, after reading the report “Inside the RCMP’s Biggest Crisis” and watching the movie “North Country”, I was astonished to learn that women incur severe sexual harassment in the workplace in such a developed country. I realized the seriousness of the problem and the urgency to remedy it. Meanwhile, I also became aware of the fact that sexism and sexual harassment cannot be adequately addressed by having a more inclusive culture and implementing more sophisticated laws.
What are some other possible approaches to deal with this issue? I began with the root of sexual harassment. Sexual attractiveness is not the main reason for sexual harassment. Rather, the perceived gender roles in the society, I think, are the primary cause of this type of sexual discrimination. According to “The Sexual Harassment of Uppity Women”, sexual harassment is mostly targeted at nontraditional women who possess more masculine characteristics than feminine features, since men considered them a threat to their male identity. Further studies about whether the theory is applicable in Asian countries need to be thoroughly conducted. The sexual harassment directed at “masculine” women reminded me of the sexism that we have learnt about in class- women are perceived to be warm, sensitive and empathetic, and men should be courageous, independent and assertive. Due to the gender roles that human beings have developed from their childhood, which are based on culture stereotypes according to a well-known psychologist, Sandra Bem, men tend to feel uncomfortable or even threatened when women violate their usual gender role. This largely contributes to sexual harassment, a form of gender harassment, in schools and workplaces. If the reasoning is made reversely, that is if people were not limited by gender roles, men would not feel intimidated and irritated when women assume masculine personalities and work as upper level managers. Dr. Bem suggested that people who exhibit combinations of both masculine and feminine characteristics, known as androgyny, are more likely to think flexibly and adapt easily to different circumstances (Bem, 1983). Thinking flexibly indicates that androgyny is not limited by the male or female identity and thus is more productive and possesses no gender biases. Although, nowadays, our society forces individuals to choose feminine or masculine identity, gender stereotypes can be changed with proper intervention to create a nonsexist learning environment according to the gender schema theory. To decrease incidents of sexual harassment or even to eliminate it, the government can take action to revolutionize the education system. The resolution suggested by the theory emphasizes the need to educate children about “an alternative schemata to interpret the sex-linked associative network” while acknowledging biological discrepancies between males and females (Bem, 1983). Only if we alter the way that our children process various types of information, can the sexual harassment completely disappear in different social settings. Otherwise, merely implementing a rigorous workplace policy and regulations cannot solve the problem in the long term. It can only prevent obvious forms of sexual harassment, which is similar to the outcome of simply implementing the diversity policy in the workplace– the arising subtle form of racial discrimination.