Why Do
They Do It?
What Women
Think....
Harassment can come in the
form of sexually derogatory comments or behaviors that create an unpleasant
or hostile atmosphere and tends to occur in formerly all-male workplaces.
It is in this environment that harassment seems to be a way for men to regain
status lost with the entrance of women into the previously male work field.
The question is, therefore, what do the women that are being harassed think
motivates their harassers? A study by Peggy Crull showed that the women's
beliefs about why men harass typically fall into one of the four categories...
Harasser's Psychology
- This
places a sort of psychological weakness upon the harasser, usually citing personal
problems as a source of behavior. Insecurity of the men with themselves also
falls into this category. Some women also think that the sexual behavior in
itself represents a sign of the man's personal problems.
Power Derived from
the Work Relationship
- Many women think
that some aspect of the harasser's or their own work situation is an explanation
for the harassment. More clearly, it can be felt that men harass as an extension
of power they have at work. In jobs typically held by men, women may feel that
men are reacting to a threat of a loss of power in their own field...such as
professional chefs.
The Male Gender Role
- This category cites
social reasons as to be blamed for harassing behavior towards women. Harassing
can be seen as an extension of typical gender roles within a society. Men have
been socialized to behave as such towards women and that is their reason for
harassing, according to some women in the study.
Miscellaneous Responses
- These can range from
thinking the man feels sorry for single and unmarried women, thus that is the
reason for the harassing behavior, not wanting the woman to be alone. Other
reasons that fall into this category included the man's prior success in sleeping
with other women coworkers and being encouraged by the results of his behavior
thus far.
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