Ridiculous right? In fact, it's meant to be hilarious; what men wouldn't love to have super hot Jennifer Aniston sexually harassing them? Here's what happens when Dale shares his problem with his friends:
Dale Arbus: At least your boss
isn't sexually harassing you.
Kurt Buckman: [sarcastically] Oh,
my God! I hear you on that one.
Dale Arbus: Don't give me shit!
Nick Hendricks: You'll
never get any sympathy out of us for this.
Dale Arbus: She's going crazy! It's
like a totally hostel working environment there, man. It's not funny!
Nick Hendricks: Yeah?
Dale Arbus: Alright, check it out.
Today, she started spraying water at my crotch so she could see the outline of
my dick.
Kurt Buckman: That's great!
Dale Arbus: It's not great!
Kurt Buckman: What are you talking
about? Why don't you just, you know, just fuck her?
Dale Arbus: Because I'm engaged to
be married and I love my fiance, okay?
Dale's friends suggest that the extreme sexual harassment he is facing is not a problem at all. In fact, they support the sexual harassment Dale receives from his boss. Media portrayals of male sexual harassment such as this sends the message that sexual harassment from an attractive woman is welcomed. In fact, it is not considered sexual harassment at all because no man should be unwilling to have sex with an attractive woman. These messages reinforce the stereotype that men are sex obsessed and want to have sex with anyone they find attractive, despite a lack of emotional attachment.
Media perceptions such as this can lead to less perceived victim trauma if the victim is a male. The Ferguson et al. (2005) study illustrates that those participants exposed to clips of women engaging in promiscuous behavior reported perceptions of less victim trauma. Perhaps this stereotype that men are sex obsessed will be activated by watching portrayals such as this. Viewers could apply this stereotype to themselves or other men and as a result view male sexual harassment as a joking or non serious manner.
My guess is that male sexual harassment is taken less seriously because of this stereotype that men are always willing to have sex with an attractive woman. Moreover, I believe that male sexual harassment is portrayed to be a joking manner because there is less of a threat than when a woman is victim of sexual harassment. Men are biologically stronger than women. this diminishes the likelihood that a woman could rape a man. She'd have to be quite strong in comparison to the man or perhaps drug him.
Ultimately, is it sexual harassment if we find the other person attractive. Do we let some comments slide from attractive aggressors compared to aggressors we find unattractive?
Media perceptions such as this can lead to less perceived victim trauma if the victim is a male. The Ferguson et al. (2005) study illustrates that those participants exposed to clips of women engaging in promiscuous behavior reported perceptions of less victim trauma. Perhaps this stereotype that men are sex obsessed will be activated by watching portrayals such as this. Viewers could apply this stereotype to themselves or other men and as a result view male sexual harassment as a joking or non serious manner.
My guess is that male sexual harassment is taken less seriously because of this stereotype that men are always willing to have sex with an attractive woman. Moreover, I believe that male sexual harassment is portrayed to be a joking manner because there is less of a threat than when a woman is victim of sexual harassment. Men are biologically stronger than women. this diminishes the likelihood that a woman could rape a man. She'd have to be quite strong in comparison to the man or perhaps drug him.
Ultimately, is it sexual harassment if we find the other person attractive. Do we let some comments slide from attractive aggressors compared to aggressors we find unattractive?
Mylan, really liked the post and it got me thinking of an SNL clip with Tom Brady that dealt with how not to get a sexual harassment lawsuit levied against you. Here's the link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBVuAGFcGKY). It's an interesting debate on what actually constitutes sexual harassment. Now I know that the SNL clip goes a little over-the-top, but it does have some truth in it. The physical attractiveness of a person can dictate whether it makes you uncomfortable or not. Since these lines are blurred, it's imperative for people (especially males) to think two or three times before they actually speak. You need to take extra precaution so that your words aren't misconstrued. It's not fair, but that's just the way it is I think.
ReplyDeleteMylan, I really enjoyed reading this post and I thought his clip from Horrible Bosses supported your argument really well. Like Mike said, I also definitely agree that a persons attractiveness can determine whether the person receiving the comment would be offended/uncomfortable or not. I feel as though you see this occur everyday, a hot guy comments on a girls figure and she is flattered, a less attractive guy can give the same compliment and it leaves the women in disgust and you see the same thing occur with males, just less often. I feel that the media definitely lets these type of issues slide as well as at times completely leaving male sexual harassment unnoticed. I agree with your comment about how male sexual harassment is taken less seriously and definitely feel it is simply due to male stereotypes that exist. Especially the one you mentioned that was also talked about in one of the earlier readings this semester that men are always willing and have a desire to have sex with women, and adding physically attractiveness, is just a plus and even more of an incentive.
ReplyDeleteMylan, I think you make a really interesting point here. It got me thinking about the discussion we had in class yesterday about BDSM and how this sort of plays with the sexual scripts of women having to be constantly submissive, and men dominant, and how if the roles were reversed, it tends to be portrayed as ridiculous or unheard of. I think the clip you provided is a perfect example of how the media portrays this scenario. Not only is male victimization incredibly rare in the media, it also tends to be proposed, like you said, as something to not be concerned with "if she's hot." The clip begins to spin the scenario around, even though it is meant to be humorous, because despite the fact that Dale's boss is attractive, he is obviously against her advances, which I would argue does some job of presenting male victimization in a more serious way (more serious than most of the other male submissive portrayals in the media). What made me think of the BDSM discussion we had was a question that popped into my head while reading your post: when women are portrayed as dominant, is it as "ridiculous" as when a male is seen as submissive? Or when a woman is seen as dominant, is it seen as empowering? My mind went to an example of an "I wear the pants in the family" character in the movie "The Hangover." In the movie, one of the main characters, Stu, has a girlfriend who completely runs his life to the point of harassment. This clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NvFgoAKOhI) from the movie shows Stu and his girlfriend Melissa fighting over the fact that Stu didn't listen to Melissa's orders. Melissa is seen as an aggressor, over-bearing, controlling, and violent. Stu says to Melissa "I think in a healthy relationship sometimes a guy should be able to do what he wants to do," and Melissa responds by yelling "that's not how this works!" In this scenario, a dominant woman is seen as sort of a caricature, or something to laugh at. At the same time, the audience is laughing at Stu for putting up with his girlfriend's abuse. I thought it was interesting to compare the two clips from "The Hangover" and "Horrible Bosses" because in both cases, although the woman is put in a dominant role, they are seen as something to laugh at or look down upon. Although they have power in their role, they are not "empowered" to the audience, they are just seen as bullies. Also, in both cases the male is unhappy in his submissive role, suggesting that it is necessary for them to be dominant in the relationship and that women can not take that power away. I thought this was an interesting comparison, and it really got me thinking about the double standard of relationship roles.
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