Hooked on expectations: An analysis of influence and relationships in the Tailhook reports

Abstract

Abstract Since the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings, we have seen increasing awareness of sexual harassment's pervasiveness, blurred understandings of what constitutes sexual harassment, and strained relationships between women and men who define sexual harassment differently. While the media have brought these issues to the forefront, we have heard much less about organizations’ responses to and/or investigation of alleged incidents. The purpose of this study is to examine the United States Navy's formal responses to the 1991 Tailhook sexual harassment scandal by focusing on a report titled “Tailhook 91: Part I—A Review of the Navy Investigations”; and a book titled The Tailhook Report. I argue that there are at least two audiences for the Navy's responses—those who see the behavior as part of being in the Navy (predominantly an internal audience)—and those who see the behavior as morally wrong (both an internal and an external audience). These reponses illustrate the contradictory nature of the “zero...