Minimization of Male Suffering: Social Perception of Victims and Perpetrators of Opposite-Sex Sexual Coercion

Anna Magda Studzinska,Denis Hilton

doi:10.1007/s13178-016-0226-0

Anna Magda Studzinska, Denis Hilton

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-016-0226-0

Copy DOI

Abstract

Studies show equal impact of sexual harassment (SH) on men and women, whereas lay perceptions are that women suffer more. We identify the phenomenon of minimization of male suffering (MMS), which occurs when people assume that SH has less effect on men’s well-being and which results in the perpetrators of SH on men being evaluated less harshly. To verify whether these effects occur, we conducted two studies in which we presented stories describing acts of sexual coercion (SC, study 1) and SC or financial coercion (FC, study 2) and measured the perceived suffering of victims and the perception of the perpetrators. Both studies showed that female victims were perceived to suffer more from SC and FC and that perpetrators of both acts on women were evaluated more negatively. The results support our hypothesis that the suffering of male victims is minimized as they are perceived to suffer less than women.

Highlights

Sexual coercion (SC) is considered to constitute the most common form of sexual harassment (SH), independently of SH is unwelcomed behavior related to one’s gender and one’s sexuality that is perceived by the recipient as unpleasant and that causes the recipient to feel psychological distress (Gelfand et al 1995)
A male victim is perceived to suffer less than a female victim, we observe differences between male and female participants in what kind of suffering they attribute to a female victim
We put forward the hypothesis that male suffering is minimized in two ways: (1) through perception of the male victims as less affected by the act of SH than female victims and (2) through perceiving of perpetrators of SC on men in a better light than perpetrators of SC on women

Summary

Introduction

Sexual coercion (SC) is considered to constitute the most common form of sexual harassment (SH), independently of SH is unwelcomed behavior related to one’s gender and one’s sexuality that is perceived by the recipient as unpleasant and that causes the recipient to feel psychological distress (Gelfand et al 1995). In their model of SH, based on empirical data, Fitzgerald et al (1995) identify three types of SH. Research on effects of all types of SH shows that its victims suffer from numerous psychological

Methods

Results

Conclusion