difference in male and female perception on sexual harassment?

Question

looking for why male and female views are so different

Answer 1

In most states, a work place sexual harassment by a man could be something as simple as letting others see the man looking at the woman's rear and winking an eye. But for men to be a victim, the woman must be overbearing and relentless in her sexual advances. Gay men win more cases against women than straight men.

Answer 2

Pertaining to sexual harassment and why male and female views are different, I don't think people should look at this as a gender issue but rather as an individual issue!

Answer 3

What a female may call harassing a male may take a flirting. Go figure. Men are from Mars and women from Venus:-)

Answer 4

Males pursue females in an open manner in society. Females pursue males in a more subtle manner, and give off signals showing when the male pursuit is welcome. They are quite selective as to whose seed they might someday accept. Females feel unwanted pursuit is thus harassment.

Males feel all female interest is welcome until openly rebuffed, and are much less strict or picky about who they will object to. They will plant seed almost anywhere it will grow. Therefor they are much less likely to see female advances as harassment.

Answer 5

Males seem to be more agressive while women seem to be passive. The answer is in the eyes of the beholder. What seems to be harmless to one maybe be offensive to others. Tread lightly, make sure you know the person before you comment.

Answer 6

One recurring theme in research on sexual harassment is the difference between men and women in perceptions of this phenomenon (Cochran, Frazier, & Olson, 1997; Fitzgerald, 1993; Ford & Donis, 1996; Gowan & Zimmerman, 1996; Johnson, Benson, Teasdale, Simmons, & Simmons, 1997; Katz, Hannon, & Whitten, 1996; Saperstein, Triolo, & Heinzen, 1995). Men and women attach different interpretations to sociosexual behaviors in the work place (Berdahl, Magley, & Waldo, 1996; Clark, Cooper, & Griffin, 1991). Women define harassment more broadly than men, express more negative attitudes toward sociosexual behaviors at work, and are more likely than men to consider sexual advances by the opposite gender as objectionable and potentially damaging (Malovich & Stake, 1990).

Men might define behaviors as sexual when they were not intended to be so. Men perceived social behavior in a more sexualized manner than women in three laboratory studies (Abbey, 1982; Kowalski, 1993; Saal, Johnson, & Weber, 1989). What women saw as friendly behavior toward men was perceived by men as having sexual implications. Thus, if men responded in kind (i.e., with behavior having sexual undertones or overtones), women could find the response to be uninvited and unwelcome.

It appears that women in general have a lower threshold for perceiving sexual harassment than do men. In terms of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) categories of sexual harassment, men and women are more likely to agree that quid pro quo behaviors are harassing, and less likely to agree that hostile environment behaviors are harassing (Bonate & Jessell, 1996; Burgess & Borgida, 1997; Frazier, Cochran, & Olson, 1995; Johnson et al., 1997; Powell, 1986; Terpstra & Baker, 1988; U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, 1981). Both men and women agree sexual harassment which takes the form of a threat or promise is inappropriate. But men seem to be less sensitive to ambient behaviors that women may find harassing, such as sexual comments or gestures (Pryor, 1985; Pryor & Day, 1988; U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, 1981; Williams, Brown, Lees-Haley, & Price, 1995). The confusion about "friendly" and "sexual" behaviors between men and women further complicates this issue. Men may not realize that certain behaviors are unwelcome if they believe that the other party to the exchange is behaving in a sexual manner.

This role confusion could lead to serious consequences. Unless men and women can better understand each other's position, a mutual understanding about acceptable work place behavior is unlikely. Organizational environments where these gender-based differences in perception and interpretation are not acknowledged are breeding grounds for conflict over the appropriateness of behaviors, and for eventual litigation (Fitzgerald, Gelfand, & Drasgow, 1995).

It is important to understand the extent to which men and women are aware of these gender-based differences in perceptions of harassing behaviors. There is, however, no research which explores this awareness. The absence of empirical data in this area is puzzling, given the importance of the implications for organizational intervention.

There is some reason to expect that men and women are differentially aware of gender-based differences in perceptions of sexual harassment. Women are generally believed to be more socially sensitive (Broverman, Vogel, Broverman, Clarkson, & Rosenkrantz, 1972; Tannen, 1990). Enhanced sensitivity on the part of women may also be influenced by power differences in the organizational setting. First, because men generally hold the policy-making positions in organizations, they are in a better position to incorporate their definition of harassment into organizational policy (Baugh, 1997). Second, there is evidence that less powerful individuals tend to be more sensitive to social cues provided by those with more power than the reverse (Brewer, 1982; Fiske, 1993). Because women often hold less power than men, even though hierarchical level may be the same (Cleveland & Kerst, 1993), it is likely that women will be more aware of men's perceptions of sexual harassment than men will be of women's perceptions. For these reasons, women are more likely to be cognizant of differences in perceptions of sexual harassment than men.

Answer 7

Men don't get harassed as often as women do, so they are less sensitive to it.

Answer 8

i think it has more to do with what the individual finds acceptable and not acceptable in the arena of flirtation and not so much men and women. also, it varies greatly from culture to culture.

Answer 9

To me the word "no" means exactly that, anything beyond is harrassment.

Answer 10

when a girl says no.. it means no!! you can do and say sexual things (flirting) to some girls