This study used the minority stress theory to develop models of antecedents and outcomes of heterosexism in the workplace. Heterosexism was assessed via the Workplace Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire, a new scale assessing direct (e.g., anti-gay jokes) and indirect experiences (e.g., assumptions of heterosexuality). Structural equation modeling with two community samples {N = 287) of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people indicated that heterosexism was best predicted by perceptions that the employer does not take heterosexism seriously (i.e., organizational climate). Experiencing heterosexism was associated with adverse psychological, health, and job-related outcomes, thus supporting the minority stress theory. In addition, outness was positively related to experiences of direct heterosexism but negatively related to indirect experiences. The minority stress theory is discussed in light of the mental health history of pathologizing homosexuality.
Recently the focus of sexual harassment research on the harassment of women by men has been challenged. Treatments of sexual harassment of men, however, have generally ignored power differentials between the genders. Our analysis predicts that behaviors identified as harassing by men stem from negotiations of gender in the workplace that challenge male dominance, whereas behaviors experienced by women as sexually harassing reinforce female subordinance. Consistent with our predictions, results indicated the following: men are considerably less threatened than women are by behaviors that women have found harassing; men find sexual coercion the most threatening form of harassment; men as well as women sexually harass men; and men identify behaviors as harassing that have not been identified for women. Results also showed signs of backlash among men against organizational measures that address sexual harassment and discrimination against women. Implications for psychological and legal definitions of sexual harassment of men are discussed.Sexual harassment is rarely about sex, but about power. (Male employee, public utility company, August 1993)
Research on sexual harassment has recently expanded to include examination of men's experiences. Such research, however, has ignored the power dynamics involved in sexual harassment and typically assumed exclusively heterosexual situations. ~ examine legal cases illustrating the many forms that male-male harassment may take and the complex array of situations in which such harassment occurs. ~ then report the frequencies of experiences of harassment in three large samples of working men as well as the sex of the perpetrators of the harassment. Finally, we examine men's evaluations of these situations to determine the degree to which they found them to be harassing in a psychological sense. Our results indicate that men experience potentially sexually harassing behaviors from other men at least as often as they do from women; however, men in all samples reported relatively few negative reactions to these experiences. Future research should examine the predictors and outcomes of such situations to clarify the meaning of such behavior for male targets .• "1 feel that men-not just women-can sexually harass other men."• "I know of 10 people on my floor alone who are afraid to tell people they are gay. I'm not afraid, and everyone knows, which has opened the door for some harassment from straight men."
Male employees at a ~st Coast Public Utility Company, August 1993 and June 1994Are men sexually harassed? If so, by whom, how, and for what reasons? Interest in the sexual harassment of men has increased as both researchers (e.g., Vaux, 1993) and the popular media (e.g., Gross, 1995;Lawlor, 1994) have challenged the exclusive focus on female victims in discussions of this topic. The prototype of a predatory female boss sexually harassing a hapless male subordinate has been created by popular culture, as demonstrated by Crichton's 1993 bestseller Disclosure and its subsequent movie version. This film, presumably about sexual harassment, lUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL.
Research indicates that antigay victimization is widespread and that lesbian, gay, and bisexual young people may be very vulnerable to such victimization. The current study builds upon previous work by Hershberger and D'Augelli (1995), who studied the consequences of sexual orientation-based victimization in 194 urban lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths. Using structural equation modeling, the present study models both antecedents and consequences (including psychological distress, self-esteem, and suicidality) of victimization via a secondary analysis of their data set. In addition, a second sample of 54 lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths from a rural university setting was examined to cross-validate and generalize the relationships found in urban settings. Results indicated that a revised model of victimization exhibited sufficient fit to the urban sample data and provided preliminary support for the generalizability of the model beyond the initial sample. Additional similarities were found between the urban and rural university community samples, including a high prevalence of reported suicide attempts: 42% of the urban sample and 32% of the rural university sample had attempted suicide at least once. Results indicated that victimization based on sexual orientation has similar correlates for young people in different community settings.
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