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http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=10330

Study Shows Sexual Harassment Targets Women Who Defy Gender
Stereotypes

A recently published study in the Journal of Applied Psychology finds
that sexual harassment targets women who do not conform to gender
stereotypes. Jennifer L. Berdahl, a professor at the University of
Toronto, studied approximately 550 students and professionals and
concluded in her article "The Sexual Harassment of Uppity Women" that
women with masculine traits were more likely to be sexually harassed
than those with strong feminine personalities.

Traditional views hold that sexual harassment is perpetrated by a male
superior against a female subordinate as a result of "natural and
inevitable feelings of sexual desire," Berdahl writes. Her study,
however, suggests that in most cases men sexually harass assertive,
ambitious, or independent women leaders. A man is not usually physically
attracted to the woman he harasses, but instead he wishes to punish her
for threatening his masculinity, according to the study. Such behavior
constitutes gender harassment, the most common form of sexual
harassment.

Berdahl's study asserts that a woman who demonstrates some masculine
personality traits is more likely to experience sexual harassment, even
if she also exhibits strong feminine characteristics, than a woman
perceived as completely feminine. She writes, "These results highlight
the double bind faced by women who are dismissed and disrespected if
feminine but scorned and disliked if masculine, limiting their ascent up
the organizational ladder."

LEARN MORE Read "From North Country to Your Workplace: Ms. Takes On
Sexual Harassment" in the Fall 2005 issue

JOIN Join the Ms. community and receive the premier feminist
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Media Resources: Berdahl, Jennifer L. 

Juliette Grimmett, MPH
Rape Prevention Education Coordinator
NC State University
Women's Center
3120 Talley Student Center
Campus BOX 7306
Raleigh, NC 27695-7306
Office: (919) 513-3232
24 Hour Sexual Violence Hotline: (919)618-RAPE (7273)
Fax: (919) 515-1066
email: 

website: http://www.ncsu.edu/womens_center