As I am new to the conversation, I hope I am not repeating earlier comments
on the subject. Thanks!
> But I still hold that these children are indifferent to proper social > rules
more due to lack of parental intervention than rebellion
Rather than indifference to "proper social rules," sexual harassment in
schools is instead an adherence to (traditional) social rules about gender
and sexuality. Sexual harassment in schools, particularly sexual harassment of
girls by boys (and boys by other boys) reinforces highly dichotomized notions of
male and female sexuality. Boys learn and practice sexual agency and girls
learn and practice sexual passivity. Male sexual agency and female sexual
passivity are legitimized by a social system that demands compulsory
heterosexuality. To act outside of that social system is to confront homophobia
and heterosexism.
Challenging sexual harassment demands challenging our basic assumptions about
what it means to be a man and a woman. Sexual harassment is not just bad
behavior; it is by nature about sex and gender and power; any discussion of
sexual harassment must be understood within its larger social context.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Fri Apr 12 2002 - 15:14:16 EDT