What Is Sexual Harassment?

by Saguy, Abigail Cope

• ISBN13: 9780520237414
• ISBN10: 0520237412
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-07-01
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

In France, a common notion is that the shared interests of graduate students and their professors could lead to intimate sexual relations, and that regulations curtailing those relationships would be both futile and counterproductive. By contrast, many universities and corporations in the United States prohibit sexual relationships across hierarchical lines and sometimes among coworkers, arguing that these liaisons should have no place in the workplace. In this age of globalization, how do cultural and legal nuances translate? And when they differ, how are their subtleties and complexities understood? In comparing how sexual harassment--a concept that first emerged in 1975--has been defined differently in France and the United States, Abigail Saguy explores not only the social problem of sexual harassment but also the broader cultural concerns of cross-national differences and similarities.

Author Biography

Abigail C. Saguy is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
List of Tables	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction: The Making of a Concept	1	(18)
1. Sexual Harassment Law on the Books: Opportunity Loss v. Violence	19	(31)
2. Sexual Harassment Law in Action: Legitimacy and Liability	50	(23)
3. Sexual Harassment in the Press: National Scandal, Pride, or Superiority?	73	(23)
4. Discrimination, Violence, Professionalism, and the Bottom Line: How Interview Respondents Frame Sexual Harassment	96	(32)
Conclusion: Institutions, Framing, and Political Power	128	(15)
Epilogue: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose	143	(22)
Appendix: Methodological Details	165	(12)
Notes	177	(32)
Bibliography	209	(14)
Index	223