Sexual Harassment Reflection Paper

1058 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Is female perception of body image affected by the media

I kept hearing the number 6. I was sitting in the cafeteria of my university and this guy kept saying something about the number 6. My assumption was he was complaining about the price of the burger which was 6 dollars extra, but he wasn’t. He was talking about a group of girls who put their stuff down at a table near him and then walked away to get food. As I heard him more clearly he almost shouted “She’s a 6, she’s a 6,she’s a f-king 6”. He then continued to rate the girls when they sat down. He determined most of the girls at that table were a 6, one he thought was just a 3. I want to tell you this is the first time in my 20 years of life I’ve experienced a man rating a woman as she enters a room, but it’s not. Once when I was in the 8th …show more content…

I told my best friend about the countless times I had been catcalled last semester and he thought it was a “compliment”. What he couldn’t comprehend was I was not asking to be sexualized by these guys, I wanted to print out a paper for class. The shouts coming from the car made me fear for my safety. It’s a bit horrifying to realize the sexual harassment I observed and experienced as a middle school/high school student does not end after puberty is over, it intensifies. The older I get the more I want to own who I am, what I believe in and what is important to me. Despite my own opinion certain men think they have ownership over my body and the bodies of all …show more content…

Even when people don’t say it there is always an underlying assumption.I’m supposed to be quiet, do as I’m told, play an antiquated role and not use resources allocated for those with more privileged than myself. I can recognize my privilege though, I am cisgender,hetrosexual, have a somewhat decent financial stability, safe opportunity for education.

Even Blue Ivy isn’t immune to objectification. She has more access to money, power, and education than most of us could imagine. Ever since she was born people have picked her appearance a part as if she wasn’t a baby or a toddler or a little girl or a human. People treat her as if she is a collaboration album between Beyonce and Jay Z, to be rated and reviewed at our pleasure. All the privilege she has does not diminish the fact that she is a black girl. And as a black girl she gets little respect from the world around her.

The college experience is starting to get more complicated. My generation is given a platform on social media. The frustration we feel and our experiences can be shared within mere moments. This shows sexism, racism,homophobia,transphobia,classism happening everyday around the world. These are not isolated incidents as the media would sometimes like to portray them. These are patterns that plagued our world since the dawn of

Show More
Related

  • Summary: Separating Myths From Facts By Debra Humphreys

    435 Words  | 1 Pages

    “College campuses are not dominated by widespread racial/ethnic segregation and the racial/ethnic clustering that does occur isn’t impeding intergroup contact.” (578, Hoeffner and Hoeffner). Throughout the essay, the writer continues to provide facts and sources on the information that diversity is not a problem on college campuses. She quotes evidence that states that college students are getting a “variety of positive educational outcomes that result from being educated in a diverse environment.” (578, Hoeffner and Hoeffner).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conversations many people get defensive when someone says, “You have this because of your privilege” they feel as though that the person they are talking with doesn’t understand that they have worked hard for what they have, however that is not the point that anyone is trying to make. What someone in that position is saying is that although you have worked hard to get where you are your journey have been well furnished with privilege on account of your race. It is said to think about that you got somewhere in life due to the color of your skin, but it is also sadder to think that someone got declined a job, got stereotyped, or got overlooked because of their race or

    Read More

  • Trigger Warnings Analysis

    687 Words  | 2 Pages

    College is full of new experiences, new people, and new communities, and many universities encourage the exchange of new ideas and diversity among students. This year, the University of Chicago sent out a letter to all of its incoming freshmen informing them that in keeping with their beliefs of freedom of expression and healthy discussion and debate, the school would not provide “safe spaces” or “trigger warnings”. Senior Sophie Downes found this letter to be misleading in many ways, including in the definitions of safe spaces and trigger warnings, as well as the issues it was addressing. Downes claims that the letter was misrepresenting the school, but also was using the letter as a sort

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Checking My Privileges

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    Having privileges gives out respect to those who earned it for you, as explained in the article, “Checking My Privileges”, by Tal Fortgang. Privileges are not for people who deserve them but instead it is for people who are lucky enough to have them passed onto them. Tao explains how she was handed her privileges from the hard work of her grandparents and the accomplishments of their struggling journey to give their granddaughter the privileges she has today to be thankful for. Society judges one another based on their sexuality, and color of their skin, you may judge others of the same basis without knowing the story of how they have received their privileges, because by looking at how a person looks will not give you their background story of them or their

    Read More

  • Race In George Johnson's An Elephant In The Classroom

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    People are all different, different races, genders, social classes, and sexualities. These natural differences make people feel awkward and no one wants to feel awkward. Difference is “socially” constructed because society creates different gender rules, roles that you should take on, and behaviors depending if you are a man or women. Two types of privilege can be white privilege. White privilege means you get more benefits and have way more benefit of the doubt compared to other races. Heterosexual privilege is where you are more of a “man” than if you would be homosexual. You are both men but being heterosexual you are perceived as more manly. Both of these are unearned privileges, they come with the race and sexuality you are. What is the significance of understand the privilege in relation to solving “the trouble” we

    Read More

  • Sexual Harassment Case

    1290 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) sexual harassment guidelines and the Civil Act of 1964, indicate that Susan Parker was indeed sexually harassed throughout her employment at Plastech Industries. The EEOC has created a set of guidelines that determine liability. These EEOC guidelines say that "A key factor in determining liability is whether the employer has an effective internal grievance procedure that allows employees to bypass immediate supervisors (who are often the offenders)" (Making the Sale p.46). According to the EEOC and section 703 of Title VII in the Civil Act of 1964, sexual harassment is:

    Read More

  • Sexism In The Workplace Essay

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    “In particular, not only are rates of IPV expected to be higher in a capitalist economy than a socialist one, but rates of IPV, are also expected to be higher during periods of economic downturn and recession than during periods of relative prosperity” (Hattery and Smith 211). Relationships that undergo financial hardships through economic slumps are likely to create problems because doubts are raised towards the ability of the man to provide for his relationship, which trigger outbursts because men see that as an attack on their manhood. But through recessions and lean employment periods, women see the importance in which there are advantages in having an additional income to supplement their living conditions. “Thus, marriage—or long-term

    Read More

  • The Perception of Sexual Assault & Harassment

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sexual harassment and sexual assault is nothing new to the modern world. Though the aspect of sexual assault and harassment has existed since the dawn of time. Cavemen would club their selected mate and have their way with them. It wasn’t until the early 1980s that it became more pronounced as immoral and derogatory. Though some may say that certain acts, gestures, jokes, songs, or even quote do not fall under anything worth mentioning, it all boils down to who is present and how the offended perceives it. Bystanders may just see it and not think anything of it, or they will find it extremely offensive.

    Read More

  • Sexual Harassment in America

    1874 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Webster’s online dictionary, it is believed that the phrase “sexual harassment” was coined at Cornell University in 1974 ("Sexual harassment," 2011). The phrase wasn’t, however, really used in common language until the testimony of Anita Hill against Clarence Thomas in 1991. Sexual harassment can take many different shapes and forms. According to a Fox News article, the sexual harassment claims made by men have increased twofold in the last twenty years ("Sexual harassment claims," 2010). Because sexual harassment is illegal both on a federal and state level in many states, there are steps that an individual and employer should take to prevent sexual harassment.

    Read More

  • Sexual Harassment Effects Body Esteem

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    Whether it was in a physical form, or a couple of offhanded remarks while walking down the street, sexual harassment has probably happened to female you know. 87 percent of American women between the ages of 18-64 have been hassled by male strangers; and “over one half of them experienced “extreme” harassment including being touched, grabbed, rubbed, brushed or followed by a strange man on the street or other public place” (“Oxygen/Markle Pulse Poll” 1). Along with this, the poll stated 84 percent of women actually considered changing their behavior while in public to avoid harassment. Women should not have to change how they act to help protect themselves from strangers.

    Read More

  • Essay On First Generation Students

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a byproduct of the change in college culture, it will create a “friendlier” environment for first generation. Students need to feel safe rather than out of place. Additionally, prestigious institutions need to take initiative to create new programs that will make college a painless transition for first generation students by implementing new policies such as mentors or clubs. As many colleges and universities have not taken the initiative to help first-generation students, North Carolina State University is one of the few exceptions. As a fellow first generation college student at North Carolina State University, I have reaped many benefits from the different organizations they have around campus. In the Poole College of Management, I was assigned a professional mentor in my future line of work that made the transition into college a better experience for me. After listening to his forums, I was able to use the skills I had learnt from my parents and apply it to college and my study habits benefiting me in countless possibilities. Additionally, the sociology department at North Carolina State University has created a program that guides first-generations students throughout all four years of college making the transition as

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: The Impact Of Sexual Harassment On Women

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine this, you're walking down the street in your favorite outfit feeling as confident as ever and then, suddenly, you're hollered by a man beside you or from across the street telling you how hot or fine you look. You no longer feel comfortable in what you're wearing because of his demeaning compliment. Obviously, you spend the day thinking of the unpleasant encounter you had and you think about heading back home to change. Men, boys should not make comments about women or girls on the street because it can vary as sexual harassment, it can make women self conscious of themselves and women can be offended by these comments.

    Read More

  • Sexual Harassment and Rape

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    Statistics show that eighty-one percent of teens, ages thirteen to eighteen, have been sexually harassed in school alone. In school the number of teens who are sexually harassed are astounding. Eighty-five percent of female teen are sexually harassed in school, which is slightly higher then the seventy-six percent of male teens harassed(3). One in ever four girls,

    Read More

  • Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

    1253 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sexual harassment in the workplace is a huge problem in recent history. It can happen to anyone and it can happen everywhere. It can affect all types of races, gender and age. Statistics today shows that more and more sexual harassment has become an issue due to the large number of cases presented. Mainstream media becomes consume covering sexual harassment because of the high profile cases. Sexual harassment becomes a topic on various TV shows, and on some major morning radio talk shows mostly everyday. Sexual harassment laws must be strengthened in order to fix what has become a serious problem today in the workplace.

    Read More

  • Essay On Sexual Harassment

    3150 Words  | 7 Pages

    In today’s workplace, sexual harassment is a growing problem. The legal definition of sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance or conduct on the job that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. Another definition is the making of unwanted and offensive sexual advances or of sexually offensive remarks or acts, especially by one in a superior or supervisory position. Women and men of all ages, backgrounds, races and experience are harassed on the job. Sexual harassment encountered in workplaces is a hazard across the world that reduces the quality of working life, jeopardizes the well-being of women and men, undermines gender equality and imposes costs on firms and organizations.

    Read More

More about Sexual Harassment Reflection Paper

Open Document