Sexual harassment in Korean college classrooms: how self-construal and gender affect students' reporting behavior

Abstract

This article examines the reasons why women students may hesitate to report sexual harassment. The research draws on the notion of ‘self-construal’. Self-construal is a form of self-identification in social relationships, which in this case relates, in particular, to gender within cultural environments in Korea. For the purposes of this research, a survey was conducted with 298 Korean college students from 7 to 14 March 2006. The results showed that different types of self-construal had different influences on Korean college students' and their reporting of sexual harassment, whereas gender did not. Grounded in the theoretical framework of self-construal, people with independent self-construal were found to express their uncomfortable feelings and to report to the university counseling center, whereas people with interdependent self-construal did not. Furthermore, we found that women were more likely than men to directly express their opinions and report sexual harassment to the university counseling center. Men are also harassed by women colleagues or students but are often more reluctant than women to recognize their experiences as ‘sexual harassment’ because of the stereotype that men are the perpetrators of this behavior, not its victims, and because they fear ‘loss of face.’ It is necessary to engage not just with femininity but also with masculinity and the relationship between these constructs because they are both temporally and geographically contingent.

Este artículo estudia las razones de las mujeres estudiantes para dudar de denunciar el acoso sexual. La investigación se basa en la noción de ‘autoconcepto’. El autoconcepto es una forma de autoidentificación en las relaciones sociales, el cual en este caso se relaciona en particular con el género dentro de los ambientes culturales en Corea. A los objetivos de esta investigación, se llevó a cabo una encuesta con 298 estudiantes coreanos desde el 7 al 14 de marzo de 2006. Los resultados mostraron que los diferentes tipos de autoconcepto tuvieron distintas influencias sobre los y las estudiantes universitarixs coreanxs y sus denuncias de acoso sexual, mientras que el género no. Fundamentado en un marco teórico del autoconcepto, se encontró que las personas con un autoconcepto independiente expresan sus sentimientos incómodos y realizan denuncias al centro de apoyo de la universidad, mientras que las personas con un autoconcepto interdependiente no lo hicieron. Más aun, encontramos que las mujeres eran más tendientes que los hombres a expresar sus opiniones en forma directa y denunciar el acoso sexual al centro de ayuda de la universidad. Los hombres también son acosados por sus colegas o estudiantes mujeres pero a menudo son más reacios que éstas a reconocer a sus experiencias como ‘acoso sexual’ debido al estereotipo de que los hombres son quienes acosan, no las víctimas, y debido a su miedo a la ‘pérdida de imagen’. Es necesario involucrarse no solo con la feminidad sino también con la masculinidad y con la relación entre estas construcciones debido a que son temporal y geográficamente contingentes.

本文检视女学生为何会迟疑申报性骚扰的原因。本文运用“自我构念”的概念, 此概念是一种在社会关系中进行自我指认的方式, 在本案例中则特别有关韩国文化环境中的性别。为了此研究目的, 本研究在2006年3月7日至14日间对298位韩国大学生进行调查。研究结果显示, 不同类别的自我构念, 对于韩国大学生及其所通报的性骚扰案件有着不同的影响, 但性别则不具影响。根据自我构念的理论架构, 研究发现拥有独立自我构念的学生会表达他们不舒服的感受, 并向学校的审议中心通报, 而拥有相互依赖自我构念的学生则不会。我们更进一步发现, 相较于男性而言, 女性更可能直接表达她们的意见并向学校审议中心通报性骚扰。男性虽然也会受到女性同侪或学生的骚扰, 但却因男性做为性骚扰加害者而非受害者的刻板印象, 以及害怕丢脸的考虑, 因此较女性而言, 更不愿认定他们的经验为“性骚扰”。这也表示, 我们不仅需要涉入女性气质, 亦需考虑男性气概以及这些建构之间的关系, 因为它们同样是取决于时间和空间的。

Keywords:

• sexual harassment
• self-construal
• gender identities
• Korea
• college students

Keywords:

• acoso sexual
• autoconcepto
• identidades de género
• Corea
• estudiantes universitarios

Keywords:

• 性骚扰、
• 自我构念、
• 性别认同、
• 韩国、
• 大学生

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Dr Beverley Mullings for her valuable comments and cheering us on with the earlier version of this article. Without her, we would have given up on improving and revising this article. Also, we would like to show our appreciation to the reviewers who freely gave their valuable comments on this article.

Notes

1. Gudykunst's self-construal scale:

1.	I enjoy being unique and different from others in many respects.
2.	I feel comfortable using someone's first name soon after I meet them, even when they are much older than I am.
3.	Even when I strongly disagree with group members, I avoid an argument.
4.	I have respect for the authority figures with whom I interact.
5.	I do my own thing, regardless of what others think.
6.	I respect people who are modest about themselves.
7.	I feel it is important for me to act as an independent person.
8.	I will sacrifice myself interest for the benefit of the group I am in.
9.	I'd rather say ‘No’ directly, than risk being misunderstood.
10.	Having a lively imagination is important to me.
11.	I should take into consideration my parents' advice when making education/career plans.
12.	I feel my fate is intertwined with the fate of those around me.
13.	I prefer to be direct and forthright when dealing with people I've just met.
14.	I feel good when I cooperate with others.
15.	I am comfortable with being singled out for praise or rewards.
16.	If my brother or sister fails, I feel responsible.
17.	I often have the feeling that my relationships with others are more important than my own accomplishments.
18.	Speaking up during a class (or a meeting) is not a problem for me.
19.	I would offer my seat in a bus to my professor (or my boss).
20.	I act the same way no matter who I am with.
21.	My happiness depends upon the happiness of those around me.
22.	I value being good in health above everything.
23.	I will stay in a group if they need me, even when I am not happy with the group.
24.	I try to do what is best for me, regardless of how that might affect others.
25.	Being able to take care of myself is a primary concern for me.
26.	It is important to me to respect decisions made by the group.
27.	My personal identity, independent of others, is very important to me.
28.	It is important for me to maintain harmony within my group.
29.	I act the same way at home that I do at school.
30.	I usually go along with what others want to do, even when I would rather do something different.