Ending Sexual Harassment: Protecting the Progress of #MeToo

ABSTRACT

How can we best protect and safeguard the progress of the #MeToo movement? This article presents 11 reforms designed to ensure the movement’s drive toward justice. These fall into three areas. The first concern process reforms designed to (a) protect all those involved—accusers and the accused—in investigations of sexual harassment, (b) end differential treatment of those found guilty, and (c) ensure punishments are commensurate with the crime and proportional in terms of other transgressors. The second set of reforms focus on transparency of the process, including clarifying (a) how to file charges, (b) who makes decisions, (c) relevant public information on how charges and procedures are followed, (d) what transgressions result in which punishments, and (e) how complaints are investigated to protect the rights and privacy of all. Finally, I address cultural issues that address (a) our portrayal of women, (b) our societal attempts to prepare young people so they can better protect themselves, and (c) attempts to encourage bystanders to intervene in the face of sexual harassment of others.     

Examining the Psychometric Properties of the Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women (SESII-W) in a Sample of Lesbian and Bisexual Women

The Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women (SESII-W) assesses propensities for sexual excitation (SE) and inhibition (SI). Previous research utilizing the SESII-W included samples comprised exclusively or almost entirely of heterosexual women. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the SESII-W and assess its relation to aspects of sexual function within a sample of lesbian and bisexual women. The sample included 974 self-identified bisexual (n = 733) or lesbian/homosexual (n = 241) women who completed an online survey including items assessing women’s sexual behaviors, feelings, and functioning, sociodemographics, and the SESII-W. The sample was split; exploratory factor analyses were conducted on the first half, yielding eight lower-order factors with two higher-order factors. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the second half and suggested reasonable model fit. SI was positively correlated with sexual problems and negatively correlated with sexual pleasure; the correlations were significant but small. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between SESII-W scores and sexual problems/sexual pleasure, controlling for age, relationship duration, and relationship status. Four lower-order factors predicted reports of sexual problems. Findings indicated the SESII-W has similar psychometric properties among sexual minority women as it does among heterosexual women.     

Young Adult and Parent Perceptions of Facilitation: Associations with Overparenting,Family Functioning,and Student Adjustment

Overparenting occurs when parents engage in developmentally inappropriate involvement in their children’s lives. This topic is salient in the context of young adults attending college, as this developmental stage necessitates independent decision-making and adjustment on the part of these students. At the same time, the turbulence involved in this transition might engender parental interference and facilitation that could impact young adults’ adjustment and perceived family functioning. This study used structural equation modeling to examine overparenting, perceived interference, facilitation, student adjustment, and family functioning in 302 parent–young adult dyads. Results indicated that overparenting was associated with facilitation, but not interference. Whereas this association was negative for young adults, it was positive for parents. This pattern was also reflected in the indirect effects of overparenting on student adjustment through young adults’ versus parents’ perceived facilitation. Young adults appear to have better outcomes when they perceive their parents to be facilitating their goals.     

A Psychometric Comparison of Three Scales and a Single-Item Measure to Assess Sexual Satisfaction

This study was designed to systematically compare and contrast the psychometric properties of three scales developed to measure sexual satisfaction and a single-item measure of sexual satisfaction. The Index of Sexual Satisfaction (ISS), Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction (GMSEX), and the New Sexual Satisfaction Scale–Short (NSSS-S) were compared to one another and to a single-item measure of sexual satisfaction. Conceptualization of the constructs, distribution of scores, internal consistency, convergent validity, test-retest reliability, and factor structure were compared between the measures. A total of 211 men and 214 women completed the scales and a measure of relationship satisfaction, with 33% (n = 139) of the sample reassessed two months later. All scales demonstrated appropriate distribution of scores and adequate internal consistency. The GMSEX, NSSS-S, and the single-item measure demonstrated convergent validity. Test-retest reliability was demonstrated by the ISS, GMSEX, and NSSS-S, but not the single-item measure. Taken together, the GMSEX received the strongest psychometric support in this sample for a unidimensional measure of sexual satisfaction and the NSSS-S received the strongest psychometric support in this sample for a bidimensional measure of sexual satisfaction.     

Breadwinning and bread‐losing: Exploring opportunities to rework manhood

Manhood in the USA today is at a crossroads. There are more models of how to be a man than ever before. And yet, despite myriad changes to the structures of work and family, the breadwinner ideology, or the heterogendered ideal that husbands should be the sole or primary earners in their families, persists in US society. This ideology affects the structure of work and family, regardless of whether individual people agree with it. Here, we discuss the breadwinner ideology and the ways that this meaning system tethers employment to masculinity and vice versa. We examine strategies for decoupling manhood from work and family and suggest ways to facilitate the undoing of gender.