The Exonerating “Guise of Brotherhood”: Intra-fraternal Sexual Violence Survivors’ Accounts of Illegibility and Impunity

Fishman, David A.; Nielsen, Laura Beth; Esthappan, Sino

doi:10.1177/1097184x221133122

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…More research is also needed on how men in historically White fraternities make sense of sexual assault prevention strategies at the parties they host. This would expand the growing literature on masculinities and attitudes toward violence against women (Bridges and Pascoe 2018;Fishman, Nielsen, and Esthappan 2022;Wamboldt et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Navigating the Risks of Party Rape in Historically White Greek Life at an Elite College: Women’s Accounts

Ispa-Landa

Thomas

2023

Sociol Educ

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Landmark research from before the 2010s shows that college women rarely held institutions responsible for allowing rape-prone party contexts to persist and failing to support survivors. Yet the college landscape has changed profoundly since these studies were published, with prominent anti-rape campaigns and new guidelines to Title IX policy. To update a research stream that has provided the basis for theorizing about sexual violence in college peer cultures, we examine 121 intensive interviews with 68 women who are at heightened risk of party rape because of their involvement in historically White sororities. Several key findings emerged. First, women were highly invested in the Greek party circuit. Second, participants blamed institutions for failing to do more to keep them safe. Reflecting their focus on institutions, women also proposed that institutional authorities change their policies so sororities could move parties out of fraternity houses and into sorority houses. Third, women took on the labor of trying to protect themselves and other women at parties by designating monitors. However, they reported that with this system, other women could be deemed responsible, not for being assaulted but for failing to prevent rape. Finally, women found ways to identify and exclude men they deemed “rapey” from Greek gatherings. However, boycotting an entire fraternity was more controversial and harder to sustain. Overall, women’s preferred prevention strategies reflect a strong desire to avoid disturbing the Greek party scene. Implications for research and policy on gender and sexual violence prevention in higher education are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Navigating the Risks of Party Rape in Historically White Greek Life at an Elite College: Women’s Accounts

Ispa-Landa

Thomas

2023

Sociol Educ

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Reshuffling the Masculinities Deck: How Subordinate Men From Progressive Privileged Social Backgrounds Mobilize Sexual Consent Narratives to Enhance Their Social Status

Lévy-Guillain

2024

Men and Masculinities

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In recent years, feminist activism and the MeToo movement have placed a spotlight on male privilege in sexuality and raised awareness of the high prevalence of sexual violence. Within this context, men are increasingly expected to respect women’s consent in their heterosexual encounters. This study employs in-depth interviews with thirty-nine educated and economically privileged heterosexual men to examine which types of men adopt egalitarian sexual norms and how and why they do so. The findings reveal that progressive men who are shy and socially awkward employ narratives of sexual consent to legitimize their traditionally disparaged sexual behaviors, such as the wait-and-see attitudes and verbal communication strategies that do not align with traditional expectations of manhood. In doing so, they construct an image of themselves as “safe guys” who do not perpetuate sexual violence. This not only enhances their sex appeal to women but also increases their influence within their peer groups. Through the use of sexual consent narratives, shy and socially awkward men who previously embodied subordinate masculinities transition to hybrid masculinities and thus gain greater access to social resources.

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The Exonerating “Guise of Brotherhood”: Intra-fraternal Sexual Violence Survivors’ Accounts of Illegibility and Impunity

Cited by 2 publications

References 42 publications

Navigating the Risks of Party Rape in Historically White Greek Life at an Elite College: Women’s Accounts

Navigating the Risks of Party Rape in Historically White Greek Life at an Elite College: Women’s Accounts

Reshuffling the Masculinities Deck: How Subordinate Men From Progressive Privileged Social Backgrounds Mobilize Sexual Consent Narratives to Enhance Their Social Status

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