Power Play: Sexual Harassment in the Middle School
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University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Fall 1997 Power play: Sexual harassment in the middle school Elizabeth M Allard Chamberlain University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Chamberlain, Elizabeth M Allard, "Power play: Sexual harassment in the middle school" (1997). Doctoral Dissertations. 1968. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/1968 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter free, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality o f the copysubmitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Bach original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zed> Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. POWER PLAY: SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL BY ELIZABETH M. ALLARD CHAMBERLAIN BS, Illinois State University, 1969 MS, Illinois State University, 1970 DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education September, 1997 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 9807554 UMI Microform 9807554 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation has been examined and approved. Barbara Houston, Dissertation Director Professor of Education jm Diller rofessor of Education Todd DeMitchell Associate Professor of Education *aula Saivio Assistant Professor of Education f lt W L , P Nona P. Lyons ' Visiting Associate Professor Dartmouth College Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION I dedicate this work to the hundreds of students who have invited me into their lives, who have shared their stories, their feelings, their experiences. Your insights and questions have provided the basis for my study; your honesty and your courage have been my inspiration. Although your identities have been hidden in pseudonyms and composites, you each individually remain clear in my life. Thank you for your trust which I hold dear. It is my fervent hope that this work justifies that trust. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Doctoral study, especially writing the dissertation, can be lonely work, but I have not been alone. I am grateful for so many people who have, in various ways supported me, guided me, at times consoled me and especially those who consistently reminded me that their love for me was not contingent upon my completion of a degree. From the first day of the doctoral program, Dr. Charles Ashley has been a constant source of support and wisdom. He led my cohort through the first tentative steps with gentleness and constant reminders that we are, indeed, ail interdependent. Also for five years, Micki Canfield has with good humor and skill, steered me through the minefields of bureaucracy. I am especially grateful for her editing this manuscript-at the last minute, of course. The Women of the Mountains have been my safety net, my reality check and my friends. I am blessed with friends who demonstrated their care in numerous forms-flowers, food, coffee, cards and e-mail. They have kept me from isolation and often from despair. I have had the guidance and support of an outstanding dissertation committee who have accommodated my problems with deadlines and boosted me out of the stuck places. Each member of my committee has contributed to my growth, understanding and scholarship and have modeled excellence in their own work. I wish to thank Dr. Nona Lyons, Dr. Paula Salvio, Dr. Todd iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DeMitchell, Dr. Ann Diller, and especially, my advisor and friend, Dr. Barbara Houston. Barbara's rigorous scholarship and expectation of clear logical analysis have made me a better scholar; her mentoring and example have made me a better educator; her care and compassion have made me a better person. Finally, this dissertation would not have happened without the love and understanding of my family. My children, Kim and Dan, have inspired me. My mother, who never really understood why I wanted a doctorate in the first place, nonetheless, has never wavered in her faith that I would indeed achieve the goal. It is with great relief that I can tell her that I have finally finished that paper that's taking so long." My husband, Jim is certainly eligible for sainthood at this point. His love, humor, understanding and unwavering confidence in me are all the more precious because I know that none of these are, nor ever have been, dependent on my accomplishments. Without ever having read Nel Noddings, he has always enhanced my ethical ideal. v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................... iv ABSTRACT............................................................................................. viii CHAPTER PAGE SECTION ONE-REVIEW OF LEGALISTIC POLICIES I. INTRODUCTION OF THE PROBLEM...................................... 1 Importance of this Study.......................................................... 5 Overview of the Dissertation ..................................................... 7 Obstacles Commonly Encountered in Exploration of Sexual Harassment ................................................................ 11 Challenges within this Dissertation ........................................ 14 II. COURTROOM TO CLASSROOM: THERE'S MORE TO SEXUAL HARASSMENT........................................................ 19 Legal Decisions and Defnintions ............................................. 21 School Policies, Procedures, and Practices ......................... 30 III. THE RECONFIGURATION PRESUPPOSITION: NAMING THE OFFENSE ......................................................................... 40 Sexuality Education .................................................................. 41 Sex and Violence...................................................................... 47 Gender and Bodies .................................................................... 56 IV. THE RECONFIGURATION PRESUPPOSTION: MAKING MEANING IN CO NTEXT........................................................... 67 V. THE EQUAL STANDING PRESUPPOSITION........................ 76 SECTION TWO-THE ETHICAL DIMENSIONS OF THE PROBLEM VI. CONFLICT WITH CULTURAL NORMS................................... 98 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER PAGE VII. RIGHTS WITHIN RELATIONSHIPS........................................ 111 VIII. THE ETHIC OF CARE PERSPECTIVE.................................. 120 Problems Associated with a Care Perspective .................... 123 The Ethic of Care as Political A ctio n ..................................... 126 Is All of this Enough? .............................................................. 129 SECTION THREE-POLICY AND PRACTICE IX. AN ENACTED POLICY: THE PROCESS OF EMBODIMENT ....................................................................... 133 Policy to Practice.....................................................................