Beyond Fraternities and Football: An Exploration of College Sexual Assault Without Traditional Hyper-Masculine Institutions

• In Event: 035 - Section on Sex and Gender Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 03. Violence and Masculinity

Abstract

Sexual assault is a widespread problem on college campuses. In both academia and the popular media, the source of college sexual violence has been largely attributed to traditional collegiate hyper-masculine institutions like fraternities and football teams. In the absence of these specific institutions, does the college sexual violence epidemic persist? This article attempts to explore that question by surveying students at a college without fraternities or a strong athletic culture about their experiences with sexual victimization. Researchers found that students at the sample college were victimized at rates similar to those found in national studies. Findings imply the need for further examination of the role of additional collegiate institutions and larger cultural norms in perpetuating hyper-masculine ideals and creating an environment permissive of sexual violence.

Author

• Nicole Bedera, University of Maryland-College Park