The Impact of Gender on the Social Construction of Sexually Abusive Relationships

• In Event: Rape, Social Inequalities, and Media Coverage

Abstract

Age of consent laws are designed to protect minors from exploitative relationships. Despite such intentions, some people believe that teenagers have a right to willfully engage in sexual relationships with adults. This perception, however, is often affected by the type of relationship the teenager has with an adult. Due to the custodial relationship between a student and teacher, sexual relationships between the two are prohibited by law. Nevertheless, some student-teacher relationships are romanticized or sexualized by the media, leading to greater public acceptance, especially when the teacher is female and the student is male. Prior research has indicated that gender differences exist for attributions of culpability, but little is known about how gender differences affect the social construction of sexually abusive relationships. This study examines how respondents characterize a sexual relationship between a high school student and teacher, and whether such characterization varies by the gender dyad of the student and teacher.

Authors

• Caitlyn Meade, University of South Florida

• Ráchael Powers, University of South Florida