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Research Question: What effect do demographic variables have on the popular perception of
sexual assault?
Dependent Variable: Popular Perception of Sexual Assault
Independent Variable(s): Demographic Variables

Variables

Significance of Gender in the Popular Perception of Sexual Assault (Enck & McDaniel,
2012; Nettleton, 2011; Hearn, 2012)

Enck and McDaniel (2012) discuss the stereotypes of gender displayed in Eminem and
Rihannas Love the Way You Lie music video. Specifically, they argue that the video
reproduces the conception that violence is a culturally acceptable aspect of masculinity while
complicity is expected of women. Enck and McDaniel propose that sexual assault wont decrease
until societal gender norms change.

Nettleton (2011) studied how the language used in mens and womens magazines reflects
cultural beliefs about who is responsible in cases of domestic violence. Overall, she finds that
women are guilty of choosing the wrong men; men are not guilty of hitting women. (153) The
language used in media portrays women as the victims and men as the perpetrators, therefore
robbing women of the power and capability to exercise their own will in abusive relationships.

Finally, Hearn (2012) argues that domestic violence against women is not a direct result of
hegemonic masculinity. Hegemony is defined as the configuration of gender practice which
embodies the currently accepted answer to the problem of legitimacy of patriarchy, which
guarantees (or is taken to guarantee) the dominant position of men and the subordination of
women (p. 594), and Hearn does not believe that men commit sexual assault with the goal of
maintaining societal status in mind. However, this status, along with other societal expectations
for masculinity, does contribute to mens ability to perpetuate violence.

H1: The gender of the parties involved in sexual violence has a significant effect on the popular
perception of their role in the violation.

Significance of Race in the Popular Perception of Sexual Assault (Enck-Wanzer, 2009;

Moorti, 2001; Messner, 1994; Fiske, 1996)
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There is a vast amount of already existing literature discussing the significance of race in various
spheres of society, including, but not limited to, the courtroom, the workplace, and the home. In
their essay entitled Alls Fair in Love and Sport: Black Masculinity and Domestic Violence in
the News, Enck-Wanzer (2009) assert that black men are the most likely to respond with
physical violence when provoked, thus bringing full circle expectations about the natural
brutishness of black men.

In Sujata Moortis Color of Rape (2001) Moorti notes in her analysis of mass-media accounts of
Mike Tysons many acts of gendered abuse, for white America in particular, the boxer, because
of his violent behavior, became the site where a range of cultural anxieties about black male
sexuality and criminality coalesced. This assessment deepens our understanding of how race,
and specifically those of African American descent, has developed in relation to issues of sexual
assault. And Messner, in Sex, Violence & Power in Sports: Rethinking Masculinity (1994),
bolsters the assessment of the black body out of control by arguing, Even when our eyes clearly
show us a scene of young white men misbehaving, the media still tend to portray the black
male as villain.

In order to answer the specific question of effects, it is vital that we explore the details of the
perpetrators race on the popular perception in the media. Enck-Wanzer (2009) argue that racial
difference, combined with (hy- per)masculinity, reinforce an image of the black man as being
inherently more dangerous than average (read: white) men. And John Fiske (1996) argues, the
black male body out of control, whether on the streets of Los Angeles or in the bedrooms of the
suburbs, incarnates the white fear that this sharpened sense of difference might cause the body of
black America to break out of control and erupt. The notion of incarnation in the fear that the
public experiences is an important piece of this argument because it reinforces the prevalence of
this culturally accepted belief.

RQ2: What effect does the race of the perpetrator have on the popular perception of their
violation?

H2: The race of the perpetrator has a significant effect on the popular perception of their
violation.

Significance of Social Group membership in the Popular Perception of Sexual Assault

Source 1:
Boyle, K. M. (2015).
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This article is important because it discusses the social group of fraternities, and
how membership in a fraternity often reinforces the rape culture/assaulting of women. It
also addresses why some men are drawn into high risk fraternities.

Source 2:
Copenhaver, S., & Grauerholz, E. (1991).
This article discusses how 17% of women in sororities are victims of rape, 24%
are victims of attempted rape, where the perpetrator is a member of a fraternity. It
discusses the social groups of fraternities and sororities and how sexual coercion is
prevalent.

Source 3:
Boeringer, S. B. (1999).
Often there are supportive attitudes of rape of men in fraternities and on male
sports teams. This is important because it will aid in our understanding of the prevalence
of sexual assault in various social groups.

Source 4:
Turnage, A. K. (2009).
This article deals directly with how social hierarchal issues impact sentencing. In
this situation, a Duke Lacrosse players rape caused friction between the community and
the institution.

RQ3: What effect does a perpetrators membership in a specific social group have on the popular
perception of their sexual assault?

H3: Membership in a specific social groups (often fraternities) has a significant effect on the
popular perception of their sexual assault, but is rarely discussed.

Significance of Socioeconomic Status in the Popular Perception of Sexual Assault (Maxwell,

Huxford, Borum, & Hornik, 2000; Benedict, & Klein, 1997; Kim, & Parlow, 2008;
Summers, & Johnson, 2008)

Maxwell, Huxford, Borum, and Hornik (2000) examine how the Simpson case affected
newspaper coverage of domestic violence. The study concluded that minus minor variations the
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overall coverage of domestic violence did not change after the Simpson case. The literature also
suggests that the media have ignored larger structural factors associated with race, class and
gender in a manner that facilitates domestic violence by reinforcing particular ideals. This
studys framework was also grounded in the agenda-setting literature. Suggests that celebrity
involvement effects medias coverage and furthers societal norms and ideals.

Benedict and Klein (1997) examine whether being a celebrity athlete provides male athlete
charged with sexual assault certain built-in advantages in the legal system. Through examining
217 felony sexual assault complaints against celebrity athletes revealed that athletes were more
likely to be arrested but also far less likely to be convicted

Kim and Parlows (2008) analysis examines the effects of social status on contemporary society.
Contrasting to Webers definition of status groups, this article argues that celebrity status
dominates the status honor, generate enormous economic benefits, and lay claim to certain legal
privileges. The article focuses mainly on celebrity status, claiming that celebrity is status on
speed.

This essay examines how criminal offenses are addressed by sports leagues in relation to best
interest of the sport and analyzes the legal and cultural allowances to this approach.

Summers and Johnson Morgans (2008) article examines the relationship between sporting
celebrity, the role of media, and public relations and their effects on varying fan expectations.
The article states that the constant d and supply of information, competition and excitement
breeds heroes, villains, celebrities and superstars. Study suggests that fans are far more
sophisticated than previous research suggests, when it comes to reactions to the behaviors of
celebrities, the impact bad behavior and/or negative media has depends on the general celebrity
profile of the athlete and whether or not the event was sport related.

RQ4: What effect does the socioeconomic status of the perpetrator have on the popular
perception of their violation?

H4: The socioeconomic status of the perpetrator has a significant effect on the popular
perception of their violation.
Significance of Athletic Involvement in the Popular Perception of Sexual Assault (sources,
3-4)

Benedict, J., & Klein, A. (1997) studied the arrest and conviction rates of athletes accused of
sexual assaults. They then compare the experience of those athletes to those of nonathletes to see
if there tends to be more leniency for them in the judicial system. The study concludes that
athletes are not treated more leniently however, athletes do manage to avoid conviction more
readily than the national sample of men charged with sexual assault (92).
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Robinson, L. N. (1997) discuss professional athletes treatment in both the media and judicial
system. It mentions how a lot of times the cases of athletes have to due with domestic
abuse/violence or drugs. It talks about how the media is a lot of times surrounding their lives
and wanting to expose any details they can causing them to be under more scrutiny. However, it
also mentions that sometimes athletes receive a lot of leniency and special treatment because of
their status and and abilities.

Kim, J. Y., & Parlow, M. J. (2008) talk about how legal cases are handled by professional sports
teams. They discuss how it is not purely private or purely public in terms of how each case is
handled. The uncertainty of how it is dealt with raises many questions and concerns of league
punishment and the justification and consistency of it. League punishment may allow a criminal
athlete to continue to collect multimillion-dollar paychecks without interruption in order to preserve the
projection of a positive moral image of the sport and its participants (594).

Summers, J., & Johnson Morgan, M. (2008) examine the relationship of PR and how people
view sports figures and their behavior. The study shows that the fans have come to almost
expect the bad behavior from the stars and do not change their attitude towards them when they
commit these behaviors. The results showed that for the most part as long as the athletes keep
performing well the fans are happy. The articles clearly highlight the need for sporting
organisations to consider their social and ethical responsibility in relation to the creation and
ongoing management of management of sporting celebrities (Summers, J., & Johnson Morgan,
M).

Moser, C. A. (2004) confers the epidemic of cases of violence against women in professional
athletics. Moser talks of many cases in which the perpetrators have gotten away without any
harm to their image or reputation because of their athletic ability. Moser also brings up a few
things said by coaches referring to abuse in a jokingly manner. The article points out one of the
most devastating aspects of violence against women by athletes is the devastating impact it has
on the positive influences of professional sports (87).

RQ5: What effect does the athletic involvement of a perpetrator have on the popular perception
of their violation?

H5: The athletic involvement of the perpetrator has a significant effect on the popular perception
of their violation.

Methods

Survey Questions:

We will use survey questions to measure how the variables of gender, race, social group
membership, socioeconomic status, and athletic involvement affect the perception of sexual
violence from students at Wheaton College.
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Participants begin with a short survey with demographic questions, gender, age, ethnicity/race.
(Middleton, 2012)

Significance of Gender in the Popular Perception of Sexual Assault

We have not yet found survey questions for this variable from the articles that weve read, but we
are looking for questions similar to the following.

-Of all the reports youve heard on sexual assault in the past year, what percentage of them
portrayed men as the abusers and women as the victims?
A. 75-100%
B. 50-75%
C. 25-50%
D. 0-25%
-Who should accept responsibility for acts of sexual violence occurring between a man and a
woman?
A. Men
B. Women
C. Both
D. Society
-Women are seen as powerless when they are victims of sexual assault.
Disagree Completely Somewhat Disagree Neutral Somewhat Agree Agree Completely

Significance of Race in the Popular Perception of Sexual Assault

Although there are exceptions, I think most [race] are more likely to. . .commit a crime;
return a laptop if found; return a wallet if found; to molest someone; to sexually assault
someone and to pick-pocket. The questions were repeated verbatim for each of the three
choices, White, Black, and Other.
Respondents will rate their perception on a scale of 1= strongly disagree to 5= strongly
agree (Lee & Thien, 2015)

Significance of Social Group Membership in the Popular Perception of Sexual Assault

Rate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statement: A sorority
girl goes to a party at a fraternity with all her friends. Shes known to be promiscuous.
Her and a guy go into a room alone together. They end up having sex, but the girl didnt
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want to. This is the girl's fault.

Strong Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

Rate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statement: Its easier
to do something that may or may not be wrong if all your friends are doing it.
Strong Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

Use Likert Scale for the following questions -- taken from Boeringer, S. B.
(1999).
Physically roughing women up, stimulates her.
Men must lay down the law to women.
Women pretend not to want sex, but want to be forced.
Women who initiate sex will probably have sex with anyone.
Women secretly want to be raped.
Drunk women at a party are fair game.
Women are sweet until they have you, then their true self shows.
If a woman goes home with a man, it implies she wants sex.
Nice women are offended by dirty jokes.
A wife should not contradict a husband.
Women who initiate sex are probably easy.

Significance of Socioeconomic Status in the Popular Perception of Sexual Assault

We dont have a source for this yet but we think that will want to find something along the lines
of;
Would you be more likely to assume guilt to someone of lower socioeconomic status rather than
higher?

Significance of Athletic Involvement in the Popular Perception of Sexual Assault

Would your support and perception of a professional athlete be affected if they were accused of
sexual assault?
or
How likely would you be to stop supporting the team or player you loved if you found out they
committed sexual assault?
References

Benedict, J., & Klein, A. (1997). Arrest and conviction rates for athletes accused of sexual assault.

Sociology of Sport Journal, 14(1), 8694.

Boeringer, S. B. (1999). Associations of rape-supportive attitudes with fraternal and athletic

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participation. Violence Against Women, 5(1), 8190.

Boyle, K. M. (2015). Social psychological processes that facilitate sexual assault within the fraternity

party subculture. Sociology Compass, 9(5), 386399.

Copenhaver, S., & Grauerholz, E. (1991, January). Sexual victimization among sorority women:

Exploring the link between sexual violence and institutional practices. Sex Roles

Enck, S. M., & McDaniel, B. A. (2012). Playing With Fire: Cycles of Domestic Violence in Eminem

and Rihannas Love the Way You Lie. Communication, Culture & Critique, 5(4), 618644.

Enck-Wanzer, S. M. (2009). Alls Fair in Love and Sport: Black Masculinity and Domestic Violence

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Kim, J. Y., & Parlow, M. J. (2008). Off-court misbehavior: Sports leagues and private punishment

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Maxwell, K. A., Huxford, J., Borum, C., & Hornik, R. (2000). Covering domestic violence: How the

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Communication Quarterly, 77(2), 258-272.

Moser, C. A. (2004). Penalties, fouls, and errors: Professional athletes and violence against women.

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