Sexuality

Conceptual Overview

Organizations are a key site of sexuality, and sexuality influences organizations, their formation, structuring, and processes. The recognition of sexuality as a central feature of organization(s) is relatively recent. This has been prompted by a range of disciplinary and theoretical positions. Foremost of these is Second Wave feminism, highlighting concerns with women's control over their bodies and sexuality, critiques of sexualization in and of organizations, and sexist uses of sexuality in corporate advertising and other organizational displays.

A second force for change has been the modern lesbian and gay movements. A third stimulus has been theoretically inclined work, especially that from poststructuralist feminism and postcolonial theory. The most profound impact of such moves has been in denaturalizing sexuality, especially heterosexuality, and essentialized, naturalized views of sexuality. With queer theory, this problematizing process has been carried over into homosexuality too.

A strong conceptual and empirical focus on sexuality in organizations has developed from several kinds of studies. These include primarily those on sexual harassment, heterosexual relationships and liaisons in organizations, lesbians' and gay men's experiences in organizations, detailed case studies of specific organizations, and more general theoretical reviews of the place and impact of sexuality in organizations.

A first approach was through journalistic and political interventions in naming repeated, unwanted sexual behavior as sexual harassment in the early and mid-1970s. There followed more general social analyses, detailed examinations of legal cases, and research surveys of organizational sexual-social experiences; for example, Barbara Gutek's extensive review in 1985, establishing the pervasiveness of sexual harassment, [Page 1409]predominantly by men. An indication of the scale of development is given by the production by Riitta Högbacka and colleagues of a review, research, and bibliographic text, with details of 341 publications and 10 bibliographies on sexual harassment published by 1987. This subfield is thus well-established. It is difficult to identify a comprehensive list of behaviors that could unequivocally be termed sexual harassment. However, it is possible to describe the sorts of behavior usually seen as harassment. These include physical conduct such as touching or pinching; physical actions that intimidate or embarrass (leering, whistling, suggestive gestures); physical sexual advances and assault; verbal conduct, such as statements experienced as insults, jokes of a derogatory nature, threatening or obscene language, or verbal sexual advances; offensive materials seen to degrade or offend, such as pornographic pictures, badges, or graffiti.

The main issue in definition is how the behavior is perceived and received by individuals. The European Commission's Code of Practice from 1991 notes that it is for individuals to determine what behavior is acceptable to them and what they regard as offensive. Behavior is harassment if it felt to be so by the recipient—unwanted conduct of a sexual nature or conduct based on sex that is offensive to the recipient. It is the unwanted nature of the conduct that distinguishes sexual harassment from friendly behavior that is welcome and mutual. Sexual harassment has wideranging consequences, from women feeling ashamed and humiliated, to loss of confidence, becoming physically or mentally ill, loss of work time through illness, and pressure to leave jobs or certain occupations.

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