How College Men Understand Unwanted Sex with Women

Recent studies have shown that heterosexual college men report unwanted sex at higher rates than one might expect. And yet, college men’s perceptions of unwanted sex with women have been studied infrequently. This study examines how men understand unwanted sex with women and the impact of these expe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociological forum (Randolph, N.J.) N.J.), 2020-09, Vol.35 (3), p.648-672
Main Authors: Ford, Jessie V., Maggio, Christopher
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
cognitive and emotional work
college
College students
hegemonic masculinity
Hegemony
Heterosexuality
Incapacitation
Masculinity
Men
Minimization
Personal characteristics
Sexual aggression
unwanted sex
victimization
Women
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Summary:Recent studies have shown that heterosexual college men report unwanted sex at higher rates than one might expect. And yet, college men’s perceptions of unwanted sex with women have been studied infrequently. This study examines how men understand unwanted sex with women and the impact of these experiences. Thirty‐nine men, aged 18–25, were interviewed using open‐ended questions related to their unwanted sexual experiences. Our findings demonstrate how men frequently minimize unwanted sex by framing it as either funny, unimportant, or something that happens to women. However, we find evidence that men's attempts at minimization are not always successful and that some experiences are indeed upsetting and/or hurtful. Rather than treating all men as a homogeneous category, our analysis details the circumstances associated with more or less troubling experiences. We find that there are particular circumstances (e.g. incapacitation), as well as personal characteristics (e.g. virgin), that position men to be more distressed by unwanted sex. This heterogeneity of men’s experiences explains some, but not all, differences in effects. Our analysis reveals that in experiences described as mild to severe, men talk about unwanted sex in highly contradictory ways. We argue that these contradictions are evidence of broader cognitive and emotional work done by men to convince themselves that unwanted sex does not matter to them. Our findings raise the possibility that when men use hegemonic notions of masculinity to understand their unwanted experiences, these interpretations serve to minimize the emotional damage that men might otherwise report.
ISSN:0884-8971
1573-7861
DOI:10.1111/socf.12623