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Psychiatric Times. Vol. 17 No. 3

Cindy Struckman and David Struckman

Dr. Cindy Struckman-Johnson is professor of psychology specializing in social psychology and sexuality at the University

of South Dakota. Dr. David Struckman-Johnson is professor of psychology and computer science specializing in statistics

and evaluation at the University of South Dakota.

Men's strong negative reactions to sexual coercion by another man have been well documented

(Myers, 1989; Scarce, 1997). Several researchers have described men's reactions to sexual assault by

perpetrators who included both men and women (King and Woollett, 1997; Sorenson and Siegel, 1992).

Only a few studies have exclusively examined the effects of female sexual coercion of adult men. The

classic work is that of Sarrel and Masters (1982) who discussed the emotional impact on 11 men who

had been sexually molested by females. In the course of counseling for sexual problems, the men

revealed recent and past incidents of forcible rape, abuse by a baby-sitter, incest and assault by a

dominant woman. The authors documented a posttraumatic reaction involving depression and sexual

aversion and dysfunction.

Most of the information about male reactions to female sexual coercion comes from surveys of college

men. Larimer et al. (1999) discovered that fraternity men who had experienced sexual coercion had

more depressive symptoms, more alcohol use and more alcohol-related problems than fraternity men

who had not been sexually coerced. It was not known whether these states were caused by the

coercion experience. O'Sullivan et al. (1998) found that male victims had a range of positive to negative

reactions to unwanted sexual contact at the time it happened. Nearly 40% of male victims reported

being not at all upset, whereas 17% were extremely upset at the time of the incident. One-fifth of the

men indicated that the incident decreased their involvement in social activities, and 19% had

impairment of academic functioning.

Our research also revealed that college men have mixed reactions to female sexual coercion. In the

1988 study, 21 male victims were asked to categorize how they felt about being forced to have sexual

intercourse at the time it happened (Struckman-Johnson, 1988). Twenty-five percent said they felt

good, 50% felt neutral and 25% felt bad. One-fifth of the victims reported that long-term effects had

occurred. In our 1994 study, almost half of the male victims rated the incident as having no negative

impact, whereas 23% rated the negative impact in the moderate to severe range (Struckman-Johnson

and Struckman-Johnson, 1994). We found no differences in sexual self-esteem between men with and

without coercion experience. In a similar survey in 1998, we determined that 33% of male victims rated

the incident as having no effect, 30% were mildly to moderately upset, and 14% had a severe negative

effect (Anderson and Struckman-Johnson, 1998). Our general conclusion is that at least one out of five

men has a strong negative reaction to sexual coercion from a woman.

We speculate that many men are not upset by female sexual coercion because the event is "sex-role

congruent." According to cultural scripts, men are expected to initiate and to pursue ever-increasing

levels of sexual intimacy with female partners. Therefore, when a man is confronted with a sexually

aggressive woman, he is likely to view it as a positive opportunity to have sex, not a violation of will

(Struckman-Johnson and Struckman-Johnson, 1996). O'Sullivan et al. (1998) suggested that female

sexual coercion may even enhance a man's reputation and thus prevent negative effects. Zweig et al.

(1997) added that a man's sexual script may protect him from feeling negatively about himself because

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Men's Reactions to Female Sexual Coercion - Psychiatric Times http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/49671?pageN...

2 de 3 10/06/2008 18:28

he had sex. Another protective factor is men's size and physical strength-they may feel that they have

little to fear from a smaller, weaker female perpetrator. It is also possible that men deny or minimize

their victimization because of masculine standards to be self-reliant (Struckman-Johnson, 1991).

In what situations, then, are men distressed by female sexual coercion? Foremost, we have found that

a man is likely to be greatly upset when a woman uses physical restraint against him. Even if the man

knows that he can escape, he is still likely to feel shocked, confused and possibly frightened by a

woman's use of force. Men are also likely to have a strong negative reaction when they are exploited by

a woman while they are intoxicated, especially if the woman is unattractive. Dozens of men in this

situation have told us how upsetting it was to be unable to physically stop the sexual interaction. Others

resented the woman for taking away their right to choose who they would have sex with.

A third distressing circumstance is when a young man with conservative sexual standards loses his

virginity to a sexually coercive woman, who is usually older. Numerous young men in our surveys have

reported that this type of incident prevented them from having their "first time" with a partner who was

specially chosen and well-loved. Another upsetting circumstance is one in which a sexually aggressive

woman causes a man to betray another woman in his life.

Finally, men tend to be negatively affected when the female perpetrator is a powerful authority figure.

For example, in a recent study, we found that some men in prison were profoundly upset when female

staff coerced them into sexual activity (Struckman-Johnson and Struckman-Johnson, 2000).

In our research, we have not systematically assessed the nature of psychological trauma experienced

by male victims. Through written survey comments and interviews, however, we have found that men

who are very upset by an incident of female sexual coercion are likely to experience subsequent distrust

and wariness around women and to have relationship difficulties.

Much research suggests that men who are sexually coerced by either a woman or a man are unlikely to

report the incident to the police, tend not to reveal the sexual incident if they seek medical treatment,

and are unlikely to seek psychological support or therapy for subsequent emotional problems (Pino and

Meier, 1999; Sorenson and Siegel, 1992.) Psychiatric and medical professionals are encouraged to

address this hidden victimization by asking their male clients if sexual assault has occurred in their past

and, if so, to provide or refer them to appropriate treatment.

1. Anderson PB, Struckman-Johnson C (1998), Sexually Aggressive Women: Current Perspectives and Controversies,

Anderson PB, Struckman-Johnson C, eds. New York: Guilford.

2. Fiebert MS, Tucci LM (1998), Sexual coercion: men victimized by women. Journal of Men's Studies 6(2):127-133.

3. Isely PJ, Gehrenbeck-Shim D (1997), Sexual assault of men in the community. Journal of Community Psychology

25(2):159-166.

4. King M, Woollett E (1997), Sexual-assaulted males: 115 men consulting a counseling service. Arch Sex Behav

26(6):579-588.

5. Larimer ME, Lydum AR, Anderson BK, Turner AP (1999), Male and female recipients of unwanted sexual contact in a

college students sample: prevalence rates, alcohol use, and depression symptoms. Sex Roles 40(3-4):295-308.

6. Lottes IL (1991), The relationship between nontraditional gender roles and sexual coercion. Journal of Psychology and

Human Sexuality 4(4)89-109.

7. Myers MF (1989), Men sexually assaulted as adults and sexually abused as boys. Arch Sex Behav 18(3):203-215.

8. O'Sullivan LF, Byers ES, Finkelman L (1998), A comparison of male and female college students' experiences of

sexual coercion. Psychology of Women Quarterly 22:177-195.

9. Pino NW, Meier RF (1999), Gender differences in rape reporting. Sex Roles 40(11-12):970-990.

10. Sarrel PM, Masters WH (1982), Sexual molestation of men by women. Arch Sex Behav 11(2):117-131.

11. Scarce M (1997), Male on Male Rape: The Hidden Toll of Stigma and Shame. New York: Plenum Press.

12. Sorenson SB, Siegel JM (1992), Gender, ethnicity, and sexual assault: findings from a Los Angeles study. Journal of

Social Issues 48(1):93-104.

13. Struckman-Johnson CJ (1991), Male victims of acquaintance rape. In: Acquaintance Rape: The Hidden Crime, Parrot

AL, Bechhofer L, eds. New York: Wiley, pp192-214.

14. Struckman-Johnson CJ (1988), Forced sex on dates: it happens to men, too. Journal of Sex Research 24:234-240.

15. Struckman-Johnson C, Struckman-Johnson D (2000), Sexual coercion rates in seven Midwestern prison facilities for

men. Prison Journal 80:379-390.

16. Struckman-Johnson D, Struckman-Johnson C (1996), College men's reactions to hypothetical forceful sexual

advances from women. In: Sexual Coercion in Dating Relationships, Byers ES, O'Sullivan LF, eds. New York: Haworth

Men's Reactions to Female Sexual Coercion - Psychiatric Times http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/49671?pageN...

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Press, pp93-105.

17. Struckman-Johnson C, Struckman-Johnson D (1994), Men pressured and forced into sexual experience. Arch Sex

Behav 23(1):93-114.

18. Zweig JM, Barber BL, Eccles JS (1997), Sexual coercion and well-being in young adulthood: comparisons by gender

and college status. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 12(2)291-308.