Racialized Sexual Harassment: Living at the Intersections of Race, Gender, and Victimization

Harassment research has failed to systematically integrate the ways in which membership in multiple devalued social status groups impacts the harassment experience and subsequent health outcomes. Nevertheless, multiple social status dimensions (e.g., gender, race, age, social class) create unique experiences of victimization and contribute to educational/occupational, economic, and health disparities across diverse groups. Research shows that women of color not only experience high levels of both sexual and racial harassment, but they also report racialized sexual harassment -- harassment that combines racism and sexism simultaneously.

In this talk, I review the research on workplace harassment and the ways in which women of color are uniquely targeted.

Dr. Buchanan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University. Her research focuses on the intersections of gender and race/ethnicity with an emphasis on harassment targeting African American and Latina women. Her recent publications examine racialized sexual harassment, race- and gender-based harassment among college students and working adults, race and gender-role ideology as moderators of harassment and outcomes among White and Black women, contrapower harassment in academia, gendered bullying, and therapeutic concerns of racially ambiguous and non-visible minority women. Recent honors and awards for her research and service include: the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Loan Repayment Award, Michigan State University’s Excellence in Diversity Award for Individual ‘Emerging progress’ in outstanding accomplishments in the areas of diversity, pluralism, and social justice, the Cheris Kramarae Award for Feminist Scholarship, and the Herman Eisen Award for professional contributions to the practice of psychology.