Stranger Harassment: An Investigation of the Protective Role of Feminism and Womanism - Dissertation

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Theodora

Stranger harassment, a focused form of sexism research, examines women’s experiences of harassment in public spaces by men they do not know. Reported consequences include increased body shame and body surveillance, depression, disordered eating, and elevated fear of rape, creating a need to identify protective factors that reduce psychological distress. Data from 503 university students and community members were analyzed with path analysis, which showed racial identity as a consistent predictor across models and indicated distress-linked outcomes in one model. Findings also show high prevalence, with 90% reporting experiences such as catcalls, whistles, or stares.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages192

Reading Time8 h 4 min

AccessFree to download

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION

Importance to the Field of Counseling Psychology

Stranger Harassment Research & Impact of Stranger Harassment

Coping with Stranger Harassment

Identification as a Feminist and/or Womanist

Conclusion

II. A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Sexism Literature Overview

Sexism Frequency and Negative Impacts

Feminist Theory and Psychological Practice

The Protective Role of Feminism

The Feminist Label vs. Feminist Beliefs and Attitudes

The Inclusion of the Womanist Label

Implications of Stranger Harassment

Conclusions of Stranger Harassment Literature

The Present Study

III. METHODS

Participants

Procedures

Measures

Demographic sheet

Stranger Harassment

Psychological Distress

Feminist & Womanist Identification & Beliefs

Empowerment

Critical Consciousness Inventory

IV. RESULTS

STRANGER HARASSMENT: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE PROTECTIVE ROLE OF FEMINISM AND WOMANISM A Dissertation Presented to The Graduate Faculty at The University of Akron In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Megan J. Yetzer STRANGER HARASSMENT: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE PROTECTIVE ROLE OF FEMINISM AND WOMANISM Megan Yetzer Dissertation Approved: | Advisor
Dr. Dawn Johnson | | --- | | Committee Member
Dr. Kathryn Feltey | | Committee Member
Dr. Suzette Speight | | Committee Member
Dr. David Tokar | Committee Member Dr. Ingrid Weigold Accepted: | Department Chair
Dr. Paul Levy | | --- | | Dean of the College
Dr. John Green | | Dean of the Graduate School Dr. Chand Midha | Date ABSTRACT Stranger harassment is a specific line of sexism research that documents women’s experiences of harassment in public spaces perpetrated by men that they do not know. These experiences can lead to many negative outcomes for women such as higher rates of body shame, body surveillance, depression, disordered eating, and increases in fear of rape (Fairchild & Rudman, 2008) . The negative impacts of stranger harassment necessitate identifying what factors might be protective for women and reduce psychological distress. Data was collected from a total of 503 university students and community members. Path analysis revealed that none of the models demonstrated adequate model-data fit. Individual paths were examined in an effort to clarify trends within the data. Racial identity of the participants was observed to have a consistent impact on stranger harassment within all of the original and post hoc models. One additional finding observed with one model indicated that stranger harassing experiences did indeed result in high rates of psychological distress. It also became apparent that women experience stranger harassment often, as 90% of participants answered yes when they were asked if they had ever experienced catcalls, whistles, or stares from a stranger. Overall, between 25.8% -90.1% of the women in the current study experienced some form of stranger harassment, ranging from sexist remarks or behaviors from a stranger (83.3%) to direct or explicit pressure to cooperate sexually from a stranger (25.8%) . Thus preliminary evidence adds support to the literature base that stranger harassment is phenomenon warranting further study separate from more general sexual harassment research, and that a woman’s racial identity is likely to impact her experience of stranger harassment. It also points to the necessity for future research to investigate protective factors for reducing psychological distress. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 1 Importance to the Field of Counseling Psychology .................................................2 Stranger Harassment Research & Impact of Stranger Harassment .........................4 Coping with Stranger Harassment ...........................................................................8 Identification as a Feminist and/or Womanist .......................................................10 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 15 II. A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ..........................................................................16 Sexism Literature Overview .................................................................................. 16 Sexism Frequency and Negative Impacts ..............................................................22 F

FAQs

What does the study define as stranger harassment?

Stranger harassment refers to harassment experiences in public spaces committed by men the woman does not know. The dissertation treats it as a distinct line of sexism research with specific outcomes for women.

How was the study conducted and what sample size was used?

The dissertation collected data from 503 university students and community members. Analyses used path analysis to evaluate model fit and individual pathways.

What protective factor did the results highlight?

Racial identity showed a consistent impact on stranger harassment across the original and post hoc models. The study also found evidence that distress can result from stranger harassment in at least one model.

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Theodora