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Asian and non-Asian attitudes toward rape, sexual harassment, and sexuality
M. Alexis KennedyETHNOCULTURAL AND GENDER DIFFERENCES
In the past two decades Canada and the United States have experienced a large influx of people emigrating from Asian countries in particular. In the 1980s and the early 1990s immigration from Asia accounted for more than 50% of the total immigration to Canada and over 10% of Canada's national growth (Statistics Canada, 1993). Since 1971, approximately 36% of new immigrants to the United States have been from Asia (United States, Department of Commerce, 1996). To understand sexual behavior and attitudes in this diverse North America, potential influences of ethnicity need to be considered. However, a review of the past 25 years of research on sexuality revealed that less than 50% of these reports described the ethnicity of the participants (Wiederman, Maynard, & Fretz, 1996). Even the most ambitious surveys of sexual behavior and attitudes such as the Kinsey reports (Kinsey, Martin, & Pomeroy, 1948; Kinsey, Pomeroy, Martin, & Gebhard, 1953) and subsequent reports such as that of Janus and Janus (1993) did not include ethnicity as a variable. In North American studies, statistical analyses that combined students as one concordant subject pool may have masked significant effects of ethnicity. Recent research at the University of British Columbia, one of Canada's largest universities, has found that 34-45% of study participants were born outside of North America (Meston, Trapnell, & Gorzalka, 1996, 1998). It would be wrong to assume that subject pools in Canada and the United States represent an ethnically homogeneous group.
Relatively little work has been done to compare sexual behaviors and attitudes of Asians and non-Asians living in North America. In particular, attitudes toward sexual coercion among Asians in North America have rarely been investigated even though racial or ethnic differences in such attitudes have been reported for other groups. For example, in the United States, both African-American and Hispanic students were found to be more tolerant of rape myths than were European American students (Fischer, 1987; Giacopassi & Dull, 1986). Tolerance of violence or coercion in sexual encounters has been measured in North America by examining attitudes that support rape stereotypes and myths (Ellis, O'Sullivan, & Sowards, 1992; Giacopassi & Dull, 1986; for a full review see Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1994). Moreover, studies on acceptance of rape myths have found fairly consistent gender differences; women are usually less tolerant of rape myths than men from the same subject pool (Dye & Roth, 1990; Ellis et al., 1992; Muehle nhard & Linton, 1987).
Tolerance of sexual harassment is another area of coercive attitudes where differences between Asian and non-Asian students remain to be explored. Although the behaviors of sexual harassment have been known for many years, definitions and a consciousness of the negative consequences of harassment are relatively recent. Investigations of the perception of sexual harassment have found gender differences in definition, and women appear to be less tolerant of this behavior (Mazer & Percival, 1989; Tang, Yik, Cheung, Choi, & Au, 1995; for review see Quina, 1990).
We know very little about the effects of North American culture, particularly attitudes toward coercive sexuality, and how living in North America may affect the relatively conservative sexual attitudes of Asians. Previous research indicates that Asian respondents tend to be more conservative in their sexual behavior (Chan, 1990; Fan et al., 1995; Meston et al., 1996). In one U.S. study, Asian students were significantly less likely to participate in oral sex or sexual intercourse, their participation in sexual activity began at an older age, and this sexual conservatism remained even after background variables (i.e., household income, mother's education, raised by two original parents, and religious exposure) were held constant (Baldwin, Whiteley, & Baldwin, 1992).
In our laboratory, we have found an interaction between ethnicity and sexual attitudes. Significant differences in attitudes toward sexuality have been found between Asian and non-Asian participants in Canada (Meston et al., 1998). Overall, nonAsian participants were more sexually knowledgeable and held less conservative sexual attitudes than Asian participants. Asian participants held significantly more conservative views on homosexuality, masturbation, multiple partners, oral sex, premarital sex, prudery, and gender roles. Asian participants also scored as significantly more conservative on all sociosexual restrictiveness items, for example, attitudes toward "casual" sex.
There has been speculation that the permeation of Western ideals into Asian communities would lead to increased openness in sexuality. However, some evidence contradicts this. First, studies of Chinese communities in different parts of Asia have shown that university students in Shanghai were actually less conservative than their counterparts in Hong Kong, a more "Westernized" community (Fan et al., 1995). Second, in research conducted in our laboratory, we have found that length of residency in Canada is a significant factor on some but not all measures of sexual behavior and attitudes (Meston et al., 1996, 1998). Canadian-born Asians were significantly more sexually knowledgeable on 4 of the 26 sexual information items than recent Asian immigrants. Canadian-born Asian participants were also significantly less conservative on 11 of 30 general sexual attitudes items and on 1 of 8 sociosexual restrictiveness items than recent Asian immigrants. However, on all other items the two groups did not differ from each other even though both groups differed from non-Asians. These results suggest that cultural differences in sexuality may not be immediately or consistently affected by increased exposure to Western mores.
In contrast to previous studies that exclusively investigated attitudes toward noncoercive sexual behaviors, the present study was designed to compare the effects of ethnicity and gender on attitudes toward both noncoercive and coercive sexual behavior. Further, the length of residency in Canada was examined to see if "Westernization" might differentially influence or moderate attitudes toward noncoercive and coercive sexual behavior. Attitudes toward noncoercive sexual behavior were measured by techniques employed previously in our laboratory (Meston et al., 1998). Attitudes toward coercive sexuality were measured by tolerance of rape myths and sexual harassment. The present study was expected to reveal whether the conservative trend among Asians in North America extends into attitudes about coercive sexuality and to determine whether gender differences are consistent among both Asians and non-Asians.
METHOD
Participants
Participants were University of British Columbia undergraduate students who volunteered to complete a self-report questionnaire in exchange for course credits in their first or second year courses in the Department of Psychology. The questionnaires were completed between January and April of 1997. The final sample size was 404 respondents. Our analyses did not include data from two respondents because of incomplete or missing answers. Our analyses also did not include data from two respondents who self-reported their ethnicity to be Afro Caribbean as their group size was too small to be analyzed separately. More than 65% of the respondents were born in Canada, 28% were born in East and South-East Asia, and 7% were born elsewhere. Table I summarizes the countries of birth for the respondents.
The respondents were grouped into non-Asian (195 respondents, 138 women and 57 men) and Asian (205 respondents, 135 women and 70 men) ethnic origins. The Asian category included East or South-East Asian countries of ethnic origin (e.g., China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea). Approximately 92% of the Asian group identified themselves as ethnic Chinese. The respondents of Asian origin were further separated into groups depending on their length of time in Canada. The following three subgroups for Asians were constructed: born in Canada (89 respondents, 60 women and 29 men); arrived in Canada before the age of 13 (53 respondents, 32 women and 21 men); and arrived in Canada age 13 or older (63 respondents, 43 women and 20 men). This cutoff was chosen because 13 was the median age of arrival for participants not born in Canada. The average age for each of the ethnic subgroups was: 20.2 for non-Asians; 19.0 for Asians born in Canada; 19.2 for Asians who arrived in Canada before age 13; and, 19.8 for Asians who arrived in Canada after age 13.
Measures
Demographic information was collected for all participants, who provided their age, gender, country of birth, country of birth of parents, age of arrival in Canada (if not born in Canada), first language, and ethnic group to which the respondents thought they belonged.
Attitudes toward coercive sexual behavior were measured using the Rape Myth Acceptance (RMA) Scale (Burt, 1980) and the Sexual Harassment Attitude Scale (Mazer & Percival, 1989). The RMA measurements used in our survey included 11 agree/disagree items from Burt's RMA Scale (Burt, 1980). The items used are presented in the results section. The items were measured on a 5-point scale that ranged from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). The RMA Scale has been widely used for over 15 years. The Sexual Harassment Attitude (SHA) Scale consists of 19 items that measure perception of harassment including definitions and severity and frequency of behavior. Respondents indicate the degree to which they agree or disagree with each statement on a 5-point scale from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5).
General attitudes toward sex were measured by the Sexual Attitudes subscale of the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (Derogatis, 1978). This 30-item subscale measures conservative or liberal views toward such sexual issues as sex outside of marriage, masturbation and oral sex, sexual orientation, gender roles, pornography, and different types of sexual behavior. Attitudes are measured through agreement or disagreement on a 5-point scale. Respondents indicate the degree to which they agree or disagree with each statement on a 5-point scale from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). Items were scored in a conservative direction.
Procedure
Participants completed the self-report questionnaire in small groups of 10 or fewer. Privacy was ensured through the use of visual barriers that separated respondents while they completed the questionnaire. The respondents deposited their completed questionnaires in a sealed box. Confidentiality was assured, and no names or student numbers were collected with the data. All respondents were advised of their right to withdraw from the study at any point without a loss of participation credits. No respondents withdrew from the study.
RESULTS
Attitudes Toward Coercive Sexual Behavior
The mean endorsement rates of Rape Myth Acceptance items for Asians and non-Asians are presented in Table II. Table III presents the mean endorsement rate of Rape Myth Acceptance items for Asians grouped by length of residency in Canada. Both Tables II and III present the F-ratios of each item for the effects of gender, ethnicity (Asians vs. non-Asians in Table II; age of arrival of Asians in Canada in Table III), and any interactions between these variables. Because of the problem of accumulating Type I error across the analyses, a Bonferroni correction was applied to the acceptable significance level, which resulted in an alpha value of .0045 for individual items. Composite scores are considered significant at a level of .017 to correct for the use of three scales. Significant differences are indicated with asterisks in Tables II and III.
Significant main effects for gender were found. As can be seen in Table II, men were more likely to agree with rape myths than women on all myths presented and women differed significantly from men on 9 of the 11 items. For 8 of the 11 items, gender differences were highly significant, that is, p < .0009. Non-Asian men agreed with rape myths more than non-Asian women did on all 11 items. The main effect of gender when non-Asian female participants were compared to non-Asian male participants on the composite score was highly significant, F(1, 193) = 47.00, p < .0009.
Asian men agreed with rape myths more than Asian women; Table III shows a significant main effect of gender for Asians' composite scores, F(1, 193) = 14.98, p < .0009. Further, when Asian respondents were grouped by length of residency in Canada, significant gender differences were found on two items: "any female can get raped," F(1, 198) 13.73, p < .0009, and "a woman who is stuck-up and thinks she is too good to talk to guys on the street deserves to be taught a lesson," F(1, 199) = 12.87, p < .0009. Table III reveals that Asian women were almost always less tolerant of rape myths than Asian men within the same subgroup based on length of residency in Canada.
Significant main effects of ethnicity were found for almost every rape myth item. As shown in Table II, Asian respondents were significantly more tolerant of 10 of the 11 rape myths than were non-Asian respondents. The 10 differences were highly significant, that is, p < .0009. Further, among Asian respondents, length of residency was associated with significant differences on most items. On 9 of the 11 items, tolerance of rape myths decreased the longer Asian respondents had resided in Canada. Post hoc analyses conducted separately for each gender indicated that the patterns for length of residency effects were slightly different for men and women. When men were considered alone, those born in Canada varied significantly from both groups not born in Canada on 4 of the 8 items and on the composite scores. For women, more recent immigrants differed significantly from those in Canada longer or those born in Canada on half of the items and on the composite score. As noted in Table III, there was only one item wi th a significant interaction between gender and length of residency in Canada. Post hoc analysis showed that the length of residency effect was not significant on that item for either gender when analyzed independently.
The composite RMA score over the 11 items revealed significant main effects for gender, F(1, 390) = 44.95, p < .0009, and ethnicity, F(1, 390) = 101.89, p < .0009, but no significant interaction between these two variables when Asian and non-Asian participants were compared (see Table II). The composite RMA scores revealed that Asian respondents who were born in Canada were significantly less tolerant of rape myths than both subgroups of Asians born outside of Canada (see Table III). Gender differences among Asian respondents were also significant, F(l, 193) = 14.98, p < .0009. The length of residency in Canada also had a significant effect, F(2, 193) = 19.63, p < .0009. There was no interaction effect.
Asian versus non-Asian respondents' mean endorsements of items on the Sexual Harassment Attitudes Scale are presented in Table IV. Mean endorsements of Asian respondents compared by length of residency in Canada are presented in Table V. Corresponding item F-ratios for the effects of gender, ethnicity (Asians vs. non-Asians in Table IV; age of arrival of Asians in Canada in Table V) and any interactions between these variables are presented in both Tables IV and V. A Bonferroni correction was applied to account for the problem of accumulating Type I error across the analyses, which resulted in an alpha level of .0026 for individual items. Composite scores are considered significant at a level of .017 to correct for the use of three scales. Significant differences are indicated with asterisks in Tables IV and V.
Significant main effects for gender were found for 14 of the 19 items on sexual harassment. As can be seen in Table IV, men were more likely to be tolerant of sexual harassment than women on almost all items presented and women differed significantly from men on 14 of these items. For 12 of the 14 differences, gender differences were highly significant, p < .0009.
Further, when Asian respondents were grouped by length of residency in Canada, significant gender differences were found on three items: "it is only natural for a man to make sexual advances to a woman he finds attractive," F(1, 194) = 9.95, p < .002, "a lot of what people call sexual harassment is just normal flirtation between men and women," F(1, 194) = 15.47, p < .0009, and "sexual harassment refers to those incidents of unwanted sexual attention that aren't too serious," F(1, 194) = 11.08, p < .001. Table V reveals that for the most part Asian women were almost always less tolerant of sexual harassment than Asian men with the same length of residency in Canada.
As shown in Table IV, there were significant main effects of ethnicity on four items of sexual harassment. On each of these items, Asian respondents were more tolerant of sexual harassment than non-Asian respondents. Significant differences occurred on the following items: "most women who are sexually insulted by a man provoke his behavior by the way they talk, act, or dress," F(1, 395) = 71.87, p < .0009, "the notion that what a professor does in class may be sexual harassment is taking the idea of sexual harassment too far," F(l, 392) = 13.67, p < .0009, "sexual harassment refers to those incidents of unwanted sexual attention that aren't too serious," F(1, 392) = 9.90, p < .002, and "sexual harassment has little to do with power," F(l, 392) = 16.29, p < .0009.
Further, among Asian respondents, length of residency was associated with significant differences on five items. Table V shows the five items on which Asian respondents tended to tolerate sexual harassment less the longer they had been a resident of Canada. In post hoc analyses conducted separately by gender, the effects of residency were not significant at the corrected p < .0026 levels for men. The five items marked on Table V were significantly different for women even at the corrected levels. Post hoc analyses showed that the first three items identified as significant in Table V revealed that more recent immigrants differed significantly from the other two groups. The next two marked items had women born in Canada differing significantly from the two immigrant groups.
The composite SHA score over the 19 items revealed significant main effects for gender with men in all ethnic groups or subgroups being more tolerant of harassment than women in the same ethnic group or subgroup. As shown in Table IV, significant gender effects were found for composite scores, F(1, 383) = 76.14, p < .0009. Composite scores also revealed a substantial main effect of ethnicity, F(1, 383) = 13.34, p < .0009, with non-Asian respondents less tolerant of harassment than Asian respondents of the same sex. In addition to main effects, for composite SHA scores there was a significant interaction between gender and ethnicity, F(1, 383) = 9.78, p < .004. Follow-up analyses of the differences between ethnic subgroups were done separately for each gender. The analysis for men showed that nonAsians differed significantly only from Asians who had arrived in Canada before age 13 (p < .05). NonAsian women differed significantly from all three subgroups of Asian respondents (p < .05). Asian women who were born in Canada differed significantly from one subgroup of Asians born outside of Canada, those who had arrived after age 13 (p < .05). Table V reveals a significant effect on the composite SHA score for length of residency in Canada, F(2,198) = 5.91, p < .003.
Attitudes Toward Noncoercive Sexual Behavior
Item and composite mean approval rates of non-Asian and Asian respondents for some items on the DSFI Sexual Attitudes Scale are presented in Table VI. Items were scored in a conservative direction. Liberal items on Table VI are indicated by (R) for reverse keying. Because of the problem of accumulating Type I error across the analyses, a Bonferroni correction was applied to the acceptable significance level, which resulted in an alpha value of .0017 for individual items. Composite scores are considered significant at a level of .017 to correct for the use of three scales.
There were significant ethnic differences on 12 of the 30 items when Asian respondents were compared to non-Asian respondents (Table VI). There were also significant gender differences on five of the items. The composite scores for Asian and non-Asian respondents revealed a substantial main effect for ethnicity, F(1,396) = 17.298, p < .0009, but not for gender (p > .098). There was no interaction between gender and ethnicity (p > .10). Asian respondents were significantly more conservative in their sexual attitudes than non-Asian respondents. Within the Asian group on composite scores, there were no significant effects for length of residency in Canada. On only one item, "Fantasies while masturbating are healthy forms of sexual release," the length of residency effect was significant, F(2,196) = 7.48, p < .0017. However, all three Asian subgroups differed significantly from the non-Asian group in their attitudes toward noncoercive sexual behavior (p < .0009).
DISCUSSION
These results confirm and extend results found in earlier studies of differences in the sexual attitudes of non-Asian and Asian students in Canada. Our data revealed that Asian respondents were significantly more conservative than non-Asian respondents in their sexual attitudes. These findings are consistent with previous research (Chan, 1990; Hong et al., 1994; Meston et al., 1998).
Furthermore, results of the present study revealed that similar ethnic differences exist in attitudes toward coercive sexuality. Not only were Asian respondents significantly more tolerant of rape myths than non-Asian respondents, they were also more tolerant of sexually harassing behavior. These results are consistent with the findings of Mori, Bernat, Glenn, Selle, and Zarate (1995), who sampled Asian and White college students in the United States and reported that Asian participants endorsed greater belief in rape myths.
Studies of the attitudes of Chinese women within Asia have begun to suggest that women in mainland China are more traditional than Chinese women living in more Westernized communities such as Taiwan (Chia, Allred, & Jerzak, 1997). The present study revealed some differences in attitudes with regard to sexual behavior between Asian women depending on the length of time they had lived in North America, but these effects were not as strong as ethnic differences between Asian and non-Asian respondents or differences between men and women. This investigation revealed that increased exposure to "Western" culture or increased length of residency in Canada did moderate or lead to a decrease in tolerance of rape myths and sexual harassment for both Asian women and men. Asian respondents' tolerance of 9 of the 11 rape myths decreased the longer they had lived in Canada. Asian respondents also showed a decrease in tolerance of sexual harassment the longer they had resided in Canada.
Tolerance of rape myths appears to be changing within Asia as well, as laws are being rewritten to protect a wider range of victims of sexual violence. However, prejudicial or false beliefs about rape still exist in Asia as revealed, for example, in recent debates over new laws to protect sexual assault victims in Korea. The Research Center for Asian Women (1996) has recently criticized these new rape laws, which only extend to protect "pure" or virginal rape victims. The rape myth that only certain types of women who are raped deserve protection is being entrenched in those new laws. The Korean government has refused to label sexual violence a crime against human sexual fights and instead chose to label it a crime against virginity (Research Center for Asian Women, 1996).
Research in Asia has also found that regulations and attitudes about sexual harassment are changing. For example, laws are being changed to make sexual violence that occurs at work a punishable offence (Research Center for Asian Women, 1996). North American respondents are currently less tolerant of sexual harassment, but these differences may diminish as cultures the world-over increasingly identify and denounce coercive sexual behaviors.
It is interesting that our study revealed that length of residency in North America moderated attitudes toward coercive sexual behavior but not toward noncoercive behavior. It may be that coercive sexual behavior is guided more by social cues as to what constitutes appropriate behavior whereas noncoercive sexual behavior is guided more by individual cues acquired from the home and family environment. Social cues may change more quickly and dramatically when someone moves to a new culture. Individual cues, on the other hand, may be slower to change as new immigrants retain the more personal values adopted from their parents' examples. This social cue hypothesis is tentative and should be explored in further research.
Gender differences in coercive attitudes were consistent across ethnic groups. We found men in all ethnic subgroups to be more supportive of rape myths than women from the same ethnic subgroups. Gender differences in the endorsement of rape myths by both Asian and non-Asian respondents are consistent with results of previous research (Mori et al., 1995). Gender differences did not interact significantly with ethnicity. Women disagreed significantly more than men did with 9 of the 11 rape myths and with 14 of the 19 sexual harassment items. For example, Asian and non-Asian male respondents agreed more with the myth "many women have an unconscious wish to be raped, and may then unconsciously set up a situation in which they are likely to be attacked," which is problematic when considered in light of previous research on acceptance of rape myths. Support for certain rape myths, such as the belief that women enjoy sexual violence, has been found to be a predictor for self-reported likelihood by men that they migh t use force to procure sex (Briere & Malamuth, 1983).
A review of research on rape myth acceptance indicated that individuals with higher acceptance of rape myths tend also to demonstrate more traditional gender-role expectations and greater negative attitudes toward women (Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1994). This line of thought is supported by our findings that both tolerance of rape myths and tolerance of sexual harassment were higher for men than women. Consistent with gender differences in acceptance of rape myths, Asian and non-Asian men were more tolerant of sexual harassment than women of the same ethnic groups. This supports research from Asia that has revealed that Chinese men are more tolerant of sexually harassing behaviors than are Chinese women (Tang et al., 1995).
Attitudes toward women tend to be moving closer to equality but research indicates Asian women may have further to go than their North American counterparts to achieve equality because of historical characterizations of Chinese women as homebound, passive, second-class citizens (Chia et al., 1997; Kim, 1995). Although Asian men and women have been found to hold more conservative gender-role attitudes than their U.S. counterparts, Asian women were found to be less conservative in their gender-role attitudes than Asian men (Chia, Moore, Lam, Chuang, & Cheng, 1994). Similarly, in the present study we found Asian men to be more conservative than Asian women on all three attitude scales.
Ethnic differences in sexual attitudes throughout North America are worth exploring, especially in light of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Conservative attitudes may have important implications for approaches to sex education, as recent research in the United States indicates that Asian adolescents tend to have less accurate knowledge about HIV/AIDS than their nonAsian counterparts (Yep, 1993). Ethnic differences in sexual attitudes are important in planning education for the Asian community. Recent research suggests that Asians historically have viewed HIV/AIDS as a Western epidemic, and traditional conservative attitudes toward sex may inhibit open discussions about sexuality, thus hindering disease prevention and education within the Asian community (Yep, 1993).
Ethnic differences in general attitudes toward sexual activity as well as differences in attitudes about coercive behavior are important to an understanding of the multicultural environments that exist in North America today. For example, the higher levels of tolerance of sexual harassment reported by Asian women in the present study may increase their vulnerability to harassment particularly in the context of racist stereotypes. North American research into sexual harassment on university campuses has shown that harassment may be compounded by the stereotype that Asian women are petite, passive, and compliant (DeFour, 1990). Beyond interactions on campuses, in multicultural work environments, information on different perceptions of sexual harassment may be instructive in planning sexual harassment education programs. Educational programs designed to prevent rape and sexual harassment need to consider these ethnic differences in tolerance of coercive behaviors (Mori et al., 1995) as well as be sensitive to an y potential discomfort that may be experienced by the more sexually conservative Asian participants when discussing topics of a personal nature (Yep, 1993).
The Asian community in North America is a diverse group, and we do not intend to minimize their differences by including all participants of East and Southeast Asian descent into one simple category. The fact that 92% of our participants reported that they were of Chinese ethnic origin may mean that we are reporting largely on Chinese attitudes. Whether Chinese attitudes vary from other Asian attitudes in an interesting topic to be explored. Another limitation of this study was the use of length of residency as a measure of "Westernization." Acculturation is a complex process that may occur at different rates for different individuals (Ryder, Alden, & Palhaus, 2000).
Further research needs to be done on ethnic differences in attitudes toward coercive sexual behavior and potential differences in sexual victimization rates in the Asian community. Whether living in Asia or North America, college students and other people in the Asian community must continue to explore and educate themselves about sexual coercion and how to prevent sexual violence.
Table I
Country of Birth of Respondents (N = 400)
Non-Asian
Country n
Canada 175
England 4
Scotland 1
France 1
Poland 1
Romania 2
United States 2
Colombia 1
Australia 2
New Zealand 1
South Africa 3
Tanzania 1
United Arab Emirates 1
Total 195
Asian, born in Canada
Country n
Canada 89
Total 89
Asian, arrived in Canada before age
13
Country n
Hong Kong 32
China 2
Taiwan 5
Philippines 2
Japan 2
Korea 1
Brunei 1
Malaysia 1
Vietnam 3
Thailand 1
Australia 1
Fiji 1
Zimbabwe 1
Total 53
Asian, arrived in Canada after
age 13
Country n
Hong Kong 32
China 3
Taiwan 16
Philippines 4
Japan 1
Korea 4
Macao 1
Singapore 2
Total 63
Table II
Differences in Rape Myth Acceptance
Male Female
Non-Asian Asian Non-Asian
A woman who goes to the home of a 1.74 1.99 1.32
man on their first date implies
that she is willing to have sex
[R] Any female can get raped. 1.56 2.48 1.25
One reason that women falsely 2.82 2.94 2.53
report a rape is that they
frequently have a need to call
attention to themselves
Any healthy woman can successfully 1.58 2.02 1.25
resist a rapist if she really
wants to
When women go around braless or 2.47 3.10 1.67
wearing short skirts and tight
tops, they are just asking for
trouble
In the majority of rapes, the 1.84 2.24 1.32
victim is promiscuous or has a
bad reputation
If a girl engages in necking or 1.77 2.41 1.15
petting and she lets things get
out of hand, it is her own fault
if her partner forces sex on her
Women who get raped while 1.51 2.00 1.32
hitch-hiking get what they deserve
A woman who is stuck-up and thinks 1.44 2.17 1.08
she is too good to talk to guys
on the street deserves to be
taught a lesson
Many women have an unconscious wish 1.65 2.06 1.24
to be raped, and may then
unconsciously set up a situation
in which they are likely to be
attacked
If a woman gets drunk at a party 1.40 1.87 1.05
and has intercourse with a man
she's just met there, she should
be considered "fair game" to other
males at the party who want to
have sex with her too, whether she
wants to or not
Composite scores 19.79 25.24 15.19
Female F-ratio
Asian Gender (a) Ethnicity (a)
A woman who goes to the home of a 1.71 14.93 ** 12.77 **
man on their first date implies
that she is willing to have sex
[R] Any female can get raped. 1.83 18.10 ** 43.87 **
One reason that women falsely 2.72 5.14 1.80
report a rape is that they
frequently have a need to call
attention to themselves
Any healthy woman can successfully 1.73 12.60 ** 28.26 **
resist a rapist if she really
wants to
When women go around braless or 2.71 27.45 ** 53.43 **
wearing short skirts and tight
tops, they are just asking for
trouble
In the majority of rapes, the 1.87 23.51 ** 27.04 **
victim is promiscuous or has a
bad reputation
If a girl engages in necking or 2.11 24.51 ** 73.71 **
petting and she lets things get
out of hand, it is her own fault
if her partner forces sex on her
Women who get raped while 1.90 2.82 37.12 **
hitch-hiking get what they deserve
A woman who is stuck-up and thinks 1.72 24.91 ** 71.11 **
she is too good to talk to guys
on the street deserves to be
taught a lesson
Many women have an unconscious wish 1.90 9.07 * 31.42 **
to be raped, and may then
unconsciously set up a situation
in which they are likely to be
attacked
If a woman gets drunk at a party 1.59 14.23 ** 36.38 **
and has intercourse with a man
she's just met there, she should
be considered "fair game" to other
males at the party who want to
have sex with her too, whether she
wants to or not
Composite scores 21.82 44.95 ** 101.89 **
F-ratio
Interaction (a)
A woman who goes to the home of a 0.59
man on their first date implies
that she is willing to have sex
[R] Any female can get raped. 2.17
One reason that women falsely 0.10
report a rape is that they
frequently have a need to call
attention to themselves
Any healthy woman can successfully 0.03
resist a rapist if she really
wants to
When women go around braless or 3.23
wearing short skirts and tight
tops, they are just asking for
trouble
In the majority of rapes, the 0.65
victim is promiscuous or has a
bad reputation
If a girl engages in necking or 3.01
petting and she lets things get
out of hand, it is her own fault
if her partner forces sex on her
Women who get raped while 0.24
hitch-hiking get what they deserve
A woman who is stuck-up and thinks 0.33
she is too good to talk to guys
on the street deserves to be
taught a lesson
Many women have an unconscious wish 1.70
to be raped, and may then
unconsciously set up a situation
in which they are likely to be
attacked
If a woman gets drunk at a party 0.20
and has intercourse with a man
she's just met there, she should
be considered "fair game" to other
males at the party who want to
have sex with her too, whether she
wants to or not
Composite scores 0.98
Note. Higher means represent higher agreement with rape myths.
Reverse-keyed items are indicated by [R].
(a)df (1,390).
* p < .0045.
** p < .0009.
Table III
Differences in Rape Myth Acceptance for Asian Respondents Based on
Length of Residency
F-ratio
Length of
Gender (a) residency (b)
A woman who goes to the home of a 2.98 4.07
man on their first date implies
that she is willing to have sex
[R] Any female can get raped 13.73 ** 8.77 **
One reason that women falsely 2.93 0.38
report a rape is that they
frequently have a need to call
attention to themselves
Any healthy woman can successfully 6.02 2.74
resist a rapist if she really
wants to
When women go around braless or 5.23 5.19 *
wearing short skirts and tight
tops, they are just asking for
trouble
In the majority of rapes, the 8.04 5.90 *
victim is promiscuous or has a bad
reputation
If a girl engages in necking or 3.59 17.44 **
petting and she lets things get
out of hand, it is her own fault
if her partner forces sex on her
Women who get raped while hitch- 0.85 5.45 *
hiking get what they deserve
A woman who is stuck-up and thinks 12.87 ** l1.36 **
she is too good to talk to guys on
the street deserves to be taught a
lesson
Many women have an unconscious wish 1.56 8.92 **
to be raped, and may then
unconsciously set up a situation
in which they are likely to be
attacked
If a woman gets drunk at a party 3.91 8.63 **
and has intercourse with a man
she's just met there, she should
be considered "fair game" to other
males at the party who want to
have sex with her too, whether she
wants to or not
Composite scores 14.98 ** 19.63 **
F-ratio
Interaction (b)
A woman who goes to the home of a 1.98
man on their first date implies
that she is willing to have sex
[R] Any female can get raped 0.67
One reason that women falsely 5.17 *
report a rape is that they
frequently have a need to call
attention to themselves
Any healthy woman can successfully 2.63
resist a rapist if she really
wants to
When women go around braless or 0.05
wearing short skirts and tight
tops, they are just asking for
trouble
In the majority of rapes, the 0.27
victim is promiscuous or has a bad
reputation
If a girl engages in necking or 0.49
petting and she lets things get
out of hand, it is her own fault
if her partner forces sex on her
Women who get raped while hitch- 0.64
hiking get what they deserve
A woman who is stuck-up and thinks 0.82
she is too good to talk to guys on
the street deserves to be taught a
lesson
Many women have an unconscious wish 0.46
to be raped, and may then
unconsciously set up a situation
in which they are likely to be
attacked
If a woman gets drunk at a party 0.02
and has intercourse with a man
she's just met there, she should
be considered "fair game" to other
males at the party who want to
have sex with her too, whether she
wants to or not
Composite scores 0.87
Note. Reverse-keyed items are indicated by [R].
(a)df(1, 193).
(b)df(2, 193).
* p<.0045.
** p<.0009.
Table IV
Differences in Sexual Harassment Attitudes
Male Female
Non-Asian Asian Non-Asian
An attractive woman has to expect 3.42 3.71 3.33
sexual advances and should learn
how to handle them
Most men are sexually teased by 2.86 2.91 2.38
many of the women with whom they
interact on the job or at school
Most women who are sexually 2.30 2.90 1.68
insulted by a man provoke his
behavior by the way they talk,
act, or dress
[R] A man must learn to understand 1.42 1.57 1.30
that a woman's "no" to his sexual
advances really means "no"
It is only natural for a woman to 2.30 2.09 1.44
use her sexuality as a way of
getting ahead in school or at work
An attractive man has to expect 3.30 3.54 3.29
sexual advances and should learn
how to handle them
[R] I believe that sexual 2.47 2.16 2.02
intimidation is a serious social
problem
It is only natural for a man to 3.47 3.43 2.78
make sexual advances to a woman
he finds attractive
Innocent flirtations make the 3.67 3.39 3.59
workday or school day interesting
Encouraging a professor's or a 2.56 2.54 1.86
supervisor's sexual interest is
frequently used by women to get
better grades or to improve their
work situation
One of the problems with sexual 2.74 2.69 1.73
harassment is that some women
can't take a joke
The notion that what a professor 2.89 3.04 2.15
does in class may be sexual
harassment is taking the idea of
sexual harassment too far
Many charges of sexual harassment 3.18 3.06 2.17
are frivolous and vindictive
A lot of what people call sexual 3.21 3.11 2.19
harassment is just normal
flirtation between men and women
Sexual assault and sexual 3.68 3.54 3.20
harassment are two completely
different things
Sexual harassment refers to those 3.12 3.49 2.71
incidents of unwanted sexual
attention that aren't too serious
Sexual harassment has little to do 2.32 2.50 1.76
with power
Sexism and sexual harassment are 3.47 3.59 3.01
two completely different things
All this concern about sexual 3.46 3.24 2.55
harassment makes it harder for men
and women to have normal
relationships
Composite scores 55.84 56.31 45.19
Female F-ratio
Asian Gender (a) Ethnicity (a)
An attractive woman has to expect 3.51 1.64 4.05
sexual advances and should learn
how to handle them
Most men are sexually teased by 2.76 9.66 * 4.56
many of the women with whom they
interact on the job or at school
Most women who are sexually 2.75 14.71 ** 71.87 **
insulted by a man provoke his
behavior by the way they talk,
act, or dress
[R] A man must learn to understand 1.36 3.25 1.25
that a woman's "no" to his sexual
advances really means "no"
It is only natural for a woman to 1.84 31.41 ** 0.90
use her sexuality as a way of
getting ahead in school or at work
An attractive man has to expect 3.38 0.52 2.03
sexual advances and should learn
how to handle them
[R] I believe that sexual 2.21 4.64 0.40
intimidation is a serious social
problem
It is only natural for a man to 2.99 29.07 ** 0.67
make sexual advances to a woman
he finds attractive
Innocent flirtations make the 3.45 0.00 5.11
workday or school day interesting
Encouraging a professor's or a 2.10 31.04 ** 1.38
supervisor's sexual interest is
frequently used by women to get
better grades or to improve their
work situation
One of the problems with sexual 2.32 38.24 ** 5.31
harassment is that some women
can't take a joke
The notion that what a professor 2.68 30.14 ** 13.67 **
does in class may be sexual
harassment is taking the idea of
sexual harassment too far
Many charges of sexual harassment 2.90 55.69 ** 5.02
are frivolous and vindictive
A lot of what people call sexual 2.48 63.48 ** 2.13
harassment is just normal
flirtation between men and women
Sexual assault and sexual 3.29 16.43 ** 1.11
harassment are two completely
different things
Sexual harassment refers to those 3.03 16.62 ** 9.90 *
incidents of unwanted sexual
attention that aren't too serious
Sexual harassment has little to do 2.61 11.39 * 16.29 **
with power
Sexism and sexual harassment are 3.52 12.51 ** 3.92
two completely different things
All this concern about sexual 2.84 30.59 ** 0.42
harassment makes it harder for men
and women to have normal
relationships
Composite scores 51.28 76.14 ** 13.34 **
F-ratio
Interaction (a)
An attractive woman has to expect 0.23
sexual advances and should learn
how to handle them
Most men are sexually teased by 2.54
many of the women with whom they
interact on the job or at school
Most women who are sexually 5.68
insulted by a man provoke his
behavior by the way they talk,
act, or dress
[R] A man must learn to understand 0.20
that a woman's "no" to his sexual
advances really means "no"
It is only natural for a woman to 9.57
use her sexuality as a way of
getting ahead in school or at work
An attractive man has to expect 0.42
sexual advances and should learn
how to handle them
[R] I believe that sexual 7.51
intimidation is a serious social
problem
It is only natural for a man to 1.55
make sexual advances to a woman
he finds attractive
Innocent flirtations make the 0.54
workday or school day interesting
Encouraging a professor's or a 1.83
supervisor's sexual interest is
frequently used by women to get
better grades or to improve their
work situation
One of the problems with sexual 7.61
harassment is that some women
can't take a joke
The notion that what a professor 4.75
does in class may be sexual
harassment is taking the idea of
sexual harassment too far
Many charges of sexual harassment 12.53 **
are frivolous and vindictive
A lot of what people call sexual 5.96
harassment is just normal
flirtation between men and women
Sexual assault and sexual 0.04
harassment are two completely
different things
Sexual harassment refers to those 0.06
incidents of unwanted sexual
attention that aren't too serious
Sexual harassment has little to do 4.79
with power
Sexism and sexual harassment are 0.83
two completely different things
All this concern about sexual 6.53
harassment makes it harder for men
and women to have normal
relationships
Composite scores 9.78
Note. Higher mean represent higher tolerance and acceptance of sexual
harassment. Reverse-keyed items ae indicated by [R].
(a)df (,383).
* p < .0026.
** p < .0009.
Table V
Differences in Sexual Harassment Attitudes for Asian Respondents Based
on Length of Residency
F-ratio
Length of
Gender (a) residency (b)
An attractive woman has to expect 1.48 2.07
sexual advances and should learn
how to handle them
Most men are sexually teased by 1.05 0.82
many of the women with whom they
interact on the job or at school
Most women who are sexually 1.27 7.48 **
insulted by a man provoke his
behavior by the way they talk,
act, or dress
[R] A man must learn to understand 3.99 1.06
that a woman's "no" to his sexual
advances really means "no"
It is only natural for a woman to 2.22 0.32
use her sexuality as a way of
getting ahead in school or at work
An attractive man has to expect 0.63 1.12
sexual advances and should learn
how to handle them
[R] I believe that sexual 0.61 1.68
intimidation is a serious social
problem
It is only natural for a man to 9.95 ** 0.20
make sexual advances to a woman he
finds attractive
Innocent flirtations make the 0.74 10.11 **
workday or school day interesting
Encouraging a professor's or a 9.33 0.26
supervisor's sexual interest is
frequently used by women to get
better grades or to improve their
work situation
One of the problems with sexual 5.71 9.07 **
harassment is that some women
can't take a joke
The notion that what a professor 7.20 5.43
does in class may be sexual
harassment is taking the idea
of sexual harassment too far
Many charges of sexual harassment 7.38 6.29 **
are frivolous and vindictive
A lot of what people call sexual 15.47 ** 1.08
harassment is just normal
flirtation between men and women
Sexual assault and sexual 6.99 1.82
harassment are two completely
different things
Sexual harassment refers to those 11.08 ** 1.49
incidents of unwanted sexual
attention that aren't too serious
Sexual harassment has little to do 0.63 6.56 **
with power
Sexism and sexual harassment are 3.62 2.54
two completely different things
All this concern about sexual 4.86 1.68
harassment makes it harder for men
and women to have normal
relationships
Composite scores 18.39 *** 5.91 *
F-ratio
Interaction (b)
An attractive woman has to expect 2.83
sexual advances and should learn
how to handle them
Most men are sexually teased by 2.61
many of the women with whom they
interact on the job or at school
Most women who are sexually 1.46
insulted by a man provoke his
behavior by the way they talk,
act, or dress
[R] A man must learn to understand 2.04
that a woman's "no" to his sexual
advances really means "no"
It is only natural for a woman to 5.00
use her sexuality as a way of
getting ahead in school or at work
An attractive man has to expect 3.18
sexual advances and should learn
how to handle them
[R] I believe that sexual 2.66
intimidation is a serious social
problem
It is only natural for a man to 0.30
make sexual advances to a woman he
finds attractive
Innocent flirtations make the 2.85
workday or school day interesting
Encouraging a professor's or a 0.33
supervisor's sexual interest is
frequently used by women to get
better grades or to improve their
work situation
One of the problems with sexual 0.31
harassment is that some women
can't take a joke
The notion that what a professor 0.74
does in class may be sexual
harassment is taking the idea
of sexual harassment too far
Many charges of sexual harassment 2.88
are frivolous and vindictive
A lot of what people call sexual 2.14
harassment is just normal
flirtation between men and women
Sexual assault and sexual 0.46
harassment are two completely
different things
Sexual harassment refers to those 0.52
incidents of unwanted sexual
attention that aren't too serious
Sexual harassment has little to do 0.19
with power
Sexism and sexual harassment are 0.09
two completely different things
All this concern about sexual 0.53
harassment makes it harder for men
and women to have normal
relationships
Composite scores 2.06
Note. Reverse-keyed items are indicated by [R].
(a)df (1,194).
(b)df (2,194).
* p<.017.
** p<.0026.
*** p<.0009.
Table VI
Differences in Sexual Attitudes
Male Female
Non-Asian Asian Non-Asian
Homosexuality is perverse and 2.93 3.37 1.99
unhealthy
People should only engage in sexual 2.46 2.66 1.67
activity when it is intended to
produce children
It is unnatural for the female to 2.32 2.69 1.88
be the initiator in sexual
relations
Women should never be consciously 2.40 2.69 2.05
seductive but should wait for the
attentions of the man
Most homosexuals are highly distur- 2.30 2.81 1.62
bed people and a danger to society
Couples that have sex before 2.49 2.90 2.14
marriage usually regret it later
on
Men lose respect for women who 2.63 2.93 2.20
allow them to have premarital
intercourse
[R] Holding and touching my 2.12 2.56 1.92
partner's body is exciting and
thrilling
[R] Couples should experiiment with 2.02 2.49 1.96
various positions of intercourse
to enhance their sexual
experiences
[R] Homosexuality is simply a 2.67 2.97 1.86
question of sexual orientation and
not good or bad, sick or healthy
Oral-genital sex is not within the 20.9 2.66 1.88
range of normal sexuality
[R] A picture of a nude person can 2.19 2.66 2.36
be a beautiful and exciting thing
to look at
Pornography is perverse and 2.81 2.86 3.52
disgusting in general
Composite scores 82.33 86.69 76.61
Female F-ratio
Asian Gender (b) Ethnicity (b)
Homosexuality is perverse and 2.93 24.95 ** 25.21 **
unhealthy
People should only engage in sexual 2.36 15.21 ** 10.43 **
activity when it is intended to
produce children
It is unnatural for the female to 2.37 8.69 11.55 **
be the initiator in sexual
relations
Women should never be consciously 2.54 4.66 10.98 **
seductive but should wait for the
attentions of the man
Most homosexuals are highly distur- 2.26 20.73 ** 18.20 **
bed people and a danger to society
Couples that have sex before 2.77 4.33 19.91 **
marriage usually regret it later
on
Men lose respect for women who 2.85 4.74 16.50 **
allow them to have premarital
intercourse
[R] Holding and touching my 2.40 2.23 14.18 **
partner's body is exciting and
thrilling
[R] Couples should experiiment with 2.33 0.83 11.88 **
various positions of intercourse
to enhance their sexual
experiences
[R] Homosexuality is simply a 2.63 18.01 ** 15.77 **
question of sexual orientation and
not good or bad, sick or healthy
Oral-genital sex is not within the 2.58 1.59 31.50 **
range of normal sexuality
[R] A picture of a nude person can 2.77 1.40 13.70 **
be a beautiful and exciting thing
to look at
Pornography is perverse and 3.35 26.37 ** 0.25
disgusting in general
Composite scores 86.66 2.75 17.30 **
F-ratio
Interaction (a)
Homosexuality is perverse and 3.35
unhealthy
People should only engage in sexual 3.18
activity when it is intended to
produce children
It is unnatural for the female to 0.25
be the initiator in sexual
relations
Women should never be consciously 0.77
seductive but should wait for the
attentions of the man
Most homosexuals are highly distur- 0.22
bed people and a danger to society
Couples that have sex before 0.91
marriage usually regret it later
on
Men lose respect for women who 2.28
allow them to have premarital
intercourse
[R] Holding and touching my 0.03
partner's body is exciting and
thrilling
[R] Couples should experiiment with 0.17
various positions of intercourse
to enhance their sexual
experiences
[R] Homosexuality is simply a 3.00
question of sexual orientation and
not good or bad, sick or healthy
Oral-genital sex is not within the 0.36
range of normal sexuality
[R] A picture of a nude person can 0.04
be a beautiful and exciting thing
to look at
Pornography is perverse and 0.89
disgusting in general
Composite scores 2.70
Note. Items are scored in a conservative direction. Reverse-keyed
(liberal) items are indicated by [R]
(a)df (1,396).
* P < .0017.
** P < .0009.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their suggestions.
(1.) Parts of this article were presented at the Canadian Sex Research Forum (October 1999) in Montreal, Canada.
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M. Alexis Kennedy (2, 3)
Boris B. Gorzalka (2)
(2.) Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
(3.) To whom correspondence should be addressed at Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6J 1Z4; e-mail: alexiskennedy@hotmail.com.
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