Citation

Shandy D, Torres MG. Signs 2021; 47(1): 209-234.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, University of Chicago Press)

DOI

10.1086/715225

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article describes and analyzes the American Anthropological Association's adoption of a sexual harassment and sexual assault policy as a part of the groundswell of recognition that sexual violence detrimentally shapes scientific inquiry, a recognition catalyzed by the #MeToo cultural moment. This is a case study of what Marcel Mauss terms "policy as total social phenomena," which narrates a significant historical pivot in the story of feminism that evidences feminist theorizing in praxis, per a framework developed by bell hooks. We critically situate this transformation within what Marshall Sahlins calls "contingent circumstance," which enables institutional transformation. We argue that professional associations can set normative expectations and best practice standards to mold cultural change. The article outlines the reframing of sexual violence as professional misconduct to emphasize the element of community while not denying that there are interpersonal harms. The policy recognizes the foundational impact of gender oppression on a discipline's methods, training practices, and the expected entitlements of professional success. Building on the scholarship and activism that have documented anthropology's all-too-typical history with sexual violence, we offer a rare insider's understanding into the unfolding process of designing and adopting norms intended to compel behavioral change. The article concludes with the questions that remain in the exercise of community responsibility for sexual harassment and sexual assault. We suggest that while the intentional reorganization of institutional practices, policies, and training processes can facilitate cultural change that curtails sexual violence, long-term transformations require community action in terms of intentional investments in policy review and educational programming.

Language: en