Citation

Sheffield CAROLEJ. Gender Soc. 1989; 3(4): 483-488.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/089124389003004006

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The analysis of male sexual violence as an integrated phenomenon rests on a theoretical premise that violence and its threat are the foundation of male dominance. I call this phenomenon “sexual terrorism”: the system by which males frighten, and by frightening, dominate and control females. Sexual terrorism is manifested through both actual and implied violence and takes many forms. This article discusses the obscene phone call, a commonly experienced form of intimidation. In this study, while respondents reported a variety of responses to obscene phone calls, most experienced them as “terroristic.” The dynamics of obscene telephone calls mirror the social construction of gender and the fusion of dominance and sexuality.