Anderson

In Scott Anderson’s piece, Sex Under Pressure: Jerks, Boorish Behavior and Gender Hierarchy, he argues that there is something important in looking at the connections between seduction and rape. Anderson believes that gender hierarchy entitles men in their role as the seducer while at the same time crippling women in their stereotypical role as victims of seduction. I agree with Anderson on this point because I also believe that if gender equality was present that seduction and pressuring woman to have sex would not be as ethically suspect as it is due to gender hierarchy.

            Since gender hierarchy in our society is evident and sexual assault and men being forceful is seen more often than not makes seduction and pressuring woman to have sex examined more closely. Anytime that a man has to resort to using pressure to get woman to have sex with him is ethically suspect, according to Anderson. Whether or not the woman eventually agrees to having sex with that man, if the man uses pressure to get that woman to have sex with him it conveys the idea that, that woman’s wants and needs don’t matter.

            Someone that was to refute this point would question if sexual pressure is ethically suspect and if it undermines woman’s autonomy. For example, Anderson talks a lot about Sarah Conly and how she believes this is only the case if the sexual pressure involves a coercive threat leaving the person being threatened no choice but to avoid it. Conly feels that as long as the pressuring doesn’t result to coercing someone into having sex that a woman’s consent answers the main ethical questions about sexual pressure and seduction. Although I understand that a woman’s consent is very important, this objection doesn’t hold true because there is still more to the idea that sexual pressure is ethically suspect. Conly’s argument over looks the connections between seduction and rape while also failing to make sense of the reasons that have left feminists to make this connection. Also, Conly’s argument doesn’t identify the fact that gender hierarchy plays a role in sexual pressure and woman’s autonomy which is a major reason that it’s ethically suspect. Conly doesn’t make note of the fact that the interactions between men and woman as different genders affects women’s autonomy. Men are seen as superior to woman, which leads women to be less autonomous in situations when a man is trying to seduce her. For example, if a man is trying to seduce this woman and he starts to pressure her but doesn’t intend to cross the line, that woman may see the situation completely differently than him and she might feel that if she is autonomous and does exactly what she wants then he might go the extra mile and hurt her to make her have sex with him.

            All-in-all, I agree with Anderson that gender hierarchy does make sexual pressure ethically suspect and undermines women’s autonomy more than it would be if gender equality was present. Conly offers good points but I believe that Anderson provides a stronger argument on the matter.