Significant Theory-Based Gaps

Significant Theory-Based Advances/Gaps:
Though only one of the literatures directly related to the case of Audrie Pott (Alexa Dodge’s article), the others all provide background for the issue of sexual violence against women. Dodge applies Butler’s ideas of the “digitalization of evil”, using its application for modern day sexual assault cases. She claims:
It is likely that the photographs of acts of sexual violence committed against Parsons, Doe and Pott were also interspersed with these kinds of images of everyday life, images of friends smiling, drinking and dancing. The everydayness and perceived legitimacy of sexual violence is illustrated by these cases of digital dissemination (Dodge 73).
The “Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization
of Girls” is also a significant advancement for social scientists; it breaks down the sexualization of girls into categories based off an accumulation of prior theories (such as objectification theory). They all work together in tandem, often referencing and building off of each other’s ideas. There’s no doubt that there are significant gaps in the sociological research on the sexual assault of adolescent teenage girls because it is practically unexplored territory.
It is a very specialized issue, with not a lot of scientific evidence being collected currently, which it makes it a difficult area for sociologists to venture into. Famous feminist theorists like Patricia Hill Collins and Simone de Beauvoir have focused on women and sexuality progressively, but there is a lack of focus on how the most current technologies affect sexual violence against women.

Theoretical Contributions Overview:
Due to the fact that there really is no specific social theory literature on the issue, I propose a combination of symbolic interaction and feminist theories, as well as a stronger emphasis on how technology can play a part in sexual violence. Because there are substantial gaps in the literature, any well-thought-out contribution has the ability to fill them. In a situation practically begging to be addressed, a multitude of sociological theories could be applied and I believe mine can fit the bill.

Own Theoretical
Ideas/Adaptations:
The first component of my combination theory is based heavily on socialization theories in which “girls learn about women’s expected roles in the world and strive to enact these expectations, because doing so brings specific rewards and because being consistent with expectations is itself rewarding” (Zurbriggen et al. 19). This Mead-like concept of expected roles is referring to the expectation that women will not challenge men; this is present twice in the Audrie Pott’s scenario. According to Rolling Stone “Sexting, Shame and Suicide”, one of Audrie’s female classmates helped her upstairs into a bedroom, left the room when the boys started undressing her and drawing on her with Sharpies, and then returned to find Audrie in her underwear and put a blanket over her, before leaving her again (Burleigh). The passivity from this unnamed accomplice during a fellow woman’s assault can be attributed somewhat to a desire to fill the role as a docile girl who won’t challenge the male figures in the situation. Her (lack of) actions were also probably due in part from a desire to keep up “the normalization ritual” of a high school party rather than a sexual assault (Smith). This concept by Goffman is a performance of the self in which one will act as if everything is okay to keep the situation normal, even when things are getting out of hand. Interestingly enough, the next day, Audrie actually threatened to escape her expected docile role; she Facebook messaged one of her attackers, saying “I [sic] swear to god if u [sic] still have those pictures illl [sic] kill [sic] u [sic]” (Burleigh). There is no way to know for sure if attempting to revolt against her assigned (subservient) role had any correlation to her later suicide, but it is not an unfounded idea that it could have played a role in her mental health. While being sexually assaulted, humiliated, and cyberbullied were likely the central reasons she took her own life, stepping out of her expected role could have shifted her perceptions in a way so that she didn’t even recognize herself anymore and didn’t know how to deal with that realization. The second component of my combination theory attempts to further develop Dodge (and Butler’s) perspective; she had the most modern article that also drew upon prior sociologists’ ideas but applied them to updated concerns like intimate photographs being taken of the assaulted and shared virtually.
The concern over social media being used for nonconsensual image sharing isn’t unwarranted, but I also believe it is evolving into something else entirely. Social media allows women to even the playing field so to speak; it has created a place where women can share their stories and interact with other survivors. I’m not disputing that slut-shaming and hateful speech will occur, but it is an opportunity for women to empower themselves and others. By being able to share their perspective, they can essentially write a new “role” for themselves rather than being confined to an expected role. Mead, Butler, Goffman, and Dodge all have aspects of theories I was able to fit together to apply to the issue of high school sexual assault. Mead and Goffman offer a more traditional approach to symbolic interactionism which I then combined with Dodge and Butler’s modern feminist ideals. My contributions are necessary due to the dearth of theory based discussion on the topic, and I’d like to say they’re significant for that same reason. My combination theory has room for improvement, but it’s also an appropriate jumping off point for other sociologists to start
from.