Articles, Books, Research Reports, and Thesis

Street harassment is a under-researched and written about topic, particularly as far as why men harass women, how widespread the problem is, and how it intersects with other forms of oppression, such as racism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, and able-ism. Here is a compilation of existing (primarily) scholarly articles, books, research reports, and thesis on street harassment or related topics.

Articles | Books | Reports | Thesis

Articles:

Benard, Cheryl and Edith Schlaffer. “The Man in the Street: Why He Harasses.” In Feminist Frameworks, edited by Allison M. Jaggar and Paula S. Rothenberg. New York: McGraw Hill, 1984.

Bowman, Cynthia Grant. "Street Harassment and the Informal Ghettoization of Women," Harvard Law Review 106, no 3 (January 1993): 517-580.

Brownmiller, Susan. “Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape.” In Feminism in Our Time: The Essential Writings, World War II to the Present, edited by Mariam Schneir. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.

Buchwald, Emilie. “Raising Girls for the 21st Century.” In Transforming a Rape Culture, edited by
Emilie Buchwald, Pamela R. Fletcher, and Martha Roth. Minneapolis, MN: Milkwood Editions, 1993.

Chynoweth, Sarah K. and Erin M. Patrick, “Sexual violence during firewood collection: income-generation as protection in displaced settings.” In Gender-Based Violence, edited by Gerladine Terry and Joanna Hoare. Oxfam Great Britain, 2007.

Cohen, Patricia Cline. “Safety and Danger: Women on American Public Transport, 1750-1850.” In Gendered Domains: Rethinking Public and Private in Women’s History, edited by Dorothy O. Helly and Susan M. Reverby. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992.

Crenshaw, Kimberle. “Race, Gender, and Sexual Harassment.” Southern California Law Review 65 (1991-1992): 1467-76.

Davis, Deirdre. “The Harm that Has No Name: Street Harassment, Embodiment, and African American Women.” In Gender Struggles: Practical Approaches to Contemporary Feminism, edited by Constance L. Mui and Julien S. Murphy. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2002: 214-225.

Drucker, Susan and Gary Gumpert. "Shopping Women, and Public Space." In Voices in the Street: Explorations in Gender, Media, and Public Space. Eds Susan J. Drucker and Gary Gumpert. New Jersey: Hampton Press, Inc: 1996.

Duneier, Mitchell. "Talking to Women." In Sidewalk. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000.

Fairchild, Kimberly and Laurie A. Rudman. (2008). "Everyday Stranger Harassment and Women's Self-Objectification." Social Justice Research, 21 (3): 338-357.

Fayer, Joan. "Changes in Gender Use of Public Space in Puerto Rico." In Voices in the Street: Explorations in Gender, Media, and Public Space. Eds Susan J. Drucker and Gary Gumpert. New Jersey: Hampton Press, Inc: 1996.

Fogg-Davis, Hawley. "Theorizing Black Lesbians within Black Feminism: A Critique of Same-Race Street Harassment. Politics & Gender, 2 (2006): 57-76.

Golden, Stephanie. “Lady Versus Low Creature: Old Roots of Current Attitudes Toward Homeless Women.” In Women: A Feminist Perspective, Fifth Edition, edited by Jo Freeman. Ohio: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1995.

Guano, Emanuela. “Respectable Ladies and Uncouth Men: The Performative Politics of Class and Gender in the Public Realm of an Italian City.” Journal of American Folklore 120 (475): 48-72.

Heben, Tiffanie. “Reshaping of the Law: Interpreting and Remedying Street Harassment.” South California’s Review of Law and Women’s Studies 4, no. 1 (1994): 183 – 219.

Ilahi, Nadia. "Gendered Contestations: An Analysis of Street Harassment in Cairo and its Implications for Access to Public Spaces." Surfacing 2 (1): 56-69. (May 2009).

Kissling, Elizabeth Arveda. “Street harassment: the language of sexual terrorism.” Discourse & Society 2 no. 4 (1991): 451-460.

Koskela, Hille. “‘Bold walk and breakings’: Women’s spatial confidence versus fear of violence.” Gender, Place and Culture, 4 no. 3 (1997): 301–320.

Laniya, Olatokunbo Olukemi. “Street Smut: Gender, Media, and the Legal Power Dynamics of Street Harassment, or ‘Hey Sexy’ and Other Verbal Ejaculations.” Columbia Journal of Gender and Law 14 (2005): 91-130.

di Leonardo, Micaela. “Political Economy of Street Harassment.” Aegis (Summer 1981): 51-57.

MacKinnon, Catherine. “The Social Causes of Sexual Harassment.” In Sexual Harassment: Confrontation and Decision, edited by Edmund Wall. Buffalo New York: Prometheus Books, 1992.

Macmillan, Ross, Annette Nierobisz and Sandy Welsh. "Experiencing the Streets: Harassment and Perceptions of Safety Among Women”Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 37,
no. 3 (August 2000): 306-322.

Parker, Jaclyn. “Sex Differences in the Perception of Street Harassment.” A Guide to Dynamics of Feminist Theory. Ed. Doris Howard. New York: Haworth P, 1987.

Parsons, Clare Olivia. "Reputation and Public Appearance: The De-Eroticization of the Urban Street." In Voices in the Street: Explorations in Gender, Media, and Public Space. Eds Susan J. Drucker and Gary Gumpert. New Jersey: Hampton Press, Inc: 1996.

Roberson, Amaya N. “Anti-Street Harassment.” Off Our Backs. May-June 2005.

Saltzberg, Elayne A. and Joan C. Chrisler. “Beauty Is the Beast: Psychological Effects of the Pursuit of the Perfect Female Body.” In Women: A Feminist Perspective, Fifth Edition, edited by Jo Freeman. Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1995.

Sanday, Peggy Reeves. “The Socio-Cultural Context of Rape: A Cross-Cultural Study.” In Confronting Rape and Sexual Assault, edited by Mary E. Odem and Jody Clay-Warner. Lanham, MD: The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.,1998.

Sheffield, Carole J. “Sexual Terrorism.” In Women: A Feminist Perspective, Fifth Edition, edited by Jo Freeman. Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1995.

Thompson, Deborah. “‘The Woman in the Street:’ Reclaiming the Public Space from Sexual Harassment.” Yale Journal of Law and Feminism 6 (1994): 313 – 348.

Walkowitz, Judith R. "Going Public: Shopping, Street Harassment, and Streetwalking in Late Victorian London." Representations 62 (Spring 1998): 1-30.

Warr, Mark. “Fear of Rape among Urban Women.” Social Problems, 32, no. 3 (Feb. 1985): 238-250.

West, Robin L. “The Difference in Women’s Hedonic Lives: A Phenomenological Critique of Feminist Legal Theory.” Wisconsin Women's Law Journal 3 (1987): 81-145.

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Books:

Comstock, Gary. Violence Against Lesbians and Gay Men. New York: Columbia University Press, 1991.

Gardner, Carol Brooks. Passing By: Gender and Public Harassment. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995.

Kearl, Holly. Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Publishers, 2010.

Khazzoom, Loowa. Consequence: Beyond Resisting Rape (2002)

Langelan, Martha. Back Off: How to Confront and Stop Sexual Harassment and Harassers (New York: Fireside, 1993).

Madriz, Esther. Nothing Bad Happens to Good Girls: Fear of Crime in Women’s Lives. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1997.

Miller, Jody. Getting Played: African American Girls, Urban Inequality, and Gendered Violence. New York City: New York University Press, 2008.

Nielsen, Laura Beth. License to Harass: Law, Hierarchy, and Offensive Public Speech Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004.

Spain, Daphne. Gendered Spaces. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1992.

Stanley, Liz and Sue Wise. Georgie Porgie: Sexual Harassment in Everyday Life. London: Pandora Press, 1987.

Wilson, Elizabeth. The Sphinx in the City: Urban Life, the Control of Disorder, and Women. Berkley, CA: University of California Press, 1991.

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Research Reports:

Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights. “’Clouds in Egypt’s Sky’ Sexual Harassment: from Verbal
Harassment to Rape.” July 2008.

Fine, Alyssa. "Roadblocks: The Street Harassment of Women and Girls in Mauritius." Soroptimist International Ipsae (Mauritius): 2009.

Prime, Jeanine and Corinne A. Moss-Racusin. “Engaging Men in Gender Initiatives: What Change Agents Need To Know.” Catalyst. May 2009.

Stringer, Scott M. “Hidden in Plain Sight: Sexual Harassment and Assault in the New York City
Subway System.” July 2007.

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Thesis:

Kearl, Holly. "Direct Action, Education, Consciousness-Raising, Activism and the Internet: Methods for Combating Street Harassment," Master's of Arts Thesis at The George Washington University (2007). (five page overview of my data results)

Mills, Melinda. "'Are you Talking to Me?' Considering Black Women's Racialized and Gendered Experiences with and Responses or Reactions to Street Harassment from Men." Master's of Arts Thesis at Georgia State University (2007).

Oshynko, Norma Anne. “No Safe Place: The Legal Regulation of Street Harassment.” Thesis for Masters of Law in Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia, 2002.

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