Citation

Eller A. Cult. Health Sex. 2016; 18(7): 742-755.

Affiliation

Department of Anthropology , George Washington University , New York , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13691058.2015.1123295

PMID

26808397

Abstract

This paper adds to discussion of transactional sex relationships in Africa by examining the distinction between transactional sex and sexual harassment in the context of professor-student relationships and their inherent power dynamics. By exploring the ways in which female university students in urban Benin toe the line between empowered agent and victim, I show how the power differential between professor and student obstructs the professor's ability to objectively determine consent, and examine why, in spite of this differential, male professors are frequently perceived as the victims of these relationships. Ethnographic data were gathered through participant observation on a public university campus in Benin and in-depth interviews and focus groups with 34 students and 5 professors from that university.

FINDINGS suggest that the problem of sexual harassment on campus will be difficult to address so long as transactional sex relationships between professors and students are permitted to continue.

Language: en