“Everybody wants to make love to you” : How female Russian journalists use tactics to handle sexism and sexual harassment.

Abstract: The study “Everybody wants to make love to you” examines female Russian journalists’ experiences of sexism within their profession. The focus of the study is to examine how the journalists navigate through their profession whilst resisting against sexism and oppression. The study is based on material gathered through qualitative interviews with nine female informants with various backgrounds, ages and positions within journalism. All the respondents were (or had been) working in Moscow. The result of the study shows that our respondents have experienced sexism by being diminished, flirted with and sexually harassed in working situations. This is especially relevant when the respondents have met new people while reporting. Sometimes the women are encouraged by colleagues to put on something “sexy” or “play dumb” to, in some interview situations, get more information. The resistance towards gendered oppression often take shape on an individual level or within a person's small circle of people that can be trusted. Our results show that the respondents are using different tactics when facing gender related obstacles, such as using your gender role or through joking about the perpetrators within your inner circle.