Theorizing Gender Violence introduces students to critical sociological theories used to understand and respond to gender violence. The text emphasizes feminist theory and demonstrates how other theories have supported, challenged, and expanded upon feminist theory to shape and enrich various approaches to and perspectives regarding the subject. The text examines multiple types of gender violence, including physical, psychological, emotional, and sexual, as well as a range of contexts of violence, including domestic violence, campus sexual assault, stalking, and more. Dedicated chapters examine theories commonly used by researchers and practitioners, including Johnson's typology, male peer support theory, intersectionality, queer theory, ecological frameworks, and routine activities theory. For each, students read a vignette, learn the background of the theory, examine an analysis of the theory, and then engage more deeply with the material through reflection questions, a case example, and a reflection contributed by a scholar in the field. The text concludes by summarizing the theories, identifying their similarities and differences, and discussing the current state and the future of the field. Theorizing Gender Violence is part of the Cognella Series on Family and Gender-Based Violence, an interdisciplinary collection of textbooks featuring cross-cultural perspectives, cutting-edge strategies and interventions, and timely research on family and gender-based violence.
Examining sexual violence, the authors of this volume take up questions about the relationship between sex, sexuality and violence to better understand the terms on which women’s sexual suffering is perpetuated, thereby undermining their capacity for personhood and autonomy.
Theorizing gender is more urgent and highly political than ever before. These are times, in many countries, of increased visibility of women in public life and high-profile campaigns against sexual violence and harassment. Challenges to fixed, traditional gender norms have paved the way for the recognition of gay marriage and gender recognition acts allowing people to change the gender assigned to them at birth. Yet these are also times of religious and political backlash by the alt right, the demonization of the very term ‘gender’ and a renewed embrace of the ‘naturalness’ of gendered difference as ordained by God or Science. A follow-up to the authors’ 2002 text, Theorizing Gender, this timely and necessary intervention revisits gender theory for contemporary times. Refusing a singular ‘truth about gender’, the authors explore the multiple strands which go into making our gendered identities, in the context of materialist and intersectional perspectives interwoven with phenomenological and performative ones. The resulting critical overview will be a welcome and invaluable guide for students and scholars of gender across the social sciences and humanities.
"I can′t imagine anyone living or working with adolescents and young adults without being aware of the material in this book. A must read for educators, health providers, student personnel, administrators, the clergy, campus security, and even parents." --Mary P. Koss, The Arizona Prevention Center, University of Arizona "My overall response to this book is highly positive. I think the authors make an important contribution to the field of violence against women by focusing on male peer support for sexual violence. I think that this book fills a real void in the literature. Sanday′s book, Fraternity Gang Rape, offers a rich theoretical analysis of rape on campus, and this book takes us another step in understanding sexual violence on campus by focusing on a variety of other issues related to campus rape such as alcohol and sports. . . . I think this book could (and should) be recommended reading for every college student in the U.S. and Canada. . . . The arguments . . . are clearly stated and they provide a powerful analysis of this serious problem--the material is fascinating and easy to read." --Raquel Kennedy Bergen, Sociology Department, St. Joseph′s University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania "This book speaks to me on several different levels. . . . The loose pages of the manuscript that I have are now well marked with red ink; some are tea-stained and others are dog-eared. From my experience as a teacher, researcher, editor, and activist, this is usually the sign of a very good book--good not because it makes an interesting read but, more important, because it is useful. . . . As a researcher, I was struck by the book′s utility in . . . the authors′ attention to methodology . . . [and the book′s] contribution to theory building. . . . As an educator, I am impressed by the accessibility of the analysis, which makes the book useful as a text in many different courses. It is an interesting read; in fact, I predict that most students will report that they liked reading it. At the same time, however, it contains a wealth of information that carries not only the credibility stamp of science but also speaks directly to the students′ experience. . . . This book is also a valuable resource for faculty and administrators willing to scrutinize their personal attitudes and behavior as well as the policies and practices of their institutions. . . . One more level on which this book spoke to me [is] a more personal level. . . . We must make a commitment to what the authors call ′′newsmaking′′: reaching out beyond our own circles to get alternative messages heard by as many people as possible. . . . And therein lies, I suppose, the book′s ultimate value: what we have here is a testament to the fact that the personal is political. That old feminist adage has been quoted so often and is on so many bumper stickers that the words sound hollow much of the time. I want to take this opportunity to thank Martin D. Schwartz and Walter S. DeKeseredy for reinvigorating it--and me." --from the Foreword by Claire M. Renzetti, St. Joseph′s University, Philadelphia For many coeds, the college campus life experience is marred by traumatic experiences of sexual assault. While there are many social determinants of rape and attempted rape, Sexual Assault on the College Campus examines the pivotal role of male peer support in legitimizing woman abuse. Written in an approachable style and completely grounded in the scientific research literature, this book provides enlightening discussions on the relationship of sexual assault to factors such as alcohol, deterrence, and fraternities. Authors Martin D. Schwartz and Walter S. DeKeseredy advance an original theory on male peer support and its role in supporting sexual assault using extensive prior studies and investigations they′ve conducted, including a national representative study and local campus victimization surveys. Combining a firm political stand with important research findings in a highly readable format, Sexual Assault on the College Campus provides essential reading for academics, researchers, criminologists, social workers, mental health professionals, and college administrators. It will also educate students in courses that wish to make the connection between their college environment and sociology, criminology, criminal justice, women′s studies, psychology, family studies, and counseling.
A comprehensive and up-to-date synthesis of what is currently known about the causes of rape. Professor Ellis summarizes three theories and provides evidence both for and against specific hypotheses resulting from each.
Winner of the 2022 Association for the Rhetoric of Science, Technology, and Medicine (ARSTM) Book Award Winner of the 2022 Winifred Bryan Horner Outstanding Book Award from the Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition What It Feels Like interrogates an underexamined reason for our failure to abolish rape in the United States: the way we communicate about it. Using affective and feminist materialist approaches to rhetorical criticism, Stephanie Larson examines how discourses about rape and sexual assault rely on strategies of containment, denying the felt experiences of victims and ultimately stalling broader claims for justice. Investigating anti-pornography debates from the 1980s, Violence Against Women Act advocacy materials, sexual assault forensic kits, public performances, and the #MeToo movement, Larson reveals how our language privileges male perspectives and, more deeply, how it is shaped by systems of power—patriarchy, white supremacy, ableism, and heteronormativity. Interrogating how these systems work to propagate masculine commitments to “science” and “hard evidence,” Larson finds that US culture holds a general mistrust of testimony by women, stereotyping it as “emotional.” But she also gives us hope for change, arguing that testimonies grounded in the bodily, material expression of violation are necessary for giving voice to victims of sexual violence and presenting, accurately, the scale of these crimes. Larson makes a case for visceral rhetorics, theorizing them as powerful forms of communication and persuasion. Demonstrating the communicative power of bodily feeling, Larson challenges the long-held commitment to detached, distant, rationalized discourses of sexual harassment and rape. Timely and poignant, the book offers a much-needed corrective to our legal and political discourses.
Powerfully written and theoretically grounded, Me Too, Feminist Theory, and Surviving Sexual Violence in the Academy collects a range of perspectives from sexual assault survivors with backgrounds in academia. The contributors in this collection connect their experiences of sexual violence to their research and work within the academy as well as their lives outside of it. Contributors analyze the events surrounding their experiences with sexual violence as well as the cultural, social, and political effects. Their analyses are located within discussions of recent cultural events and the larger contexts of race, ethnicity, class, age, gender, sexuality, region, and nation.
Chapter 4 of this book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license via link.springer.com. This edited collection explores the agency of women who do violence and have violence done to them. Topics covered include rape, pornography, prostitution, suicide bombing and domestic violence. The volume contributes to the philosophical and theoretical debate, as well as offering practical, social and political responses to the issues examined.
