Overview

In Gender, Heterosexuality, and Youth Violence, James W. Messerschmidt unravels some of the mysteries of teenage violence. Written by one of the most respected scholars on the subject of gendered crime, this book provides a fascinating account of the connections among adolescent masculinities and femininities, bullying in schools, the body, heterosexuality, and violence and nonviolence. After an introduction that lays out key concepts, including a revised structured action theory, Messerschmidt shares six compelling life-histories of white working-class boys and girls who have all been victims of severe forms of bullying at school. The book is unique in its comparative approach between violent and nonviolent youth, between boys and girls as offenders and non-offenders, between assaultive and sexual violence, and among a variety of masculinities and femininities. It also addresses how heterosexuality is related to sex, gender, and certain forms of violence or non-violence. The penetrating life histories are partially drawn from Messerschmid’s previous books Nine Lives and Flesh and Blood, as well as several completely new life-history interviews. The book’s cutting-edge conceptualization of these life histories provides novel insight into the vexing question of youth violence.

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9781442213708

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Reviews

Messerschmidt's timely and thoughtful book relies on life history methods to illuminate patterns that lead boys and girls to become physically or sexually violent or to behave in deliberately nonviolent ways. The book is organized around physical violence, sexual violence, and nonviolence and features a case-study boy and girl for each chapter. Well grounded in feminist criminology, the use of the voices of young men and women makes the theory come alive. In addition to the interesting relationships that Messerschmidt (Univ. of Southern Maine) explores (e.g., the relationship between household and school, gender, adherence to traditional gender role ideologies), he focuses on bullying, especially bullying that punishes gender nonconformity. In light of the attention being paid to bullying, this book provides the after story, in addition to suicide, of which everyone is aware: bullying, especially when it is not interrupted by parental support, leads to physical and sexual violence being perpetrated by the victim of the bullying. Summing Up: Highly recommended. CHOICE Most research on youth and crime emphasize the categorical differences among various violent crimes. In his unsparing yet sympathetic analysis, James Messerschmidt lays out a continuum of youth violence that embraces everything from schoolyard bullying to sexual assault. By focusing on commonalities, while remaining sensitive to important differences, Messerschmidt reframes the issue, and thus sets a new agenda for social scientists and criminologists for decades to come. -- Michael Kimmel, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Stony Brook University Sexuality has been largely closeted in criminological theory until now. In this book, Messerschmidt centers sexuality and hetero-normativity in theorizing boys' and girls' use of assaultive and sexual violence. These six life histories of adolescent male and female offenders reveal the interwoven social constructions of gender, sexuality, bodies, and context in life paths that produce repeated violent or sexual offenses. The findings underline the inadequacy of gender analyses alone. Sexuality and the body must be brought into the picture and Messerschmidt leads the way. -- Nancy Jurik, Arizona State University Where questions about crime meet with questions about gender, power, youth and social change, James Messerschmidt is one of our most creative researchers. In this new book, with closely observed case studies of young people's lives, he takes us inside the dilemmas of making masculinity and femininity, with growing bodies that are often far from the plastic-doll norms of mass culture. He shows us how violence and sexual abuse may arise in both expected and unexpected ways. For anyone concerned with youth crime, with gender justice, or with the epidemic of bullying in schools, this book will be of great value. -- Raewyn Connell, University of Sydney, author of Masculinities Messerschmidt's comparisons between boys and girls are an important addition to current gender scholarship, which overwhelmingly examines either boys and men or girls and women. The first two chapters of the book offer an overview of the fields of gender, sexuality, and criminology that will be invaluable for those unfamiliar with the fields American Journal of Sociology

Sexuality has been largely closeted in criminological theory until now. In this book, Messerschmidt centers sexuality and hetero-normativity in theorizing boys' and girls' use of assaultive and sexual violence. These six life histories of adolescent male and female offenders reveal the interwoven social constructions of gender, sexuality, bodies, and context in life paths that produce repeated violent or sexual offenses. The findings underline the inadequacy of gender analyses alone. Sexuality and the body must be brought into the picture and Messerschmidt leads the way.--Jurik, Nancy

Most research on youth and crime emphasize the categorical differences among various violent crimes. In his unsparing yet sympathetic analysis, James Messerschmidt lays out a continuum of youth violence that embraces everything from schoolyard bullying to sexual assault. By focusing on commonalities, while remaining sensitive to important differences, Messerschmidt reframes the issue, and thus sets a new agenda for social scientists and criminologists for decades to come. -- Kimmel, Michael Sexuality has been largely closeted in criminological theory until now. In this book, Messerschmidt centers sexuality and hetero-normativity in theorizing boys' and girls' use of assaultive and sexual violence. These six life histories of adolescent male and female offenders reveal the interwoven social constructions of gender, sexuality, bodies, and context in life paths that produce repeated violent or sexual offenses. The findings underline the inadequacy of gender analyses alone. Sexuality and the body must be brought into the picture and Messerschmidt leads the way. -- Jurik, Nancy

Author Information

James W. Messerschmidt is professor of sociology and chair of the criminology department at the University of Southern Maine, where he also teaches in the women's and gender studies program. He is the author or coauthor of a number of books, including Masculinities and Crime and Criminology.

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