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Constituting the Violence of Criminalized Wornen: Not Bad, Mad Or Victim Rvill Suffice

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Constituting the Violence of Criminalized Wornen: Not Bad, Mad Or Victim Rvill Suffice Constituting the Violence of Criminalized Wornen: Not Bad, Mad or Victim rvill Suffice By Salena Brickey A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Sociology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of VIASTER OF ARTS Department of Sociology University of Manitoba 'Winnipeg, Manitoba @ December,2004 THE UNTVERSITY OF MANITOBA FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES ?ttrrt*2t COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Constituting the Violence of Criminalized Women: Not Bad, Mad or Victim will Suffice BY Salena Brickey A ThesisÆracticum submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the degree Master Of Arts Salena Brickey @ 2004 Permission has been granted to the Library of the University of Manitoba to lend or sell copies of this thesis/practicum, to the National Library of Canada to microfilm this thesis and to lend or sell copies of the film, and to University Microfilms Inc. to publish an abstract of this thesis/practicum. This reproduction or copy of this thesis has been made available by authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research, and may only be reproduced and copied as permitted by copyright laws or with express written authorization from the copyright owner. Abstract Crimnaltzed women who engage in violence have been variously constituted in academic and popular discourses as 'bad,' 'mad' and/or 'victims.' Drawing on 17 in- depth interviews with criminalized women, the present study critically examines these competing explanations in terms of (i) the extent to which they are relevant to understanding women's use of violence; and (ii) the extent to which women identify with 'bad,' 'mad' and 'victim' categories in making sense of their violent behaviours. The argument advanced throughout is that each of the dominant discourses, to varying degrees, fails to capture the complexity of women's experiences. More so than the 'bad' and 'mad' discourses, the feminist 'victim' did resonate with the women's accounts. Each of the women interviewed for the present study discussed being victimized in childhood and/or as an adult. As well, the women's narratives illustrated the complex, plural ways in which women's experiences of violence and abuse connect to their own use of violence. Nevertheless, this study highlights that a range of contextual factors, including but not limited to conditions of patriarchy, are key to explaining why women choose to respond to particular situations with violence. Regarding the extent to which criminalized women identify with'victirr¡' 'bad' and 'mad' categories, the women interviewed for the present study deployed multiple and often contradictory categories in making sense of their experiences. Some of the women identified themselves unambiguously as victims, while others represented themselves as both victims and perpetrators of violence, and/or as both victims and angry women. Moreover, some women purposefully adopted the 'bad' label, but they did so only in particular contexts and at the same time as identifying with other, contrary labels. These findings suggest that none ofthe discourses alone - not 'victirr¡' 'bad' or 'mÃd'- will suf,fice. As suc[ moving discussions of women's violence forward involves recognizing that women perpetrate violence in diverse and complex contexts, and that women draw on multiple discursive constructions in articulating how they understand their violent behaviour. Acknowledgements As the thesis process draws to a close, I am grateful for the opportunity to extend thanks to the many people who have supported me throughout this process. For all of her efforts and support,I thank my advisor, Elizabeth Comack. Though it has only been a few years since we met, I feel as if Elizabeth and I have had a long history together. Elizabeth introduced me to the issue of women's violence and to feminist theory while I was doing my undergraduate coursework. Following that, she encouraged me to pwsue a graduate degree in sociology. As my mentor and advisor, Elizabeth invited me to present with her at two conferences (and to an unforgettable Fernwood party in Halifax!), and taught me a great deal about the art of writing. Special thanks are also due to my committee members, Susan Prentice and Janice Ristock. I am especially grateful to Susan for helping me through my struggles with how to conclude the thesis, and to Janice for her comments around how to better incorporate postmodern insights throughout the analysis chapters. In our meeting after the defence, I was truly overwhelmed by the support that I received from my committee. I also want to acknowledge that this research was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and to thank the University of Manitoba for supporting my graduate work through a University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship and the Clarence Bogardus Memorial Scholarship. There are many family members and friends who deserve special mention. To my parents, Susan, Steve and Rodney - I am deeply grateful for all that you have done to support me in my academic endeavours. Thanks expressly to Rodney for his encouragement and for introducing me to the wonders of his sociological imagination at lll an early age. A special thanks is due to my dear sister and best friend, Mandy for her unconditional love and support. As well, I want to thank my friends and colleagues Linda, Peter, Tracey, Cynthia and Sharon, and the little ones who bring so much joy to my life Emm4 Spencer, Tuck and Sam. Thanks also to my partner, Jamie. Writing this thesis proved to be incredibly challenging, and I am endlessly grateful to Jamie for his friendship, humour and tireless support. Lastly, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the women whose stories are told here. I have learned a great deal from the women's accounts of their experiences; for me, sharing their stories has been the most rewarding and meaningful aspect of doing this work. lv Contents Abstract ..................... i Acknowledgements.......... ......... iii I Introduction ..................1 Feminism and the Issue of Women's Violence... ..........3 Organization of the Thesis ....... 11 2 Women's Violence: SubstantÍve and Theoretical Concerns .........15 The Extent and Nature of Women's Crime: Consulting the Offrcial Statistics... .........16 The 'Typical' Woman in Conflict with the Law.......... ..............., 19 Are Women Men's Equals in Violence?............... ......22 Feminist Qualitative Research: Constituting the 'Woman in Trouble' ..........26 Theoretical Concerns: The Material and the Discursive................................32 Materialist Feminism and Intersectionality Theory...... ..........33 Postmodern Perspectives : Discursive Constructions and Multiple Identities ........36 Concluding Remarks... .............41 3 Epistemological and Methodological Concerns. ...........44 Standpoint Feminist Epistemology............. ................44 Women's Standpoints as Sites for Materialist and Postmodern Analyses......47 Enter the Present Study ...........49 Research Questions ............50 Methodological Approach........... ...,....52 The Participants.......... .......54 Analyzing the Women's Accounts............... ........57 4 The Victimized Woman of Feminist Discourse .............. ...............60 The Nature and Impact of V/omen's Victimization Experiences....... ............64 Childhood Experiences: Violence,Yictimization and Broken Families .. 65 Dating and Partner Violence: Transitioning from Childhood to Adulthood ......67 The Feminist Discourse and the Women's Narratives .................................. 69 VictimizationandViolence:MakingtheConnections......... ........70 Deanne's S1ory......... ..........70 Rita's Story....,... ................73 Liz's Story ........77 Linda's Story ....79 Drawing the Connections Between Victimization and Vio lence ............. 8 1 Finding Fractures: Tensions and Contradictions in the Victim ldentity......... 83 Cynthia's Story ..................83 Constituting Violent Women as Victims ...........-........86 5 Constituting Yiolent Women as Bad: From Lombroso to Pearson .........,.....91 The Road from Lombroso to Pearson is Surprisingly Straight .....92 Contextualizing Women's Vio1ence............... ............96 Violence and the Street: Working in the Sex Trade and Crack Cocaine .. 97 Jennifer's Story........ ..........98 Cheryl's Story........ .......... 104 Intersections: Gender, Race and C1ass........ ........ 108 Finding Fractures: Tensions and Contradictions in the Bad Identity........... 111 Sharon's Story ................. 111 Kelly's S1ory......... ........... 116 Constituting Violent'Women as Bad .......120 6 The Mad Woman: Locating Women's Violence in Psychological Terms.... 123 Women and the 'Psy' Discourse .......... ...124 Criminalized Women are Madder Still .......... .....126 E4plaining Women's Violence in Psychological Terms ............ 130 Resisting the 'Psy' Labels ................. 131 Emily's Story........ ........... 131 Finding Fractures: More Angry than 'Mad' .............. 137 Mandy's Story ................. 138 Women's Anger and Expressive Violence............... ............144 Angela's Story .................146 Constituting Violent Women as 'Mad' .... 151 7 Conclusion ................. 155 Shifting the Terrain: Complex Contexts and Fractured ldentities................ 156 Not'Bad,' 'Mad'or'Victim' will Sufüce ................ 164 Concluding Remarks ......166 References ...........
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