Synopses & Reviews
When we discuss violent acts committed by women, our responses are almost always rooted in deeply gendered assumptions about women. We express surprise and shock that a woman could be capable of such an act—a reaction that relies on a long history of unspoken assumptions about what is proper behavior for a woman.
With Beyond Mothers, Monsters, Whores, Caron Gentry and Laura Sjoberg apply the understanding afforded by that lens to individual violence in global politics. The authors begin by demonstrating the crucial interdependence of the individual and international levels of global politics in the lives of violent women—but they then show how this interdependence is inaccurately depicted, or ignored altogether, in public, political, or media discussions of women’s violence. An eye-opening exploration of a major topic in the study of global conflict and women’s lives, Beyond Mothers, Monsters, Whores will be essential for both scholars and activists.
Synopsis
Gender is not a 'security issue', but it tells us a lot about how, why and when certain subjects are written as security concerns. Thirteen case studies on violent subjects, reason, and emotion demonstrate different ways in which we understand political violence, security, resistance, power, and agency, and how we make sense of gender.
About the Author
LINDA ÅHÄLL Sessional tutor at the University of Warwick, UK. Her research focuses on gender, agency and political violence as part of critical security studies and critical IR theory.
LAURA J. SHEPHERD Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Her publications include Gender, Violence and Popular Culture: Telling Stories (edited), Gender, Violence and Security: Discourse as Practice, and Gender Matters in Global Politics: A Feminist Introduction to International Relations (edited).
Table of Contents
Rethinking Gender, Agency and Political Violence;
L.J.ShepherdPART I: VIOLENT SUBJECTS
Masculinity, Militarism and Popular Culture: The Warrior Superhero in Hollywood; L.CroweMasculinities, Pain and Power: Gendering Experiences of Truth Sharing in Northern Ireland; L.White(Re)Masculinizing Security? Gender and Private Military and Security Companies; J.Joachim & A.SchneikerThe Gender of Resistance: A Case Study Approach to Thinking about Gender in Violent Resistance Movements; G.Gonzalez, M.Kimmel, F.Malekahmadi & J.TyagiPART II: REASON/RATIONALITY
Power and Gendered Rationality in Western Epistemic Constructions of Female Suicide Bombings; T.NarozhnaAssassins, Virgins, Scholars: Epistemologies and Geopolitics in Scholarly Knowledge on Suicide Bombing; C.BrunnerFrom Snipers to Suicide Attacks: Exploring the Representations and Realities of Conflict in the Northern Caucasus; C.MooreGendered Agency in Contested Truths: The Case of Hyunhee Kim (KAL858); S.Park-KangPART III: EMOTION/EMOTIONALITY
Ungendering the Links between Emotions and Violence: Towards a Political Appreciation of Empathy and Compassion; E.Hutchison & R.BleikerConfusion, Fear, Disgust: Emotional Communication in Representations of Female Agency in Political Violence; L.ÅhällHeartfelt Positivity as an Orthogonal Approach to Gender, Agency and Political Violence: Reading Stormheart; E.Penttinen