Synopses & Reviews
Imagine a more controversial Rosie the Riveterand#8212;a generation older and more outlandish for her time. She was the and#8220;farmeretteand#8221; of the Womanand#8217;s Land Army of America (WLA), doing a manand#8217;s job on the home front during World War I.
From 1917 to 1920 the WLA sent more than twenty thousand urban women into rural America to take over farm work after the men went off to war and food shortages threatened the nation. These women, from all social and economic strata, lived together in communal camps and did what was considered and#8220;menand#8217;s workand#8221;: plowing fields, driving tractors, planting, harvesting, and hauling lumber. The Land Army was a civilian enterprise organized and financed by women. It insisted on fair labor practices and pay equal to male laborersand#8217; wages for its workers and taught women not only agricultural skills but also leadership and management techniques. Despite their initial skepticism, farmers became the WLAand#8217;s loudest champions, and the farmerette was celebrated as an icon of American womenand#8217;s patriotism and pluck.
The WLAand#8217;s short but spirited life foreshadowed some of the most significant social issues of the twentieth century: womenand#8217;s changing roles, the problem of class distinctions in a democracy, and the physiological and psychological differences between men and women.
The dramatic story of the WLA is vividly retold here using long-buried archival material, allowing a fascinating chapter of Americaand#8217;s World War I experience to be rediscovered.
Review
"Meloy and Miller strategically and clearly tackle the complexities and variations in women's victimization through an interdisciplinary lens, making their excellent points with careful documentation and superb 'real life' examples. They appropriately and powerfully take on the media, the police and courts, racism, classism, and anti-feminists. This book will help students think critically about the societal myths, media portrayals, and police and court decisions that blame the victims and exonerate the abusers." --Joanne Belknap, Professor of Sociology, University of Colorado
"This book is essential reading for scholars, students, practitioners and policy makers seeking an in-depth and highly intelligible review of the major debates and controversies surrounding male-to-female violence in the United States. The historical material covered by the authors is especially useful and their scholarship meets the highest disciplinary standards. Undoubtedly, The Victimization of Women makes a very important and much needed contribution to the field." --Walter S. DeKeseredy, Professor of Criminology, Justice and Policy Studies, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
"Drawing on in-depth, offender-based interviews, and analysis of the circumstances surrounding arrests, victimization, and experiences with the criminal justice system, Meloy and Miller explore the unanticipated consequences associated with changes to the laws governing domestic violence and the newer forms of sex-offender legislation." --Law and Social Inquiry
Review
and#8220;A wealth of material that scholars and teachers of U.S. womenand#8217;s history, American agricultural history, and the American experience in World War I will want to have at their fingertips.and#8221;and#8212;
American Historical ReviewReview
and#8220;Weiss effectively chronicles the birth of the WLA movement and the dedicated women behind it. Recommended for both scholarly readers and interested history buffs.and#8221;and#8212;Library Journaland#160;
Review
and#8220;Excellent. . . . A unique look at how World War I changed society.and#8221;and#8212;Booklistand#160;
Review
and#8220;Elaine Weiss has written an important book on an overlooked subject. . . . This engaging account makes not only good reading but also contributes to our understanding of both womenand#8217;s history and the home front during the war.and#8221;and#8212;Jean Baker, Bennett-Harwood Professor of History, Goucher Collegeand#160;
Review
and#8220;Weiss plows through a wide variety of primary sources and produces a bumper crop of determined women, stubborn men, telling anecdotes, and rich details, all part of a surprising and surprisingly moving story of mobilization and organization, patriotism and sexism.and#8221;and#8212;Kathryn Allamong Jacob, curator of manuscripts at the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at the Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University
Review
and#8220;Bravo to Elaine Weiss! She has rescued a fascinating chapter of our history from undeserved obscurity and tells the story of the Womanand#8217;s Land Army of World War I with undeniable verve.and#8221;and#8212;Deborah Dash Moore, Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor of History and director of the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies
and#160;
Synopsis
In The Victimization of Women, Michelle Meloy and Susan Miller present a balanced and comprehensive summary of the most significant research on the victimizations, violence, and victim politics that disproportionately affect women. They examine the history of violence against women, the surrounding debates, the legal reforms, the related media and social-service responses, and the current science on intimate-partner violence, stalking, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape. They augment these victimization findings with original research on women convicted of domestic battery and men convicted of sexual abuse and other sex-related offenses. In these new data, the authors explore the unanticipated consequences associated with changes to the laws governing domestic violence and the newer forms of sex-offender legislation. Based on qualitative data involving in-depth, offender-based interviews, and analyzing the circumstances surrounding arrests, victimizations, and experiences with the criminal justice system, The Victimization of Women makes great strides forward in understanding and ultimately combating violence against women.
About the Author
Michelle L. Meloy is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice at Rutgers University, Camden.
Susan L. Miller is Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. Her recent books include Victims as Offenders: The Paradox of Women's Violence in Relationships, and Criminal Justice Research and Practice: Diverse Voices from the Field.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Drawing the Contours of Victim Dilemmas
3. The Violent Victimization of Women: An Overview of Legal, Empirical and Measurement Issues
4. Media, Gender, and Crime Victims
5. Sexual Victimization: Offenders Speak out about their Victims
6. How Battered Women Lose: Unintended Consequences of Well-Intentioned Legal and Criminal Justice Policies
7. Assessing Where We Are, Where We Should Go and How Best to Get There