Type
Text
Type
Dissertation
Advisor
Forbis, Melissa | Kimmel, Michael | van de Rijt, Arnout | Diedrich, Lisa.
Date
2014-12-01
Keywords
Domestic Partner Violence, Heteronormativity, Inequality, Intimate Partner Violence, LGBT, Queer | Sociology
Department
Department of Sociology.
Language
en_US
Source
This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/11401/76821
Publisher
The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
Format
application/pdf
Abstract
Violence is a not a new social phenomenon--at least, in the sense that violence has occurred throughout history between individuals, within communities, and practiced by institutions. But mainstream sociological studies of violence are all too often studies of men's violence. This project is an attempt to challenge critically the specter of heteronormativity that haunts the theories and praxis of intimate partner violence (IPV). Under this preexisting framework, studies have focused on men's violence against woman and used patriarchy as an explanation (i.e. the unequal distribution of gendered power, with men benefiting). However, I want to know if gender is still relevant theoretically or practically, particularly in cases where the partners are the same-sex or a woman is abusing a man. I ask, " if not gender, what?" This is the study of violence, queered. Within the project, I challenge the notion that patriarchy is a grand theory for explaining violence in relationships and propose a more nuanced conceptual tool. While men's power and/or masculinity as power is important, other sources of privilege are, too--for instance, age, race ethnicity, nationality, or socioeconomic status. I use this critical, feminist intersectional frame to examine not only the prevalence of and risk factors for IPV, but also the structural inequalities in the detection and " treatment" of it: the homophobic, gender-normative, and racist healthcare system and the lacking protections for LGBT individuals and people of color; unequal access to affordable healthcare, the resulting negative health outcomes; and the myriad problematic approaches to educating and training agents of bureaucratic agencies on these issues. The hope is that with new insights from this project, there is a place for macro-level intervention (policy language, training of care providers, funding for specialized program and services, and so on). I demand an approach to ending intimate partner violence that is accountable to the interlocking systems of oppression and privilege, aimed at social justice for all people. | 244 pages
Recommended Citation
Coston, Bethany Marie, "Gender, Power, and Inequality: An Examination of the Causes and Consequences of Queer Intimate Partner Violence" (2014). Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions). 2697.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection/2697