This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Mikel Brown, L. Articles by Stein, N. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mikel Brown, L. Articles by Stein, N. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Patriarchy Matters

Toward a Gendered Theory of Teen Violence and Victimization

Colby College

Meda Chesney-Lind

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Nan Stein

Wellesley College

This article explores the role that the sex–gender system plays in shaping both the violence and victimization of girls. Taking first the issue of girls' violence, the article argues that steep increases in girls' arrests are not the product of girls becoming more like boys. Instead, forms of girls' minor violence that were once ignored are now being criminalized. Shifting gears, the article explores how "gender-neutral" relabeling of girls' victimization in schools, a site of much violence against girls, is extremely problematic. Renaming "sexual harassment" as "bullying" tends to psychopathologize gender violence while simultaneously stripping girl victims of powerful legal rights and remedies. To illustrate this latter point, a "model" antibullying program, The Bullying Prevention Program, is reviewed. Offering a one-size-fits-all view of bullying, it assumes all bullying can be approached psychologically or relationally, thereby minimizing the structural underpinnings of such behavior.

Key Words: bullying • gendered violence • girls' violence • girls' victimization

References

• Acoca, L. (1999). Investing in girls: A 21st century challenge. Juvenile Justice, 6(1), 3-13.
• Adams, N. (1999). Fighting to be somebody: Resisting erasure and the discursive practices of female adolescent fighting. Educational Studies, 30, 115-139.
• Adams, N. (2001, April). Girl power: The discursive practices of female fighters and female cheerleaders. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Seattle, WA.
• Ahmad, Y., & Smith, P.K. (1994). Bullying in schools and the issue of sex differences. In J. Archer (Ed.), Male violence (pp. 70-83). New York: Routledge.
• American Association of University Women Foundation and Harris Interactive. (2001). Hostile hallways II: Bullying, teasing and sexual harassment in school. Washington, DC: Author.
• American Bar Association and the National Bar Association. (2001). Justice by gender: The lack of appropriate prevention, diversion and treatment alternatives for girls in the justice system. Chicago: Author.
• Baker, C. (2004). Race, class and sexual harassment in the 1970s. Feminist Studies, 30(1), 7-27.[Web of Science]
• Bartollas, C. (1993). Little girls grown up: The perils of institutionalization. In C. Culliver (Ed.), Female criminality: The state of the art (pp. 469-482). New York: Garland.
• Belknap, J., Dunn, M., & Holsinger, K. (1997). Moving toward juvenile justice and youth-serving systems that address the distinct experience of the adolescent female. Gender Specific Work Group report to the governor. Columbus, OH: Office of Criminal Justice Services.
• Best, J. (2002, Summer). Monster hype. Education Next, pp. 51-55.
• Blumstein, A., & Wallman, J. (2000). The crime drop in America. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Bogart, K., & Stein, N. (1987). Breaking the silence: Sexual harassment in education. Peabody Journal of Education, 64(4), 146-163.
• Bordo, S. (1993). Unbearable weight: Feminism, western culture and the body. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Brake, D. (1999). The cruelest of the gender police: Student-to-student sexual harassment and anti-gay peer harassment under Title IX. Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law, 1(37), 37-108.
• Brown, L.M. (1998). Raising their voices: The politics of girls' anger. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Brown, L.M. (2003). Girlfighting: Betrayal and rejection among girls. New York: New York University Press.
• Bureau of Criminal Information and Analysis. ( 1999). Report on arrests for domestic violence in California, 1998. Sacramento: State of California, Criminal Justice Statistics Center.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ( 1992-2002). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 1991-2001. Atlanta, GA: Author.
• Chesney-Lind, M., & Belknap, J. (2004). Trends in delinquent girls' aggression and violent behavior: A review of the evidence. In M. Putalaz & P. Bierman (Eds.), Aggression, antisocial behavior and violence among girls: A development perspective (pp. 203-222). New York: Guilford.
• Chesney-Lind, M., & Irwin, K. (2004). From badness to meanness: Popular constructions of contemporary girlhood. In A. Harris (Ed.), All about the girl: Culture, power, and identity (pp. 45-58). New York: Routledge.
• Connell, R.W. (1987). Gender and power: Society, the person and sexual politics. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
• Connell, R.W. (1995). Masculinities. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Currie, E. (1998). Crime and punishment. New York: Metropolitan.
• Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999).
• Debold, E., Brown, L., Weseen, S., & Brookings, G.K. (1999). Cultivating hardiness zones for adolescent girls: A reconceptualization of resilience in relationships with caring adults. In N. Johnson, M. Roberts, & J. Worell (Eds.), Beyond appearance: A new look at adolescent girls (pp. 181-204). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Dines, G., & Humez, J. M. (Eds.). (1995). Gender, race, and class in media: A text-reader. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Eder, D. (1985). The cycle of popularity: Interpersonal relations among female adolescents. Sociology of Education, 58, 154-165.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
• Eder, D. (1997). Sexual aggression within the school culture. In J. Bank & P. Hall (Ed.), Gender, equity, and schooling: Policy and practice (pp. 93-112). New York: Garland.
• Farley, L. (1978). Sexual shakedown: The sexual harassment of women on the job. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2003). Crime in the United States, 2002. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
• Fine, M., & Macpherson, P. (1992). Over dinner: Feminism and adolescent female bodies. In M. Fine (Ed.), Disruptive voices (pp. 175-203). Albany: State University of New York Press.
• Fineran, S. (1996). Gender issues of peer sexual harassment among teenagers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Chicago.
• Fineran, S., & Bennett, L. (1995, July). Gender and power issues of peer sexual harassment among teenagers. Paper presented at Fourth International Family Violence Research Conference, Durham, NH.
• Fineran, S., & Bennett, L. (1998). Teenage peer sexual harassment: Implications for social work practice in education. Social Work, 43, 55-64.[Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Fineran, S., & Bennett, L. (1999). Gender issues of peer sexual harassment among teenagers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, 626-641.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Finkelhor, D., & Ormrod, R. (2000). Characteristics of crimes against juveniles. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.
• Ford, R. (1998, May 24). The razor's edge. Boston Globe Magazine, pp. 13, 22-28.
• Gilligan, C. (1991). Joining the resistance: Psychology, politics, girls and women. Michigan Quarterly Review, 29, 501-536.
• Glsen. (2004). State of the states, 2004. A policy analysis of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) safer schools issues. New York: Author.
• Greenfeld, L.A., & Snell, T.L. (1999). Women o fenders. Washington DC: Government Printing Office.
• Guido, M. (1998, June 4). In a new twist on equality, girls' crimes resemble boys'. San Jose Mercury, pp. 1B-4B.
• Harms, P. (2002). Detention in delinquency cases, 1989-1998. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
• Harvard Civil Rights Project. (2000, June). Opportunities suspended: The devastating consequences of zero tolerance and school discipline. Report from A National Summit on Zero Tolerance, Washington, DC.
• Hendrix, A. (2003, September 3). "Hill girls" gang preys on women. Police in S.F. surprised by savagery of attacks. San Francisco Chronicle, pp. A1-A3.
• Hey, V. (1997). The company she keeps: An ethnography of girls' friendship. Philadelphia: Open University Press.
• Hoff, J. (1991). Law, gender and injustice: A legal history of U.S. women. New York: New York University Press.
• Human Rights Watch. (2001). Hatred in the hallways: Violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students in U.S. schools. New York: Author.
• Idaho Department of Education. (2003). Idaho Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Retrieved October 24, 2004, from http://www.sde.state.id.us/yrbs
• Kimmel, M. (1987). Changing men: New directions in research on men and masculinity. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
• Kimmel, M. (1996). Manhood in America: A cultural history. New York: Free Press.
• Kimmel, M. (with Aronson, A.). (2000). The gendered society reader. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Kimmel, M. (2001, March 8). Snips and snails... and violent urges. Newsday, pp. A41, A44.
• Lauderback, D., Hansen, J., & Waldorf, D. (1992). Sisters are doin' it for themselves: A Black female gang in San Francisco. Gang Journal, 1, 57-72.
• Leadbeater, B., & Way, N. (Eds.). (1996). Urban girls: Resisting stereotypes, creating identities. New York: New York University Press.
• Lee, V.E., Croninger, R.G., Linn, E., & Chen, X. (1996). The culture of sexual harassment in secondary schools. American Educational Research Journal, 33, 383-417.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Lesko, N. (2000). Masculinities at school. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Lever, J. (1976). Sex differences in the games children play. Social Problems, 23, 478-487.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
• MacKinnon, C. (1979). Sexual harassment of working women: A case of sex discrimination. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
• MacKinnon, C. (2001). Sex equality. New York: Foundation Press.
• Males, M. (2003). Girls' arrest rates in three California counties. Unpublished manuscript.
• Males, M., & Shorter, A. (2001). To cage and serve Unpublished manuscript.
• Merten, D. (1997). The meaning of meanness: Popularity, competition, and conflict among junior high school girls. Sociology of Education, 70, 175-191.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
• Messner, M.A. (1990). Boyhood, organized sports and the construction of masculinities. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 18, 416-444.[Abstract]
• Miller, S. (2004). Sugar and spice and everything nice? The paradox of women's violence in relationships. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
• Morris, M. (2002, June). Black girls on lockdown. Essence, p. 186.
• Nansel, T.R., Overpeck, M., Pilla, R.S., Ruan, W.J., Simons-Morton, B., & Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying behavior among U.S. youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 2094-2100.[CrossRef]
• National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2003). Deadly lessons: Understanding lethal school violence. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
• O'Connor, K. (1980). Women's organizations' use of the courts. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
• Ohye, B., & Henderson Daniel, J. (1999). The "other" adolescent girls: Who are they? In N. Johnson, M. Robert, & J. Worell (Eds.), Beyond appearance: A new look at adolescent girls (pp. 115-129.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
• Olweus, D. (2001). Olweus' core program against bullying and antisocial behavior: A teachers' handbook. Version III. Clemson, SC: Olweus Bullying Prevention Program.
• Olweus, D., Limber, S., & Mihalic, S. (1999). Blueprints for violence prevention: Bullying prevention program. Golden, CO: Venture.
• Orenstein, P. (1994). Schoolgirls: Young women, self-esteem and the confidence gap. New York: Doubleday.
• Perlstein, D. (1998). Saying the unsaid: Girl killing and the curriculum. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 14(1), 88-104.
• Phillips, L. (2000). Flirting with danger: Young women's reflections on sexuality and domination. New York: New York University Press.
• Pleck, J. (1981). The myth of masculinity. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Pollak, O. (1961). The criminality of women. New York: A.S. Barnes.
• Pollock, J.M. (1999). Criminal women. Cincinnati: Anderson.
• Rennison, C., & Rand, M.R. (2003). Criminal victimization, 2002. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
• Robinson, R. (1990). Violations of girlhood: A qualitative study of female delinquents and children in need of services in Massachusetts. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Brandeis University, Boston.
• Russ, H. (2004, February). The war on catfights. City Limits, pp. 19-22.
• Ryan, J. (2003, September 5). Girl gang stirs up false gender issue. Data show no surge in female violence. San Francisco Chronicle, p. A23.
• Savoie, J. (1999). Youth violent crime. Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics: Juristat, 19(13).
• Schwartz, R., & Rieser, L. (2001). Zero tolerance as mandatory sentencing. In W. Ayers, B. Dorhn, & R. Ayers (Eds.), Zero tolerance (pp. 126-135). New York: New Press.
• Shakeshaft, C., Barber, E., Hergenrother, M.A., Johnson, Y., Mandel, L., & Sawyer, J. (1995). Peer harassment in schools. In J. L. Curcio & P. F. First (Eds.), Journal for a just and caring education (pp. 30-44). Thousands Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
• Shakeshaft, C., Barber, E., Hergenrother, M.A., Johnson, Y., Mandel, L., & Sawyer, J. (1997). Boys call me cow. Educational Leadership, 55(2), 22-25.
• Shakeshaft, C., & Mandel, L. (2000). Heterosexism in middle schools. In N. Lesko (Ed.), Masculinities at school (pp. 75-103). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Silverman, J.G., Raj, A., & Clements, K. (2004). Dating violence and associated sexual risk and pregnancy among adolescent girls in the United States. Pediatrics, 114, 220-225.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
• Silverman, J.G., Raj, A., Mucci, L.A., & Hathaway, J.E. (2001). Dating violence against adolescent girls and associated substance use, unhealthy weight control, sexual risk behavior, pregnancy, and suicidality. Journal of the American Medical Association, 286, 572-579.[CrossRef]
• Simpkins, S.B., Hirsch, A.E., Horvat, E., & Moss, M. (2004). The school to prison pipeline for girls: The role of physical and sexual abuse. Journal of Children's Legal Rights, 24(4), 56-72.
• Smart, C. (1976). Women, crime and criminality: A feminist critique. London: Routledge.
• Snyder, H.N., & Sickmund, M. (1999). Juvenile o fenders and victims: 1999 national report (NCJ 178257). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
• Spivak, H., & Prothrow-Smith, D. (2001). The need to address bullying—An important component of violence prevention. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 2131-2132.[CrossRef]
• Stahl, A. (2003). Delinquency cases in juvenile courts. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
• Steffensmeier, D.J., & Steffensmeier, R.H. (1980). Trends in female delinquency: An examination of arrest, juvenile court, self-report, and field data. Criminology, 18, 62-85.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
• Stein, N. (1981). Sexual harassment of high school students: Preliminary research results. Unpublished manuscript, Massachusetts Department of Education, Boston.
• Stein, N. (1992). Secrets in public: Sexual harassment in public (and private) schools (Working Paper 256). Wellesley, MA: Wellesley College Center for Research on Women.
• Stein, N. (1993a). It happens here, too: Sexual harassment and child sexual abuse in elementary and secondary schools. In S. K. Biklen & D. Pollard (Eds.), Gender and education: 92nd yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education (pp. 191-203). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Stein, N. (1993b). No laughing matter: Sexual harassment in K-12 schools. In E. Buchwald, P. R. Fletcher, & M. Roth (Eds.), Transforming a rape culture (pp. 311-331). Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed.
• Stein, N. (1995). Sexual harassment in K-12 schools: The public performance of gendered violence. Harvard Educational Review, 65, 145-162.[Web of Science]
• Stein, N. (1999). Classrooms and courtrooms: Facing sexual harassment in K-12 schools. New York: Teacher's College Press.
• Stein, N. (2001a). Sexual harassment meets zero tolerance: Life in K-12 schools. In W. Ayers, B. Dohrn, & R. Ayers (Eds.), Zero tolerance: Resisting the drive for punishment in our schools (pp. 130-137). New York: New Press.
• Stein, N. (2001b). What a difference a discipline makes: Bullying research and future directions (introduction). Journal of Emotional Abuse, 2(2/3), 1-5.
• Stein, N. (2003). Bullying or sexual harassment? The missing discourse of rights in an era of zero tolerance. Arizona Law Review, 45, 783-799.
• Stein, N., Tolman, D., Porche, M., & Spencer, R. (2002). Gender safety: A new concept for safer and more equitable schools. Journal of School Safety, 1(2), 35-50.
• Thornberry, T.R., & Krohn, M.D. (2000). The self-report method for measuring delinquency and crime. In Criminal justice: Measurement and analysis of crime and justice (Vol. 4, pp. 33-83). Retrieved October 14, 2004, from http://www.ojp.uddog.gov/NIJ/criminal_justice2000/Vol4_2000.html
• Thorne, B. (1989). Girls and boys together... but mostly apart: Gender arrangements in elementary school. In M. S. Kimmel & M. A. Messner (Eds.), Men's lives (pp. 61-73). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
• Thorne, B. (1993). Gender play: Girls and boys in school. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
• Tolman, D.L. (2002). Dilemmas of desire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Tolman, D.L., Spencer, R., Rosen-Reynoso, M., & Porche, M.V. (2003). Sowing the seeds of violence in heterosexual relationships: Early adolescents narrate compulsory heterosexuality. Journal of Social Issues, 59, 159-178.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
• Villarruel, F.S., Walker, N.E., Minifee, P., Rivera-Vázquez, O., Peterson, S., & Perry, K. (2002). ¿Dónde está la justicia? A call to action on behalf of Latino and Latina youth in the U. S. justice system. East Lansing: Michigan State University, Institute for Children, Youth, and Families, Building Blocks for Youth.
• Vossekuil, B., Fein, R., Reddy, M., Borum, R., & Modzeleski, W. (2002). Final report and findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the prevention of school attacks in the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
• Ward, J. (2000). The skin we're in: Teaching our children to be emotionally strong, socially smart, spiritually connected. New York: Free Press.
• Way, N. (1995). "Can't you see the courage, the strength that I have?" Listening to urban adolescent girls speak about their relationships. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19, 107-128.[CrossRef][Web of Science]
• Whalen, C., & Whalen, B. (1985). The longest debate: A legislative history of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Washington, DC: Seven Locks Press.

Violence Against Women, Vol. 13, No. 12, 1249-1273 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1077801207310430


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Mikel Brown, L. Articles by Stein, N. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mikel Brown, L. Articles by Stein, N. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?