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This book offers an ethnographic study of the lives of girls in the juvenile justice system. Based on rich, narrative accounts, the girls at the center of the study are viewed as confronted with the power of simultaneous race, class, and gender hierarchies. Through this framework, we see how the girls navigate this challenge by seeking status in their everyday lives: in their families; juvenile justice institutions; and neighborhood organizations, including gangs. Through analyzing the ways that the girls strive for higher social status, this book provokes debate about how policies and programs may be creatively rethought to incorporate this pursuit. Girls and Juvenile Justice offers a glimpse into the hearts, minds, and souls of adolescent girls. It will be of great interest for scholars of criminal justice, sociology, women's studies, and social-psychology.
List of contents
1. Introduction.- 2. Getting Into Place/Gaining Acceptance and Trust.- 3. Getting Into the System: Negotiating Power and Status in the Family.- 4. Horizontal Surveillance and Therapeutic Governance of Institutionalized Girls.- 5. Family Power Struggles After Release.- 6. Navigating Neighborhood Institutions: Gang Involvement.- 7. Conclusion
About the author
Carla P. Davis is Associate Professor of Sociology at Beloit College, USA.
Summary
This book offers an ethnographic study of the lives of girls in the juvenile justice system. Based on rich, narrative accounts, the girls at the center of the study are viewed as confronted with the power of simultaneous race, class, and gender hierarchies. Through this framework, we see how the girls navigate this challenge by seeking status in their everyday lives: in their families; juvenile justice institutions; and neighborhood organizations, including gangs. Through analyzing the ways that the girls strive for higher social status, this book provokes debate about how policies and programs may be creatively rethought to incorporate this pursuit. Girls and Juvenile Justice offers a glimpse into the hearts, minds, and souls of adolescent girls. It will be of great interest for scholars of criminal justice, sociology, women’s studies, and social-psychology.
Additional text
“Girls and Juvenile Justice makes a major contribution to the study of minority adolescent girls and uses the sociological imagination to explore the effects of the greater societal forces of race and gender on youth in correctional settings. Perhaps the book’s greatest strength can be found in its robust theoretical examination. … The author’s clear description of the processes involved in her research (another major strength of the book) also makes it useful for courses in qualitative research methods.” (Leonard A. Steverson, Symbolic Interaction, April 17, 2019)
“The power in this book comes from the periodic interviews that Davis conducts with the girls—she is able to highlight personal experiences while finding common factors. The excerpts from interview lend the book a level of reality—these are not just participants in a study, these are real people who are affected by the justice system.” (Kelli Steinbuck, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 47, 2018)
Report
"Girls and Juvenile Justice makes a major contribution to the study of minority adolescent girls and uses the sociological imagination to explore the effects of the greater societal forces of race and gender on youth in correctional settings. Perhaps the book's greatest strength can be found in its robust theoretical examination. ... The author's clear description of the processes involved in her research (another major strength of the book) also makes it useful for courses in qualitative research methods." (Leonard A. Steverson, Symbolic Interaction, April 17, 2019)
"The power in this book comes from the periodic interviews that Davis conducts with the girls-she is able to highlight personal experiences while finding common factors. The excerpts from interview lend the book a level of reality-these are not just participants in a study, these are real people who are affected by the justice system." (Kelli Steinbuck, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 47, 2018)
