Growing Up Good: Policing the Behaviour of Girls in Europe - Hardcover

9780803980211: Growing Up Good: Policing the Behaviour of Girls in Europe

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803980213 ISBN 13: 9780803980211

Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd, 1989

Recipient of the Sellin-Glueck Award at the 1988 American Society of Criminology Meetings What role do stereotypes play in shaping the personalities and lifestyles of girls? And, what causes girls who depart from the social norm to choose such lifestyles as prostitution or drug abuse? Maureen Cain provides an international investigation--using ten European countries as her focus--of the types of gendered behavior imposed on girls and the ways in which they are policed by their country′s criminal justice system. Theories are developed which seek to understand girls′ aspirations and suggestions are put forth to help girls with their very real and concrete problems. In their wide-ranging discussion, the contributors find remarkable similarities among countries with divergent political economies and cultures. Vivid accounts of institutional life and alternative treatment demonstrate the implicit and explicit reinforcement of gender stereotypes, male and female, despite or even because of avowed intentions about equal treatment. This book will be of central interest to students and lecturers in criminology, women′s studies, cultural studies, and related fields, as well as practicing social workers and probation officers. "Its central point--that social workers, the juvenile justice systems, and much of society in Europe still define women and girls in terms of their relationships to males and pressure females into gendered behaviors--is strongly made. Upper-division undergraduates and above." --Choice "The volume is a breakthrough for two reasons. First, the emphasis is on diverse sites of controlling girls: from reputedly ′normal′ dating patterns to experiences in juvenile prison. . . . Second, attention is given to points of difference, but more often, similarity in girls′ experiences in a pan European context. . . . Cain′s introductory essay ′Feminists transgress criminology′ is a major contribution to feminist theorizing. . . . There is much in this book to chew on, reflect, and build upon." --Contemporary Crises "Extremely valuable as a source of ideas for workers in the criminal justice system who would like to experiment with a more ′feminist′ practice with their female clients. This is an important book which will stimulate debate mainly because it brings a much needed comparative perspective to the burgeoning literature on the formal social control of women. Essential reading for feminists, sociologists, social workers, probation officers, criminologists, and senior officials working in the courts and prisons." --The Sociological Review "The common thread running through each of the papers in this volume is the emergent criminalization of female sexuality in many European communities. The authors′ specific concerns in describing interventionist institutions such as the police or the courts′ tendencies toward an over-anxious control of independent expressions of sexuality in adolescent women, are well represented and carefully documented. But more important is the stress they place on the meanings this control has for the girls themselves. . . . The effort here to engage feminist theory and conventional criminology is something for which the authors and editor should be applauded." --NEXUS: Canadian Journal of Anthropology

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Review

`a very welcome contribution... valuable comparative material... a compelling collection of essays on an important subject. As a contribution towards the development of an adequate theory of crime and control, the book has much to offer. It will undoubtedly be useful for students: the style is clear and accessible′ - Sociology

`extremely valuable as a source of ideas for workers in the criminal justice system who would like to experiment with a more `feminist′ practice with their female clients... this is an important book which will stimulate debate mainly because it brings a much needed comparative perspective to the bourgeoning literature on the formal social control of women. Essential reading for feminists, sociologists, social workers, probation officers, criminologists and senior officials working in the courts and prisons. - The Sociological Review

`The volume is a breakthrough′ - Contemporary Crises

`An excellent opening chapter by Lees sets the context of the whole volume.... contains some interesting data and serves to emphasise that ideologies which define girls and women in gendered ways in terms of their sexuality are no respecters of national borders. The book begins and ends exceptionally well, with the chapters by Lees and Hudson tying everything together.... on the whole the book is internally coherent and its contents are accessible enough to be of wide interest, including to practitioners in the field of juvenile welfare, as well as to those with an academic interest in this area.′ - Gender and Education

`this volume makes a most needed contribution to the literature on females and delinquency.... This collection does not claim to have answered all the important questions. However, in posing the questions and in the selected content, researchers in the areas of gender and crime can only benefit in their thinking from reading the contents.′ - Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology

`This collection of papers... is a major contribution to knowledge about girls in the juvenile justice system.... The whole collection is well edited and integrated with an excellent introductory chapter by Maureen Cain, with outstanding linkage and summaries of each of the 12 essays.′ - LCCJ Newsletter

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