Theorizing Gender Violence introduces students to critical sociological theories used to understand and respond to gender violence. The text emphasizes feminist theory and demonstrates how other theories have supported, challenged, and expanded upon feminist theory to shape and enrich various approaches to and perspectives regarding the subject.
The text examines multiple types of gender violence, including physical, psychological, emotional, and sexual, as well as a range of contexts of violence, including domestic violence, campus sexual assault, stalking, and more.
Dedicated chapters examine theories commonly used by researchers and practitioners, including Johnson's typology, male peer support theory, intersectionality, queer theory, ecological frameworks, and routine activities theory. For each, students read a vignette, learn the background of the theory, examine an analysis of the theory, and then engage more deeply with the material through reflection questions, a case example, and a reflection contributed by a scholar in the field.
The text concludes by summarizing the theories, identifying their similarities and differences, and discussing the current state and the future of the field.
Theorizing Gender Violence is part of the Cognella Series on Family and Gender-Based Violence, an interdisciplinary collection of textbooks featuring cross-cultural perspectives, cutting-edge strategies and interventions, and timely research on family and gender-based violence.
Sarah Jane Brubaker earned her master's and doctoral degrees in sociology from Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Delaware, respectively. She is an associate professor and the director of the Certificate in Gender Violence Intervention at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Brubaker has received federal and state grants to improve efforts to prevent sexual and domestic violence on college campuses and has given numerous guest lectures on gender violence, hate-motivated violence, and other gender and sexuality issues. She has published her scholarship in a number of peer-reviewed journals and serves as a reviewer for Journal of Marriage and Family, Social Problems, Gender & Society, Violence Against Women, and Feminist Criminology.