The Politics of Surviving: How Women Navigate Domestic Violence and Its Aftermath

For women who have experienced domestic violence, proving that you are a "good victim" is no longer enough. Victims must also show that they are recovering, as if domestic violence were a disease: they must transform from "victims" into "survivors." Women's access to life-saving resources may even hinge on "good" performances of survivorhood. Through archival and ethnographic research, Paige L. Sweet reveals how trauma discourses and coerced therapy play central roles in women's lives as they navigate state programs for assistance. Sweet uses an intersectional lens to uncover how "resilience" and "survivorhood" can become coercive and exclusionary forces in women's lives. With nuance and compassion, The Politics of Surviving wrestles with questions about the gendered nature of the welfare state, the unintended consequences of feminist mobilizations for anti-violence programs, and the women who are left behind by the limited forms of citizenship we offer them.


Author: Paige Sweet
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 11/09/2021
Pages: 340
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.90d
ISBN13: 9780520377714
ISBN10: 0520377710
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Feminism & Feminist Theory
- Family & Relationships | Abuse | Domestic Partner Abuse
- Social Science | Women's Studies

About the Author
Paige L. Sweet is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan.