Feeling Trapped: Social Class and Violence against Women

237 Pages·2023·2.357 MB·English

by  James Ptacek

Feeling Trapped
Gender and Justice
Edited by Claire M. Renzetti
This University of California Press series explores how the experiences of offending, vic-
timization, and justice are profoundly influenced by the intersections of gender with other
markers of social location. Cross- cultural and comparative, series volumes publish the best
new scholarship that seeks to challenge assumptions, highlight inequalities, and transform
practice and policy.
1. The Trouble with Marriage: Feminists Confront Law and Violence in India,
by Srimati Basu
2. Caught Up: Girls, Surveillance, and Wraparound Incarceration, by Jerry Flores
3. In Search of Safety: Confronting Inequality in Women’s Imprisonment,
by Barbara Owen, James Wells, Joycelyn Pollock
4. Abusive Endings: Separation and Divorce Violence against Women,
by Walter S. DeKeseredy, Molly Dragiewicz, and Martin D. Schwartz
5. Journeys: Resiliency and Growth for Survivors of Intimate Partner Abuse,
by Susan L. Miller
6. The Chosen Ones: Black Men and the Politics of Redemption, by Nikki Jones
7. Decriminalizing Domestic Violence: A Balanced Policy Approach to Intimate
Partner Violence, by Leigh Goodmark
8. Imperfect Victims: Criminalized Survivors and the Promise of Abolition Feminism,
by Leigh Goodmark
9. Feeling Trapped: Social Class and Violence against Women, by James Ptacek
Feeling Trapped
Social Class and Violence against Women
James Ptacek
University of California Press
University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2023 by James Ptacek
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ptacek, James, author.
Title: Feeling trapped : social class and violence against women /
James Ptacek.
Other titles: Gender and justice series ; 9.
Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press,
[2023] | Series: Gender and Justice ; 9 | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: lccn 2022024996 (print) | lccn 2022024997 (ebook)
| isbn 9780520381605 (cloth) | isbn 9780520381612 (paperback)
| isbn 9780520381629 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Intimate partner violence—United States—Case
studies. | Social classes—United States—Case studies. | Women—
Violence against—United States—Case studies.
Classification: lcc hv6626.2 .p795 2023 (print) | lcc hv6626.2
(ebook) | ddc 362.82/920973—dc23/eng/20220902
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022024996
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022024997
Manufactured in the United States of America
32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To the sixty survivors who told me their stories
and shared their hopes for social change

Contents
Preface ix
1. Conversations with Women about Abuse 1
2. The Hidden Dramas of Masculinity 20
3. Failed Femininity and Psychological Cruelty 43
4. Terror, Fear, and Caution: Physical Violence and Threats 62
5. The Continuum of Sexual Abuse 82
6. Economic Abuse: Control, Sabotage, and Exploitation 100
7. The Emotional Dynamics of Entrapment: Love, Fear,
Anger, Guilt, and Shame 117
8. Separation, Healing, and Justice 139
Conclusion: Intimate Violence as Social Entrapment 165
Notes 181
Bibliography 203
Index 221

Preface
Since the beginning of my career as a sociologist, I have wanted to ex-
amine how social class affects violence against women. While there are
many studies of intimate violence that focus on poverty and the work-
ing class, there are not many that address class in a comparative way, in
terms of class privilege and class disadvantage. I was fortunate to find
sixty women to talk with me about their experiences, including women
from all classes.
I hope this book reveals these stories in all their vividness and com-
plexity. I make extensive use of women’s reflections in developing a col-
lective account of intimate violence. They offer sharp observations on
what is common and what is unique about what they have gone through.
Their insights drive the book. I believe the reader will be moved by their
words, just as I have been.
I am fortunate to have a rich circle of supportive colleagues. Special
thanks go to Donna Coker, Viveka Enander, Walter DeKeseredy, Alesha
Durfee, Raquel Kennedy Bergen, Molly Dragiewicz, Leigh Goodmark,
Kathleen Daly, Joan Pennell, Kersti Yllö, and Mimi Kim. At Suffolk Uni-
versity, Susan Sered and Felicia Wiltz have been most kind.
For many long discussions during the research process, I must also
thank Marta Flanagan, Michele Bograd, Tom Denton, Todd Crosset,
Anne Richmond, Janet Meyer, Kendall Dudley, Carol Plaisted, and Pam
Pacelli.
ix