Masculinities and Crime: A Quarter Century of Theory and Research

257 Pages·2018·1.314 MB·English

by  James W. Messerschmidt

Masculinities and Crime
A Quarter Century of
Theory and Research
25th Anniversary Edition
James W. Messerschmidt
University of Southern Maine
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Names:Messerschmidt,JamesW.,author.
Title:Masculinitiesandcrime:aquartercenturyoftheoryandresearch/JamesW.
Messerschmidt,UniversityofSouthernMaine.
Description:25thAnniversaryEdition.|Lanham:Rowman&LittlefieldPublishing
Group,Inc.,[2018]|Revisededitionoftheauthor’sMasculinitiesandcrime,c1993.|
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2018017884(print)|LCCN2018019790(ebook)|ISBN
9781442220393(ebook)|ISBN9781442220379(cloth:alk.paper)|ISBN
9781442220386(pbk.:alk.paper)
Subjects:LCSH:Criminology.|Sexrole.|Masculinity.
Classification:LCCHV6030(ebook)|LCCHV6030.M4732018(print)|DDC364.3/
73—dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2018017884
TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsofAmerican
NationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary
Materials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Contents
ForewordtotheAnniversaryEdition v
Acknowledgments ix
IntroductiontotheAnniversaryEdition xi
SectionI:Theory
1 StructuredActionTheory 3
SectionII:CrimeinHistory
2 RacistLynchers 25
3 ReformedHustler 41
SectionIII:YouthViolenceandNonviolence
4 AssaultiveViolence:LennyandPerry 61
5 SexualViolence:SamandZack 85
6 NonviolentBoys:JerryandDennis 105
7 AssaultiveGirls:TinaandKelly 129
SectionIV:CorporateandPoliticalCrime
8 MurderousManagers 151
9 PerilousPresidents 167
Conclusion 191
Notes 213
iii
iv Contents
References 219
Index 231
AbouttheAuthor 241
Foreword to the Anniversary Edition
Whatcanonesay abouttheanniversaryedition of aresearchclassic, except
thatitisstillaclassic?WhenJamesMesserschmidtwrotethefirstversion,a
quarter of a century ago, its importance was immediately apparent. In the
forewordtothatfirstedition,Iexpressedthehopethatthebookwouldgaina
wide readership. That wish has certainly been fulfilled. Masculinities and
Crimehas beenwidely read,widely cited,andbuilt onbyother researchers.
Ithasprovednotonlyaformativetextforanemergingfieldwithincriminol-
ogy,buthasbecomeapointofreferenceinthedevelopmentofmasculinities
researchingeneral.
Ithinkthebookhashadthisimpactbecauseitmadethreegreatcontribu-
tions.First,itaddressedhead-onacentralproblemofcriminology,theunde-
niablefactthatthegreatmajorityofcriminalacts,includingactsofviolence,
aredonebymenratherthanwomen.Sometimesignored,sometimesuneasily
acknowledged in mainstream criminology, the problem lingered until Mes-
serschmidt brought the tools of sophisticated gender analysis to bear on it,
andgavetheproblemanewshape.
Second,MasculinitiesandCrimebroughttogethertheempiricalevidence
about masculinized crime, and showed its previously unperceived shape.
Thereisnotacategoricalgenderdifference,atendencyofmeningeneralto
violence or criminality. But criminal behavior is not random with respect to
gender,either.Ittakesspecificshapesthatmakesensewhenapproachedina
new way. Messerschmidt made the crucial leap of seeing that criminal acts
canbeunderstoodnot as emanationsof apreexisting,fixed masculinity,but
aswaysofconstructingmasculinityintheongoinglivesofboys,youths,and
men.
Thiswasthekeytothebook’sthirdgreatcontribution.Masculinitiesand
Crimeofferedacoherenttheoreticalframeworkforunderstandingthissetof
v
vi ForewordtotheAnniversaryEdition
issues. It recognized the diversity of masculinities, but also recognized the
relations among them. It dealt with different kinds of criminal acts, but also
saw the common logic at work in them. It drew on recent developments in
sociological theory and gender analysis, without losing touch with the raw
material of criminology. All that made it a qualitative leap forward in the
understandingofitstopic.
In preparing a second edition, Messerschmidt might have been content
with some minor polishing. In fact he has given us a major update, combin-
ing the insights of the original with a stack of new evidence and theory. In
the years between, he has been immensely productive as a researcher, and
fourdimensionsofthisworkarepresentinthenewedition.
The first is Messerschmidt’s continuing work on the theoretical frame-
work of his analyses. He has developed and refined the structured action
theory proposed in the 1990s, which builds on ethnomethodology and soci-
ological theories of action. At the same time it is firmly anchored in an
accountof socialstructure,treatingboth relationalanddiscursive structures.
Section1ofthebookgivesusthemostrecentdevelopmentofthispowerful
approachtogender,andacarefulexpositionofthekeyconceptofhegemonic
masculinity.
NextisMesserschmidt’sworkonthehistoricaldimensionofmasculinity
andcrime.Section2givesustwocasestudiesofthisproblem,bothcentering
ontheinterplayofraceandgender,thoughindifferentperiodsofUShistory.
The stomach-churning brutality of post–Civil War lynchings is difficult to
respond to; Messerschmidt helps us understand the violence by showing the
masculinity politics at work. His case study of Malcolm X, by contrast,
shows how a different kind of gendered politics, here in the context of the
Nation of Islam movement, may actually reverse a conventional criminal
trajectory. Thesestudies deployanintersectional approach, giving weight to
raceandsexualityintheconstitutionofmasculinities.
MuchofMesserschmidt’sresearchintheinterveningyearshasconcerned
youth, and he has made extensive and subtle use of life-history interview
method. Section 3 of the book gives us eight detailed and vivid case studies
fromhiswork with youngpeople. They are involved in different patternsof
violencethroughwhichforms of masculinitymaybeconstructed:assaultive
violence, sexual violence, and nonviolence. Messerschmidt treats nonvio-
lence not as a lack or absence, but importantly as a positive form of social
practice(andthatisjusthowGandhithoughtofit).Healsograppleswiththe
fraughtquestionofcriminalbehaviorthatseemstocontradictgendernorms,
in this case interpersonal violence by young women. These are all splendid
casestudiesthatshowboththeboldoutlinesandtheintricatedetailsofhow
youthfulmasculinitiesandfemininitiesaremade.
Messerschmidt has done pioneering work investigating masculinity, not
just as a configuration of practice in personal life, but also as a pattern in
ForewordtotheAnniversaryEdition vii
organizationallifeandpublic,mediatedspaces.Section4givesustwoexam-
ples. One, a striking study from his earlier research, concerns how gender
dynamicsin anorganization canleadto murderous collectivedecision-mak-
ing.Herethetensionbetweenmanagerialandprofessionalmasculinitiesisat
theheartofthestory.
The other, from Messerschmidt’s most recent research, concerns the dis-
cursiveconstructionofmasculinityinthepublicdomain.Hemakesadistinc-
tionbetweenhegemonicanddominantmasculinities,asignificantadvancein
understandingthevexedquestionofmasculinitiesincontextsofelitepower.
He examines the public language of the US presidents George W. Bush and
BarackObama,andthewaythatgenderedimageryandself-presentationwas
linked with US military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Messer-
schmidtheroicallyrestrainshimselffromcommentonDonaldTrump.Iurge
readers to pay close attention to his documentation of the continuities be-
tweenBushandObama.
The development of knowledge about the relation between masculinities
and crime is, like any other research field, a collective enterprise. Many
hands are involved in the work. In the concluding chapter of this book,
Messerschmidt makes generous acknowledgment of this fact. He discusses
some of the key studies by other researchers—since the first publication of
Masculinities and Crime—that have pushed our understanding of the issues
ahead.Thescopehaswidenedglobally,andthetypesofcrimeandthesocial
contextsstudiedarenowmuchmorediverse.Itistremendouslyencouraging
to see the wealth of new understanding and the talent of researchers who
havecomeintothisfield.
Messerschmidt’s contribution to these developments has been central,
and Masculinities and Crime specifically has played a pivotal role. I am
delightedtoseethisnewedition,itselfrepresentinganimportantadvancein
the field, and to celebrate the author’s achievement—both in the original
work, and in continuing to open up new perspectives on such important
issues.
RaewynConnell,Sydney

Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I am indebted to Raewyn Connell for her support of my
work during the last twenty-eight years. I have known Raewyn since 1991
andconsiderhertobeafriendandmentor.Ifitwasn’tforRaewyn’sworkon
masculinities—andinitiallyherpath-breakingbookGenderandPower—the
first edition of Masculinities and Crime would never have been written.
GenderandPowerhadconsiderableinfluenceonme(aswellasmanyother
scholarsworldwide),andIhavebenefitedhugelyfromRaewyn’sintellectual
advice and comradeship over the years. Additionally, I extend my heartfelt
thanks to Raewyn for her kindhearted and thoughtful foreword to both edi-
tionsofthisbook.
As always, the Access and Interlibrary Loan Services librarians at the
University of Southern Maine’s Glickman Family Library have been an es-
sentialcomponentof my research. I thankin particularPat Preito—whohas
always been unwavering in helping me obtain important sources of scholar-
ship—aswellasWilliamSargentIII,ZipKellogg,JohnPlante,GregStowe,
andLoraineLowell.
Finally, I wish to extend considerable appreciation to the entire staff at
Rowman & Littlefield—my favorite publisher!—but especially to Sarah
Stanton(myfavoriteacquisitionseditor!),CourtneyPackard(editorialassist-
ant),JaniceBraunstein(productioneditor),andKathyDvorsky(copyeditor).
Most of all thanks to Ulla, Erik, and Jan—the most important people in
mylife!
ix