Violence as understandable, deserved or unacceptable?: Listening for gender in teenagers' talk about violence

Vanita Sundaram

doi:10.1080/09540253.2013.858110

Violence as understandable, deserved or unacceptable? Listening for gender in teenagers' talk about violence

Vanita Sundaram

Education

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Youth violence is a topic of increasing global concern. Research has primarily
focused on young people’s responses to existing deﬁnitions of violence in
seeking to understand how best to develop violence prevention. Little work has
explored how young people themselves deﬁne violence and the factors which
inﬂuence their acceptance, and use, of violent behaviour. The present study
investigated young people’s understandings of what constitutes violence, their
acceptance of violence and justiﬁcations made for doing so. The study was
distinct in its focus on young people’s characterisations of violence. The ﬁndings
revealed that gender norms mediate understandings of what constitutes violence
and discourses around the perceived acceptability of violence. Particular forms of
violence were clearly identiﬁed as being more acceptable and ‘deserved’ than
others and young people’s perceptions were shaped by their understandings of
appropriate and normative gender behaviour.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	889-906
Number of pages	18
Journal	Gender and Education
Volume	25
Issue number	7
Early online date	12 Dec 2013
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2013.858110
Publication status	Published - 2013

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10.1080/09540253.2013.858110

Cite this

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title = "Violence as understandable, deserved or unacceptable?: Listening for gender in teenagers' talk about violence",

abstract = "Youth violence is a topic of increasing global concern. Research has primarilyfocused on young people{\textquoteright}s responses to existing deﬁnitions of violence inseeking to understand how best to develop violence prevention. Little work hasexplored how young people themselves deﬁne violence and the factors whichinﬂuence their acceptance, and use, of violent behaviour. The present studyinvestigated young people{\textquoteright}s understandings of what constitutes violence, theiracceptance of violence and justiﬁcations made for doing so. The study wasdistinct in its focus on young people{\textquoteright}s characterisations of violence. The ﬁndingsrevealed that gender norms mediate understandings of what constitutes violenceand discourses around the perceived acceptability of violence. Particular forms ofviolence were clearly identiﬁed as being more acceptable and {\textquoteleft}deserved{\textquoteright} thanothers and young people{\textquoteright}s perceptions were shaped by their understandings ofappropriate and normative gender behaviour.",

author = "Vanita Sundaram",

year = "2013",

doi = "10.1080/09540253.2013.858110",

language = "English",

volume = "25",

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journal = "Gender and Education",

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T2 - Listening for gender in teenagers' talk about violence

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AB - Youth violence is a topic of increasing global concern. Research has primarilyfocused on young people’s responses to existing deﬁnitions of violence inseeking to understand how best to develop violence prevention. Little work hasexplored how young people themselves deﬁne violence and the factors whichinﬂuence their acceptance, and use, of violent behaviour. The present studyinvestigated young people’s understandings of what constitutes violence, theiracceptance of violence and justiﬁcations made for doing so. The study wasdistinct in its focus on young people’s characterisations of violence. The ﬁndingsrevealed that gender norms mediate understandings of what constitutes violenceand discourses around the perceived acceptability of violence. Particular forms ofviolence were clearly identiﬁed as being more acceptable and ‘deserved’ thanothers and young people’s perceptions were shaped by their understandings ofappropriate and normative gender behaviour.

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DO - 10.1080/09540253.2013.858110

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