Sociologists and criminologists have long known that there is a relationship between masculinity and crime. Indeed, gender has been advanced consistently as the strongest predictor of criminal involvement. Flesh and Blood provides a fascinating account of the connection among adolescent gender diversity, the body, and assaultive violence. The book is divided into four parts. In Part I, the author explores the history of criminology as a discipline, paying particular attention to the misgivings about the body, gender, and crime. Messerschmidt shows that criminology historically has maintained, in various ways, the mind-body, sex-gender, and gender difference binaries. In Part II, Messerschmidt presents a theoretical framework_structured action theory_for overcoming these binaries. This perspective allows conceptualization of: embodiment as a lived aspect of gender, both gender differences and gender similarities in the commission of crime, how embodied social action is embedded in specific structural gender relations in particular settings, and how embodied social actions may be related to violence and nonviolence. The methodology for the study is also presented in Part II, which seeks to understand, through life-history interviews, certain boys' and girls' use of assaultive violence as a gendered practice. Part III presents in depth life histories of four white working-class boys and girls involved in assaultive violence. The two chief questions addressed in these life stories are: Why is it that some boys and some girls engage in assaultive violence and how are these violent boys and girls similar and different? How are gender relations in specific settings-such as the family, the school, and the street-related to motivation for embodied violence and nonviolence by the same boys and girls? Part IV puts structured action theory to work by analyzing the three major sites (home, school, and street) of the boys' and girls' life histories and how these are related to assaultive violence and nonviolence. The analysis reveals both similarities and differences between assaultive boys and girls and the fallacy of the mind-body, sex-gender, and gender difference binaries. The book closes with a chapter on how girls' assaultive violence may disrupt gender difference in various ways.
Industry Reviews
Criminological inquiry has traditionally conceptualized the body much like it did gender-in a static, one dimensional fashion, or not at all. In Flesh and Blood, as in his previous books, Masculinities and Crime, and Crime as Structured Action, Messerschmidt again moves criminology in a thoughtful, new direction. Through his analysis of life history accounts of boys and girls, Messerschmidt examines the ways in which social constructions of gender are embodied, and how these embodied masculine and feminine practices relate to violence. This analysis highlights the ways in which the construction of gender and experiences of the body are dynamically interwoven in the everyday lives of boys and girls. -- Nancy Jurik, Arizona State University
Recommended. * CHOICE *
Flesh and Blood is highly recommended for anyone who teaches or does research in the area of gender and/or crime. Even if one decides the book is too complex for a class, the perspective gained will enrich any class discussion and lectures on related topics. Messerschmidt moves us further down the road on a much-needed path of research on gender and violence. * Teaching Sociology *
this book provides an excellent account of the construction of gender through violence...Flesh and Blood provides us with a glimpse into the embodied experiences of adolescents who are routinely involved in violent acts. I would recommend this book to researchers in criminology, gender studies, and masculinities. * Men and Masculinities, July 2007 *
What a marvelous book! By embodying gender, and by engendering crime, Jim Messerschmidt paves the way to fully refashion criminology itself-both the crimes and those who commit them. This is a significant achievement. -- Michael Kimmel, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies, Stony Brook University
