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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

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Sociology

Western Michigan University

Sociology Faculty Publications

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Beyond The Belly: An Appraisal Of Middle Eastern Dance (Aka Belly Dance) As Leisure, Angela M. Moe Jan 2012

Beyond The Belly: An Appraisal Of Middle Eastern Dance (Aka Belly Dance) As Leisure, Angela M. Moe

Sociology Faculty Publications

Middle Eastern dance (aka belly dance) is an ancient and expressive form of movement, associated with feminine and community-based celebration and ritual. However, it is also thought of as erotic, seductive, and titillating. Despite stereotypes, belly dance appeals to contemporary women as leisure. This paper examines the intrigue with belly dance in the United States, specifically why women practice this dance form and what their involvement suggests about the gendered nature of leisure, and the need thereof, in women's lives. It also considers the possibility that belly dance may be a feminist form of leisure. Based on participant observation, journal …

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Battered Women, Children And The End Of Abusive Relationships, Angela M. Moe Jan 2009

Battered Women, Children And The End Of Abusive Relationships, Angela M. Moe

Sociology Faculty Publications

Much work has focused on the interpersonal dynamics of violent relationships, but less is known about the specific turning points that prompt women at least to try to end them. Using a feminist standpoint method and phenomenological-based analysis of in-depth interviews with mothers in a domestic violence shelter, this article focuses on the role of children in women’s decisions to leave abusive partners. It discusses arriving at the decision, the logistics involved in leaving and planning for the future, and it presents policy and advocacy-based recommendations that are aimed at addressing the social welfare of women and children.

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The Domestic Violence Experiences Of Women In Community Corrections, Rachel Bridges Whaley, Angela M. Moe, Mark Eddy, Jean Daugherty Jan 2007

The Domestic Violence Experiences Of Women In Community Corrections, Rachel Bridges Whaley, Angela M. Moe, Mark Eddy, Jean Daugherty

Sociology Faculty Publications

A variety of studies indicate high rates of domestic violence in the backgrounds of women offenders. We examine and extend this work through a qualitative study of women on probation or parole in a western U.S. county. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 women who participated in a larger study in which only questionnaire data were collected. Participants completed a brief telephone interview about prior experiences of partner violence and then a face-to-face extensive in-person interview. In the analyses, several notable themes emerged regarding the women’s histories of child victimization, partner abuse, substance abuse, coercion into crime, and a lack …

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Silenced Voices And Structured Survival: Battered Women's Help-Seeking, Angela M. Moe Jan 2007

Silenced Voices And Structured Survival: Battered Women's Help-Seeking, Angela M. Moe

Sociology Faculty Publications

Despite social and governmental responses to battering, many women continue to feel entrapped in abusive relationships. Using standpoint epistemology, this article examines the various aspects of help seeking, and the social and institutional responses to such efforts, through the narratives of 19 women in a domestic violence shelter. The findings are discussed with reference to Ptacek’s social entrapment perspective and Gondolf and Fisher’s survivor hypothesis, illustrating the socioeconomic and political context of the control tactics utilized by abusers and the structural impediments to battered women’s successful help seeking.

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Exploring The Literature On Relationships Between Gender Roles, Intimate Partner Violence, Occupational Status, And Organizational Benefits, Eileen Kwesiga, Myrtle P. Bell, Marshall Pattie, Angela M. Moe Jan 2007

Exploring The Literature On Relationships Between Gender Roles, Intimate Partner Violence, Occupational Status, And Organizational Benefits, Eileen Kwesiga, Myrtle P. Bell, Marshall Pattie, Angela M. Moe

Sociology Faculty Publications

Studies of intimate partner violence (IPV) and work have been primarily conducted with women in low-wage low-status (LWLS) positions, as much of this research has focused on poverty, welfare, and homelessness. Although women in LWLS positions represent a large percentage of working women in the United States, it is also important to investigate experiences of women in high-wage high-status (HWHS) positions because a growing number of women are employed within such jobs. We propose gender role theory can be used to explain occurrences of IPV among women in HWHS positions and their utilization of organizational benefits. We suggest those in …

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Women, Drugs, And Crime, Angela M. Moe Jan 2006

Women, Drugs, And Crime, Angela M. Moe

Sociology Faculty Publications

Throughout feminist criminological scholarship, a concerted effort has been focused on understanding the backgrounds, criminal contexts, and programming needs of criminalized women. It is clear that criminalized women enter the justice system with a host of interconnected experiences and issues, ranging from childhood victimization, sexual assault, and intimate partner abuse, to homelessness, poverty, and illness. While these contribute to the motivations and rationales of women’s criminality, they are often aggravated by drug addiction. In a variety of ways, drug use is interlaced with women’s efforts to survive on a daily basis. This article examines the role drugs play in criminalized …

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Criminalized Mothers: The Value And Devaluation Of Parenthood From Behind Bars, Angela M. Moe, Kathleen J. Ferraro Jan 2006

Criminalized Mothers: The Value And Devaluation Of Parenthood From Behind Bars, Angela M. Moe, Kathleen J. Ferraro

Sociology Faculty Publications

With the number of incarcerated women rising in the United States, scholarship and activism has focused more explicitly on the backgrounds, criminal contexts, and programming needs of the imprisoned population. This article focuses on motherhood and relies on qualitative life-history interviews with thirty women in a southwestern detention center. The women’s narratives are used to further our under-standing of the ways in which motherhood (1) resonates with incarcerated women’s self-perceptions, (2) relates to their motivations for crime, and (3) informs therapeutic programming within the carceral3 environment. In order to address the needs of a critical, yet often ignored, correctional population, …

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Abject Economics: The Effects Of Battering And Violence On Women’S Work And Employability, Angela M. Moe, Myrtle P. Bell Jan 2004

Abject Economics: The Effects Of Battering And Violence On Women’S Work And Employability, Angela M. Moe, Myrtle P. Bell

Sociology Faculty Publications

Research on the effects of battering on women’s lives has focused on poverty, homelessness, and welfare receipt, often centering on women who are uneducated or undereducated. The authors analyze how battering impacts the work and employability of women from various employment levels and backgrounds. Data were obtained through qualitative interviews with 19 residents of a domestic violence shelter, some of whom had obtained substantial education and built solid and lucrative careers prior to being abused. The women described instances in which battering had obstructed their ability to find work, maintain employment, and use their wages to establish greater economic independence …

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Mothering, Crime And Incarceration, Kathleen J. Ferraro, Angela M. Moe Jan 2003

Mothering, Crime And Incarceration, Kathleen J. Ferraro, Angela M. Moe

Sociology Faculty Publications

This article examines the relationships between mothering, crime, and incarceration through the narratives of thirty women incarcerated in a southwestern county jail. The responsibilities of child care, combined with the burdens of economic marginality and domestic violence, led some women to choose economic crimes or drug dealing as an alternative to hunger and homelessness. Other women, arrested for drug- or alcohol-related crimes, related their offenses to the psychological pain and despair resulting from loss of custody of their children. Many women were incarcerated for minor probation violations that often related to the conflict between work, child care, and probation requirements. …

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Malign Neglect Or Benign Respect: Women’S Health Care In A Carceral Setting, Angela M. Moe, Kathleen J. Ferraro Jan 2003

Malign Neglect Or Benign Respect: Women’S Health Care In A Carceral Setting, Angela M. Moe, Kathleen J. Ferraro

Sociology Faculty Publications

A central tenet of feminist criminological scholarship is the examination of women’s experiences with crime and incarceration through their own narratives. Through semi-structured interviews with thirty jailed women, this article examines carceral conditions through the critical lens of the female inmate. Highlighted in this article is the availability and quality of health care in a detention center in Arizona. The findings indicate a contentious duality, exposing both heinous neglect and benign solicitude in the care delivered to jailed women. This duality is situated within the dismal health care system available to indigent women in the region.

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