Criminology Commons^™

Pornography And Men's Violence Against Women And Children: From Production To Consumption, Gail Dines Phd., Mandy Sanchez Phd

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The average age of first viewing mainstream pornography for boys is around ten to twelve years old. The pornography they encounter is largely from “tube sites,” named after YouTube, which are popular because they require no registration, no payment, and no subscription. For the most part, an adolescent only needs access to a digital device to view hundreds of thousands of free videos. As we discuss in this article, the weight of the scientific evidence shows that viewing pornography is associated with multiple social, emotional, sexual, and cognitive harms. However, none of these studies provide a detailed analysis of …

Editor-In-Chief's Note, Surekha Rao

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Mission And Editorial Policy

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Author Biographical Notes

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Editorial History

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

The Unsovereign Citizen: The Reconfiguration Of Rights And Belonging In Fascist Italy, Roberta Pergher

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Modern political thought tends to associate citizenship with democracy, equality, and political participation. This article demonstrates that citizenship can be profoundly important also for authoritarian rule. In Fascist Italy, citizenship remained central to political life, not as a vehicle of democratic participation, to be sure, but as a category through which the regime redefined belonging, hierarchy, and sovereignty. Drawing on citizenship legislation, imperial ordinances, racial laws, police reports, and ministerial commentary between 1912 and 1943, this article shows how the dictatorship hollowed out liberal citizenship within the peninsula, stratified it across imperial territories, consolidated it across diasporic populations, and ultimately …

The Courts Closest To The People: The Battle Between Populism And Democracy In The U.S. District Courts, Shruti Rana

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The U.S. district courts have emerged as a critical site of contested terrain amid the chaos and controversies consuming American law and politics since the start of the second Trump administration. This article examines these frontline courts through the theoretical lens of populism, arguing that they have become a critical institutional flashpoint in the populist assault on constitutional democracy in the United States. As the courts closest to the people, the district courts occupy a unique structural position: They are the fact-finding courts, the most geographically dispersed and professionally diverse tier of the federal judiciary, and often the first institutional …

Volume 28, Issue 2 Full Contents

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Call For Papers: 97th Annual Conference Of The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Reviewers And Referees

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

George C. Roberts Award Recipients

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Why Publish With Mssj?

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Submission Guidelines

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Reimagining Safety And Justice: Experiences Of And Resistance To Police Sexual Violence In New York City, Priscilla Bustamante

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the era following both Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, police sexual violence (PSV) currently constitutes the second most commonly reported police complaint after excessive force. Police across the U.S. are caught for some form of sexual misconduct once every five days, with on-duty officers found to commit sexual assaults at more than double the rate of the general population. The gendered and racialized perpetration of sexual violence extends far beyond policing; however, it has been intensified within the masculine, militarized carceral structures designed to legally control and punish.

Accordingly, this dissertation utilizes an interdisciplinary, multi-method approach to offer what …

Hosts, Scouts, And Female Indentured Sexual Servitude In Contemporary Japan, Caroline Norma, Seiya Morita

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This article sweeps away glossy abstractions obscuring the indenturing of women in sexual servitude in Japan. These abstractions were generated by anthropologists writing in English in the first two decades of the 21^st century who inverted the relationship between perpetrator and victim to suggest that female customers exploited hosts. To overturn this view and expose the ‘gendered reality that [i]s really going on’ in Japan, this article differently explains from a feminist perspective how present-day host and scout businesses indenture Japanese women in sexual servitude. This role is one of both procuring victims as well as keeping young women …

Women’S Exposure To Incel Content, Perceived Safety, And Gender-Based Violence Risk In The United States, Deja Bledsoe

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses

The rapid proliferation of incel-related content across digital platforms has raised concerns about online misogyny and its potential impact on women’s perceived safety. However, less is known about how exposure to such content shapes women’s perceptions of risk and emotional responses in everyday digital environments. This study examines the relationship between exposure to incel-related content and women’s perceived risk of gender-based violence and safety-related anxiety. Guided by strain theory, social control theory, hegemonic masculinity, and intersectionality, the study employs an anonymous cross-sectional online survey of women aged 18 and older. Quantitative analyses were conducted to assess whether exposure to incel-related …

The Normalization Of Sexual Exploitation, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Sociology: Deviance And Crime, Dr. Marcia Morrison Ph.D.

Open Educational Resources

Abstract

This paper explores the multifaceted concepts of deviance and crime by synthesizing major theoretical perspectives and contemporary research findings. Beginning with the fluid and culturally contingent nature of deviance, the discussion highlights how social norms, historical context, and power structures define what is considered deviant behavior. It examines the influence of economic elites on moral and legal standards, drawing on Marxist analyses, and considers the impact of societal labeling on personal identity through Lemert’s labeling theory.

The paper then delves into biological foundations of criminality, reviewing Lombroso’s atavism theory and modern research on genetic predispositions, including twin, adoption, and …

How Gender Inequality Drives The Human Trafficking Industry, Jessie D. Sanders

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

There are currently more than 40 million people subjected to human trafficking worldwide. People living under forced servitude and sexual exploitation, people in forced marriages, and child soldiers are victims of human trafficking. Research has shown that 71% of these victims are women and girls, making human trafficking a disproportionately gendered issue. However, does gender impact trafficking as a whole? The crux of this study uses a literature review, a comprehensive summary, and a critical analysis of existing works on a specific topic to understand how gender inequality relates to human trafficking. This study will also include a correlation test …

Deep-Fake Revenge Porn: The Intersection Of Artificial Intelligence And Revenge Porn For A Modern Attack On Women, Eva C. Hunt

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This study aims to provide a legal analysis grounded in gender legal theory to critique current legislation enacted in the United States. It focuses on the societal and gendered impacts of revenge porn, particularly examining how victimization differs across genders. The legal analysis explores state-by-state legislation addressing revenge porn, assessing the severity of criminal penalties and the timeline of enactment. For current contextual reasons, the study evaluates how emerging Deepfake artificial intelligence technologies intersect with and complicate existing revenge porn laws. Finally, it analyzes the extent to which each state has incorporated Deepfake AI considerations into its legal framework.

Punishing Pregnancy Loss: Miscarriage Criminalization As An Embodied Carceral Practice, Robin O'Hanlon

Publications and Research

The persecution of Brittany Watts, a 34-year-old Black Ohio woman arrested in September 2023 after experiencing a miscarriage, is emblematic of pregnancy loss criminalization as an embodied carceral practice. In the United States, the expansion of “fetal personhood” laws, coupled with a desire to punish imperfect pregnancies, have coalesced to produce policies and practices which actively police and criminalize pregnancy loss. The carceral regime of fetal personhood is further reinforced by medical paternalism and surveillance. I argue that the policies and practices which police pregnancy loss are rooted in a series of carceral logics, which are in turn reinforced by …

The Impact Of Religiosity And Violence Prevention Programs On Violence Amongst Adolescents In The U.S., Ngoc Nguyen, John Paulson, Quentin Maynard, Thu T. Ha

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Youth violence is a societal concern in the United States due to its negative consequences on individuals and communities. The current study aimed to examine the potential mitigating factors of violence prevention programs and religiosity in reducing youth violence among African American, White, Hispanic, and Asian American adolescents in the United States. It also tested the moderation effects of sex on religiosity and violence prevention programs with youth violence. Results of the main effects revealed that adolescents who attended violence prevention programs were generally less likely to engage in violence than those who did not; and that adolescents who were …

Editorial History

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 27, Issue 2 Full Contents

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Editor-In-Chief's Note, Surekha Rao

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Mission And Editorial Policy

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Mobilizing Discord On The United States’ Many Borders: Critical Social Science And Geopolitical Complexity, Margath Walker

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Attention to the political landscape connecting the United States, Mexico, and Central America has returned with glaring intensity, highlighting the visibly geostrategic elements of bordering practice. Scholars have focused on how state power materializes at multiple scales while at the same time being attentive to the contestable and mutable nature of myriad agentic forces. This talk operates similarly by considering prospects for a frictional and at times ambiguous spatial politics. I extend the notion of discord as a productive lens through which to consider securitization, mobility, and migration. I use two short examples—the border-industrial complex and migrant caravans—to illustrate my …

Author Biographical Notes

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.