The Politics of Child Sexual Abuse

The Politics of Child Sexual Abuse is the first study of activism against child sexual abuse, tracing its emergence in feminist anti-rape efforts, its development into mainstream self-help, and its entry into mass media and public policy. Nancy Whittier deftly charts the development of the movement's "therapeutic politics," demonstrating that activists viewed tactics for changing emotions and one's sense of self as necessary for widespread social change and combined them with efforts to change institutions and the state. Though activism originated with feminists, the movement grew and spread to include the goals of non-feminist survivors, opponents, therapists, law enforcement, and elected officials. In the process, the movement both succeeded beyond its wildest dreams and saw its agenda transformed in ways that were sometimes unrecognizable. A moving account, The Politics of Child Sexual Abuse draws powerful lessons about the transformative potential of therapeutic politics, their connection to institutions, and the processes of incomplete social change that characterize American politics today. Nancy Whittier is Professor of Sociology at Smith College. She is the author of Feminist Generations and co-editor of Feminist Frontiers and Social Movements: Identity, Culture, and the State.

ISBN 0199783314   Pages 272 ISBN13 9780199783311 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 410 Publisher Oxford University Press Inc   Published in New York Imprint Oxford University Press Inc   Height (mm) 232 Format Paperback   Width (mm) 170 Publication date 26 May 2011   Spine width (mm) 15 DEWEY 362.76   Academic level Undergraduate, Postgraduate DEWEY edition DC23

INTRODUCTION; 1. From Rare Perversion to Patriarchal Crime: Feminist Challenges to Knowledge about Incest in the 1970s; 2. The Politics Of The "Therapeutic Turn": Self-Help and Internalized Oppression; 3. Social Services, Social Control, and Social Change: The State and Public Policy in the 1970s and 1980s; 4. Going Mainstream: Self-Help Activism During the 1980s; 5. Diffusion and Dilution: Mass Culture Discovers Child Sexual Abuse; 6. Turning Tides: Countermovement Organizing, "False Memory Syndrome," and the Struggle Over Scientific Knowledge; 7. The Politics of Visibility: Coming Out, Activist Art, and Emotional Change; 8. The Paradoxical Consequences of Success; CONCLUSION; REFERENCES

"Nancy Whittier has given us a powerful account of how the movement against child sexual abuse has unfolded over the past 40 years. Knowing our history--recording and preserving it--is essential if we are to learn from it. The Politics of Child Sexual Abuse is the story of how activists have changed their own lives and the larger world. At a time when public discourse often simplifies or dismisses this movement, Whittier tells our history in a way that advances deep understanding of the issue."--Ellen Bass, co-author of The Courage to Heal

"In a single book, Nancy Whittier overturns all conventional wisdom about why sexual abuse became such a contentious public issue. Battles over incest, repressed memory, and clergy abuse are not moral panics, she shows, but a collective therapeutic activism that challenges existing forms of knowledge and control. The Politics of Child Sexual Abuse sets out a bold, new direction that is essential reading for all scholars of political culture and social movements." --Kathleen Blee, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, University of Pittsburgh

"Relying on interviews with a range of activists, along with documentary evidence of various types, Nancy Whittier provides a convincing explanation for the transformation of child sexual abuse in America since 1970. An engaging and balanced examination of this highly charged topic, The Politics ofChild Sexual Abuse skillfully negotiates treacherous terrain in a fashion that respects all sides. This book is a highly original work and one of the best studies of child sexual abuse in the last twenty-five years." --Ross E. Cheit, Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, Brown University

"The Politics of Child Sexual Abuse is an ambitious book that demonstrates the payoff of theoretical synthesis and careful empirical research. Whittier integrates the latest advances in thinking about social movements, the state, and gender politics in order to develop a co

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