Violence in the lives of young women in urban environments. Designated emphasis in: Women, gender and sexuality

Language about violence is highly politicized and evokes emotional responses. The intensity and force of emotions plays an important role in motivating, interrupting and shaping violence perceptions, attitudes and behavior. My research underscores the relational aspects of violence and human experience. I am interested in the philosophical concerns of violence, gender and of research itself, because generally only inner city male experiences are part of youth violence research or policy. Injuries not diagnosed, officially denounced or visible, remain outside discourse. There are profound gender differences in the way young women experience, perceive, and label their risks of violence. Their ability to disclose even the most emotionally disturbing and personal stories about how they manage violence within their communities, their families and with their peers has wide ranging implications for policy and program development.; My dissertation project stems from a larger ethnographic study entitled, Understanding Adolescent Violence: The Meaning and Social Construction of Violence Among Inner City Youth, conducted at San Francisco's Mission High school in 1996. I facilitated a total of 13 interviews, five person-to-person and eight focus-group interviews, with 67 adolescent girls/women ages 14--19. Interviews were facilitated in English, Spanish and "Spanglish." English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms were oversampled; thus the largest number of female participants were Asian (51%). Focus group interviews were supplemented with participant observation and autoethnography, a qualitative method critically interested in epistemology, gender expectations, power relations and the political economic context of violence. New research questions about gender, race/ethnicity, emotions, alcohol and other drugs, and prevention were asked of the transcripts. Upon this secondary textual analysis I weave a new story that turns away from a specific interest in violent events, towards an analysis of language about violence that emphasizes young women's experiences, capacities, and power.; The following "dialogic themes" were developed in dialogue with students interviewed: (1) Gender: Stories about violence young women experienced, performed and witnessed within the intimacy of family or with boyfriends. The paradox of love and evil, witnessing a mother's trauma, victimization of female friends, intergenerational and relationship violence, ethics, suicide, and child abuse are discussed. (2) Race/ethnicity: Stories about community violence, female interracial conflicts and solidarity. Autoethnography about being "new to this country and can barely speak English," is followed by a description of "jacking" (theft with violence), fashion: colors and clothes that instigate, and descriptions of places where violence happens. (3) Emotions: Stories about the language of the body, emotions, and blame are combined with notes on the role of food and emotions. Not showing feelings, fear, jealousy and pride are addressed as aspects of "pleasure in violence"---such as revenge for sexual assault. The pain and danger of not unexpressed emotions to not appear as "a punk" are examined.