International Journal of Law, Policy and The Family, 2010
This article addresses the changing relationship between traditional legal definitions of motherh... more This article addresses the changing relationship between traditional legal definitions of motherhood and fatherhood and newer scientific definitions of parenthood. It is acknowledged that procedures like DNA testing have transformed legal interpretations, but in so doing it is argued that the social and cultural significance of kinship has been squeezed out of consideration. There is now an almost unassailable presumption that it is best for a child to know his or her genetic origins, yet there is also evidence that families still keep certain matters (eg donor conception) a secret. These families are increasingly defined as out of step with modern, ethical thinking yet it may be important to understand how such families define a child's welfare. The problem with knowledge about genetic links is that it is not mere 'information' but is powerful knowledge that changes relationships regardless of the wishes of those involved. The fear of such changes may mean families prefer to reject openness, especially if the risks of loss appear too high. These issues are explored through data on family secrets and also through an unusual legal case involving a child who took the decision not to know his own genetic origins. The article concludes that it is important, in the rush to impose transparency and openness on families, that we are aware of the negative as well as positive consequences.
This article addresses the challenges of developing methodologies which build on the insights of ... more This article addresses the challenges of developing methodologies which build on the insights of early feminist research and methods, but which also incorporate some of the new innovations in sociological, qualitative research. Feminist research has emphasized the need to capture the everyday lives of women (and others) but this is not so easy once it is realized how 'messy' everyday life may be and that we may also not have tools adequate to the art of listening and the task of 'story telling'. In particular there is a need to incorporate a wide range of sensibilities into the creation of feminist/sociological accounts of everyday lives. These include accounting for emotions, memories, intersubjective meanings, and other intangibles. Finally, the article argues that debates over methodologies should not stop with questions of collecting and analysing data, but must also address the problems of how to write the lives of people differently.
The availability of same-sex weddings poses a number of personal and political dilemmas for coupl... more The availability of same-sex weddings poses a number of personal and political dilemmas for couples who decide that they wish to go through a ceremony of recognition or civil partnership. In this article I argue that British couples are acutely aware of the political ramifications of their decisions and I focus attention on the interplay between the personal and political in decisions that couples make on the types of ceremony they want. For example, some couples want very prominent, high profile weddings while others insist that same-sex couples do not need to display their relationships in public ceremonies because this merely emulates heterosexual practices. These issues are explored through qualitative interviews with same-sex couples which collected stories on 54 same-sex ceremonies held in the UK.
This paper explores how different discursive sites have sought to define and/or deny the actualit... more This paper explores how different discursive sites have sought to define and/or deny the actuality and harm of child sexual abuse in the first half of the twentieth century in England and Wales. Primary data from journal and archival sources suggest that there were a range of competing accounts of sexual abuse (usually referred to as sexual assaults or even just as 'outrages'). It is argued that there was not a monolithic silencing of this abuse but a contest over the meaning of childhood, over the sexual innocence of girls, and even over the significance of discovering venereal diseases in babies and in children's homes. The paper suggests that there has been an overemphasis on the silencing potential of psychoanalytic discourses during this period, and insufficient attention paid to the role of the legal establishment and the practices of the criminal justice system in the persistent, but multifaceted, inability to define adult/child sexual contact as abusive or harmful.
Ti thesis that there is a relationship between the rate of crime committed by women and women&... more Ti thesis that there is a relationship between the rate of crime committed by women and women's emancipation is not new to criminological literature. Since Lombroso and Ferrero produced their study of female offenders in 1895 criminologists have periodically emphasised the social and moral implications of the trend away from traditional female roles towards more" liberated" conditions. On the one hand it has been argued that wage-earning mothers create latchkey children who become tomorrow's delinquents and social misfits, ...
This article draws on interviews with 60 children and young people to explore how they construct ... more This article draws on interviews with 60 children and young people to explore how they construct narrative accounts of post-divorce family life. Rather than seeking to describe children's experiences as if their accounts are simple factual recollections, the focus of the article is on how young people position themselves in their narratives and the ways in which they construct their past experiences. It is argued that these narratives are multi-layered, often revealing ambivalence and contradictions. The conclusion turns to the question of whether these individual accounts can give rise to what might be referred to as an ethical disposition in which children's experiences can inform a broader social ethos on how to divorce 'in the proper manner'.
Motherhood is not a natural condition. It is an institution that presents itself as a natural out... more Motherhood is not a natural condition. It is an institution that presents itself as a natural outcome of biologically given gender differences, as a natural consequence of (hetero) sexual activity, and as a natural manifestation of an innate female characteristic, namely the maternal instinct. The existence of an institution of motherhood, as opposed to an acknowledgement that there are simply mothers, is rarely questioned even though the proper qualities of motherhood are often the subject of debate. Motherhood is still largely ...
Some ten years ago it was de rigueur to start any paper on this topic with a reference to the dea... more Some ten years ago it was de rigueur to start any paper on this topic with a reference to the dearth of material in the field. Now it is difficult to keep up with the production of papers and books. On the face of it this might seem a good thing but on closer inspection we might begin to have some doubts since it is usually quality rather than quantity that counts. This is not to imply that there has not been a substantial amount of good work; rather it might be that valuable energies have been misdirected. In this chapter, I want to explore schematically ...
care as 'simply'activity or 'simply'as affection/love. She argues that we need to pay attention t... more care as 'simply'activity or 'simply'as affection/love. She argues that we need to pay attention to the significance of thinking and feeling in the activity of care. She therefore uses the terms sentient activity and active sensibility which go to make up moral sensibility. Examples of sentient activity in relation to care and responsibility for family and kin might be, Mason suggests,'attending to the wellbeing of others','being attuned to the individuality of others','interpreting the moods of others'.
Classical and contemporary criminology has largely overlooked female criminality. This neglect ha... more Classical and contemporary criminology has largely overlooked female criminality. This neglect has produced a situation in which analyses of this phenomenon have met no theoretically informed body of criticism and ideologically informed studies have become'leading'works by default. The ideological underpinnings of these studies are based upon common-sense, uncritical understandings of female behaviour and upon a belief that deviant behaviour is caused by individual pathology.
Sociology has long been a fruitful disciplinary field for feminist work and, in turn, feminism ha... more Sociology has long been a fruitful disciplinary field for feminist work and, in turn, feminism has contributed a great deal to Sociology both substantively and methodologically. Feminisms' early challenges to positivistic and male-oriented methods were crucial in positioning qualitative methods and particularly the in-depth interview as central to the discipline.
Interviewer: You're not seeing him anymore? You don't want to? Now before we go any further, are ... more Interviewer: You're not seeing him anymore? You don't want to? Now before we go any further, are you happy talking about that at all? Because if you don't want to, that's absolutely fine. We can leave it at that. Because if it's very recent I can quite understand. Yes, okay, so we can leave it. So what you're saying though is that things have changed quite a lot.
Background The Enduring Families? project is an in-depth study of the changing lives of young peo... more Background The Enduring Families? project is an in-depth study of the changing lives of young people whose parents have divorced or separated.
Abstract The availability of same-sex weddings poses a number of personal and political dilemmas ... more Abstract The availability of same-sex weddings poses a number of personal and political dilemmas for couples who decide that they wish to go through a ceremony of recognition or civil partnership. In this article I argue that British couples are acutely aware of the political ramifications of their decisions and I focus attention on the interplay between the personal and political in decisions that couples make on the types of ceremony they want.
International Journal of Law, Policy and The Family, 2010
This article addresses the changing relationship between traditional legal definitions of motherh... more This article addresses the changing relationship between traditional legal definitions of motherhood and fatherhood and newer scientific definitions of parenthood. It is acknowledged that procedures like DNA testing have transformed legal interpretations, but in so doing it is argued that the social and cultural significance of kinship has been squeezed out of consideration. There is now an almost unassailable presumption that it is best for a child to know his or her genetic origins, yet there is also evidence that families still keep certain matters (eg donor conception) a secret. These families are increasingly defined as out of step with modern, ethical thinking yet it may be important to understand how such families define a child's welfare. The problem with knowledge about genetic links is that it is not mere 'information' but is powerful knowledge that changes relationships regardless of the wishes of those involved. The fear of such changes may mean families prefer to reject openness, especially if the risks of loss appear too high. These issues are explored through data on family secrets and also through an unusual legal case involving a child who took the decision not to know his own genetic origins. The article concludes that it is important, in the rush to impose transparency and openness on families, that we are aware of the negative as well as positive consequences.
This article addresses the challenges of developing methodologies which build on the insights of ... more This article addresses the challenges of developing methodologies which build on the insights of early feminist research and methods, but which also incorporate some of the new innovations in sociological, qualitative research. Feminist research has emphasized the need to capture the everyday lives of women (and others) but this is not so easy once it is realized how 'messy' everyday life may be and that we may also not have tools adequate to the art of listening and the task of 'story telling'. In particular there is a need to incorporate a wide range of sensibilities into the creation of feminist/sociological accounts of everyday lives. These include accounting for emotions, memories, intersubjective meanings, and other intangibles. Finally, the article argues that debates over methodologies should not stop with questions of collecting and analysing data, but must also address the problems of how to write the lives of people differently.
The availability of same-sex weddings poses a number of personal and political dilemmas for coupl... more The availability of same-sex weddings poses a number of personal and political dilemmas for couples who decide that they wish to go through a ceremony of recognition or civil partnership. In this article I argue that British couples are acutely aware of the political ramifications of their decisions and I focus attention on the interplay between the personal and political in decisions that couples make on the types of ceremony they want. For example, some couples want very prominent, high profile weddings while others insist that same-sex couples do not need to display their relationships in public ceremonies because this merely emulates heterosexual practices. These issues are explored through qualitative interviews with same-sex couples which collected stories on 54 same-sex ceremonies held in the UK.
This paper explores how different discursive sites have sought to define and/or deny the actualit... more This paper explores how different discursive sites have sought to define and/or deny the actuality and harm of child sexual abuse in the first half of the twentieth century in England and Wales. Primary data from journal and archival sources suggest that there were a range of competing accounts of sexual abuse (usually referred to as sexual assaults or even just as 'outrages'). It is argued that there was not a monolithic silencing of this abuse but a contest over the meaning of childhood, over the sexual innocence of girls, and even over the significance of discovering venereal diseases in babies and in children's homes. The paper suggests that there has been an overemphasis on the silencing potential of psychoanalytic discourses during this period, and insufficient attention paid to the role of the legal establishment and the practices of the criminal justice system in the persistent, but multifaceted, inability to define adult/child sexual contact as abusive or harmful.
Ti thesis that there is a relationship between the rate of crime committed by women and women&... more Ti thesis that there is a relationship between the rate of crime committed by women and women's emancipation is not new to criminological literature. Since Lombroso and Ferrero produced their study of female offenders in 1895 criminologists have periodically emphasised the social and moral implications of the trend away from traditional female roles towards more" liberated" conditions. On the one hand it has been argued that wage-earning mothers create latchkey children who become tomorrow's delinquents and social misfits, ...
This article draws on interviews with 60 children and young people to explore how they construct ... more This article draws on interviews with 60 children and young people to explore how they construct narrative accounts of post-divorce family life. Rather than seeking to describe children's experiences as if their accounts are simple factual recollections, the focus of the article is on how young people position themselves in their narratives and the ways in which they construct their past experiences. It is argued that these narratives are multi-layered, often revealing ambivalence and contradictions. The conclusion turns to the question of whether these individual accounts can give rise to what might be referred to as an ethical disposition in which children's experiences can inform a broader social ethos on how to divorce 'in the proper manner'.
Motherhood is not a natural condition. It is an institution that presents itself as a natural out... more Motherhood is not a natural condition. It is an institution that presents itself as a natural outcome of biologically given gender differences, as a natural consequence of (hetero) sexual activity, and as a natural manifestation of an innate female characteristic, namely the maternal instinct. The existence of an institution of motherhood, as opposed to an acknowledgement that there are simply mothers, is rarely questioned even though the proper qualities of motherhood are often the subject of debate. Motherhood is still largely ...
Some ten years ago it was de rigueur to start any paper on this topic with a reference to the dea... more Some ten years ago it was de rigueur to start any paper on this topic with a reference to the dearth of material in the field. Now it is difficult to keep up with the production of papers and books. On the face of it this might seem a good thing but on closer inspection we might begin to have some doubts since it is usually quality rather than quantity that counts. This is not to imply that there has not been a substantial amount of good work; rather it might be that valuable energies have been misdirected. In this chapter, I want to explore schematically ...
care as 'simply'activity or 'simply'as affection/love. She argues that we need to pay attention t... more care as 'simply'activity or 'simply'as affection/love. She argues that we need to pay attention to the significance of thinking and feeling in the activity of care. She therefore uses the terms sentient activity and active sensibility which go to make up moral sensibility. Examples of sentient activity in relation to care and responsibility for family and kin might be, Mason suggests,'attending to the wellbeing of others','being attuned to the individuality of others','interpreting the moods of others'.
Classical and contemporary criminology has largely overlooked female criminality. This neglect ha... more Classical and contemporary criminology has largely overlooked female criminality. This neglect has produced a situation in which analyses of this phenomenon have met no theoretically informed body of criticism and ideologically informed studies have become'leading'works by default. The ideological underpinnings of these studies are based upon common-sense, uncritical understandings of female behaviour and upon a belief that deviant behaviour is caused by individual pathology.
Sociology has long been a fruitful disciplinary field for feminist work and, in turn, feminism ha... more Sociology has long been a fruitful disciplinary field for feminist work and, in turn, feminism has contributed a great deal to Sociology both substantively and methodologically. Feminisms' early challenges to positivistic and male-oriented methods were crucial in positioning qualitative methods and particularly the in-depth interview as central to the discipline.
Interviewer: You're not seeing him anymore? You don't want to? Now before we go any further, are ... more Interviewer: You're not seeing him anymore? You don't want to? Now before we go any further, are you happy talking about that at all? Because if you don't want to, that's absolutely fine. We can leave it at that. Because if it's very recent I can quite understand. Yes, okay, so we can leave it. So what you're saying though is that things have changed quite a lot.
Background The Enduring Families? project is an in-depth study of the changing lives of young peo... more Background The Enduring Families? project is an in-depth study of the changing lives of young people whose parents have divorced or separated.
Abstract The availability of same-sex weddings poses a number of personal and political dilemmas ... more Abstract The availability of same-sex weddings poses a number of personal and political dilemmas for couples who decide that they wish to go through a ceremony of recognition or civil partnership. In this article I argue that British couples are acutely aware of the political ramifications of their decisions and I focus attention on the interplay between the personal and political in decisions that couples make on the types of ceremony they want.
This book draws on a qualitative study of separating parents and examines the diverse and fluid p... more This book draws on a qualitative study of separating parents and examines the diverse and fluid patterns of parenthood that are negotiated and re-negotiated in the aftermath of separation. The authors show that the quality of parental relationships, both before and after separation, is vital for achieving joint parenting after divorce. They examine the moral reasoning of parents and explain how this may vary considerably with the sort of solutions imposed in a legal forum.
In this book experienced researchers come together to explore what really matters to them in the ... more In this book experienced researchers come together to explore what really matters to them in the process of doing research, providing personal accounts of what can often be the trying or painful processes of creating research-based knowledge and understandings of social life. Sociologists, anthropologists and historians come together to poor insights into what it is like to be immersed in real-life research and to explore how they deal with the demands and challenges it creates.
THis book brings a new approach to an issue which is central to both scholarly and grassroots fem... more THis book brings a new approach to an issue which is central to both scholarly and grassroots feminism. It investigates the value of law reform, how law treats women, and how feminist scholarship has engaged with law - looking at these issues from an entirely new and challenging perspective.
Abstract: THIS STUDY OPENS UP A WHOLE NEW DIRECTION IN CRIMINOLOGY AND THE SOCIOLOGY OF DEVIANCE ... more Abstract: THIS STUDY OPENS UP A WHOLE NEW DIRECTION IN CRIMINOLOGY AND THE SOCIOLOGY OF DEVIANCE BY INVESTIGATING FEMALE CRIME FROM A COMMITTED FEMINIST POSITION. THE AUTHOR PRESENTS A FEMINIST CRITIQUE OF CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF FEMALE CRIMINALITY. IN AN EXAMINATION OF THE TYPES OF OFFENSES COMMITTED BY FAMALE OFFENDERS, SHE POINTS TO THE FALLACIES INHERENT IN A RELIANCE ON OFFICIAL ...
In Law, Crime and Sexuality leading feminist theorist Carol Smart brings together a selection of ... more In Law, Crime and Sexuality leading feminist theorist Carol Smart brings together a selection of her work specifically compiled for the needs of students to help them understand the law in conceptual terms, whilst enabling them to become fully aware of the extent to which the law is part of our everyday lives.
This book belongs to the recent tradition of studying children as social actors, from their persp... more This book belongs to the recent tradition of studying children as social actors, from their perspectives, and in their own words. It presents the results of a qualitative study of 117 British children and youth aged 4 to 22 whose parents had divorced several years earlier. The chapters contain reviews of the literature on topics ranging from the social construction of children to family policy and parenting after divorce. The analysis is intellectually honest in the sense that it does not fall into the trap of subscribing to a particular ideology of what is" ...
... University of Essex HELEN ROBERTS School of Studies in Social Science University of Bradford ... more ... University of Essex HELEN ROBERTS School of Studies in Social Science University of Bradford ALBIE SACHS Faculty of Law University of Southampton HERMAN SCHWENDINGER Department of Sociology University of Nevada, Las Vegas JULIA R. SCHWENDINGER ...
There has been surprisingly little written on the subject of 'affairs', at least within the socio... more There has been surprisingly little written on the subject of 'affairs', at least within the sociological literature and so this book offers the promise of an enquiry into relatively uncharted territory. It is a collection of essays written from different disciplinary perspectives (mainly sociology, psychology and anthropology), some are based on empirical studies using widely different methods (from attitude surveys to detailed case studies) and others are primarily theoretical in orientation.
This book belongs to the recent tradition of studying children as social actors, from their persp... more This book belongs to the recent tradition of studying children as social actors, from their perspectives, and in their own words. It presents the results of a qualitative study of 117 British children and youth aged 4 to 22 whose parents had divorced several years earlier. The chapters contain reviews of the literature on topics ranging from the social construction of children to family policy and parenting after divorce. The analysis is intellectually honest in the sense that it does not fall into the trap of subscribing to a particular ideology of what is" ...
There has been surprisingly little written on the subject of 'affairs', at least within... more There has been surprisingly little written on the subject of 'affairs', at least within the sociological literature and so this book offers the promise of an enquiry into relatively uncharted territory. It is a collection of essays written from different disciplinary perspectives (mainly sociology, psychology and anthropology), some are based on empirical studies using widely different methods (from attitude surveys to detailed case studies) and others are primarily theoretical in orientation. The book is timely in the sense that it contributes to ...
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