Interracial Lesbian And Gay Couples: Navigating Private And Public Experiences

This study explores the private and public experiences of Black/White interracial lesbian and gay couples. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of critical race theory and intersectional feminism, this research focuses on how the intersections of gender, race, and sexuality influence relationship experiences and family processes in both private and public spaces for interracial same-sex couples. This study is based on 19 in-depth interviews with individuals in Black/White lesbian and gay relationships. Participants’ stories highlight intersectionality in terms of the ways interracial lesbian and gay couples navigate these interpersonal and public spaces. Participant experiences suggest that the dichotomy of private/public is often blurred, and these two spaces frequently overlap and intersect. Often what participants experience in public is then discussed and interpreted within private spaces. It is in the private space that participants work through complex issues in order to present themselves as a couple in public. Participants frequently used their public and interpersonal experiences with their partners to be reflexive of their own understandings of the social world, relationship processes, and love. Given the lack of research on same-sex, interracial families, this study makes an important contribution to sociological research on families, LGTBQ studies, and race studies

Teaching About Consumption: The Not Buying It Project

This study presents an experiential exercise designed to heighten students\u27 awareness of overconsumption in the United States and allow them to see how their own consumption habits are linked to larger social factors. Students engaged in the Not Buying It project-which involved refraining from purchasing all but essentials for a set number of days-as part of a broader lesson on consumerism. Qualitative and quantitative data, gathered from students enrolled in three sections of Introductory Sociology, suggest that the exercise was effective in enhancing students\u27 sociological imaginations by helping students see how their own consumption habits are shaped by larger social forces and how they, along with most Americans, tend toward overconsumption. To a more limited extent, it may help enhance cognitive understanding of consumption. Teaching about consumption in general, and the Not Buying It project in particular, offers instructors an excellent pedagogical means by which students can acquire a sociological imagination, reinforces key sociological principles, and links to broader goals within the discipline. © American Sociological Association 2012

Mental Health Effects Of Intimate Terrorism And Situational Couple Violence Among Black And Hispanic Women

An important aspect of Johnson\u27s intimate terrorism (IT) and situational couple violence (SCV) typology is his assertion that victims experience different negative outcomes depending on which category of violence they endure. Anderson calls for reexamining this typology to highlight the importance of coercive control with or without physical violence present. Similar to most studies, Anderson\u27s research uses a sample that includes mostly White women. The current study employs Anderson\u27s methods and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses, but uses a sample of predominately Black women and Latinas from the 1998 Chicago Women\u27s Health Risk Study. © The Author(s) 2014

Subjection, Subjectivity, And Agency: The Power, Meaning, And Practice Of Mothering Among Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Abuse

Drawing on in-depth interviews with mothers who were abused by intimate partners, we argue that mothering can be a source of empowerment that helps battered women both care for their children and survive and assert themselves. Women in the study sample described a violation of some aspect of their mothering as the reason they left their partners. However, narrative analysis exposed contradictions in participants\u27 stories, revealing multiple factors that shaped their decisions to leave. Although motherhood was significant for the women who participated in the study, it was not their only motivation for ending their relationships with abusive partners. © The Author(s) 2013