The Politics of Surviving - by Paige Sweet

About the Book

"A trauma revolution is quietly sweeping social services in the United States. For women who have experienced domestic violence, proving that you are a "good victim" is no longer enough when navigating these institutions. Women must also show that they are recovering, as if domestic violence were a disease: they must show that they are transforming from "victims" into "survivors." Through archival research, life story interviews, and participation observation, The Politics of Surviving shows that "becoming" a survivor is full of contradictions, perils, politics, and pleasures. Using an intersectional lens, Paige L. Sweet reveals how the idea of "resilience" and being a "survivor" can become a coercive force in women's lives. With nuance and compassion, The Politics of Surviving wrestles with questions about the gendered nature of the welfare state, the unintended consequences of feminist mobilizations for these programs, and the women who are left behind by the limited forms of citizenship we offer them"--

Book Synopsis

For women who have experienced domestic violence, proving that you are a "good victim" is no longer enough. Victims must also show that they are recovering, as if domestic violence were a disease: they must transform from "victims" into "survivors." Women's access to life-saving resources may even hinge on "good" performances of survivorhood. Through archival and ethnographic research, Paige L. Sweet reveals how trauma discourses and coerced therapy play central roles in women's lives as they navigate state programs for assistance. Sweet uses an intersectional lens to uncover how "resilience" and "survivorhood" can become coercive and exclusionary forces in women's lives. With nuance and compassion, The Politics of Surviving wrestles with questions about the gendered nature of the welfare state, the unintended consequences of feminist mobilizations for anti-violence programs, and the women who are left behind by the limited forms of citizenship we offer them.

From the Back Cover

"A beautifully written and carefully crafted analysis of the politics of domestic violence treatment and survivorhood. Through the construct of 'traumatic citizenship, ' it reveals how gender, race, class, and sexuality all become intertwined in therapeutic state practice--and offers a model of intersectional analysis and theory building."--Lynne Haney, Professor of Sociology, New York University

"To accommodate the Liberal Democratic Regimes of the l990's, the Shelter Movement in the U.S. transformed the victimization and survival of abused women from stages in their experience of recovery into facets of performance needed to access citizenship, including the racialized tropes of respectable motherhood. A shout from post-modern sociology based in first-hand accounts from the trenches. A Tour de Force."--Evan Stark (PhD, MS) Author of Coercive Control (Oxford, 2007)

"The Politics of Surviving shines new light on studies of domestic violence, making critical contributions to the scholarship of the neoliberal and the "therapeutic state" and feminism, and the relationship between the state and feminist movements, citizenship, and the scholarship on violence in the lives of women. I highly recommend this path-breaking book."--Cecilia Menjívar, author of Enduring Violence

"Sweet resists easy tropes of the heroic survivor or of the downfall of a pure utopian feminism. Her account is nuanced, sensitive, and sophisticated. This groundbreaking book will be a must-read for those interested in state violence, intersectionality, gender-based violence, and gender and sexuality." --Elizabeth A Armstrong, coauthor of Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality

Review Quotes

"A valuable resource for scholars and students of gender-based violence. . . . Sweet...helps us understand, viscerally, the implications of this trauma revolution."-- "American Journal of Sociology"

"The Politics of Surviving is a brilliant contribution to sociology and the multidisciplinary field of feminist scholarship. It is a necessary text for scholars of violence, social movements, and gender and sexuality."-- "Affilia: Feminist Inquiry in Social Work"

"The book is beautifully written and a powerful demonstration of gendered governance in the field of domestic violence. It is a must-read for anyone interested in domestic violence, victimization, feminist anti-violence work, the shelter movement, professionalization processes, the trauma discourse, and medicalization of social problems."-- "Social Forces"

About the Author

Paige L. Sweet is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan.