Beyond Mothers, Monsters, Whores: Thinking about Women's Violence in Global Politics

When we discuss violent acts committed by women, our responses are almost always rooted in deeply gendered assumptions about women. We express surprise and shock that a woman could be capable of such an act—a reaction that relies on a long history of unspoken assumptions about what is proper behavior for a woman.

With Beyond Mothers, Monsters, Whores, Caron Gentry and Laura Sjoberg apply the understanding afforded by that lens to individual violence in global politics. The authors begin by demonstrating the crucial interdependence of the individual and international levels of global politics in the lives of violent women—but they then show how this interdependence is inaccurately depicted, or ignored altogether, in public, political, or media discussions of women’s violence. An eye-opening exploration of a major topic in the study of global conflict and women’s lives, Beyond Mothers, Monsters, Whores will be essential for both scholars and activists.