TY - JOUR
T1 - (De)stabilizing sexual violence discourse
T2 - Masculinization of victimhood, organizational blame, and labile imperialism
AU - Harris, Kate Lockwood
AU - Hanchey, Jenna N.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 National Communication Association.
PY - 2014/10/2
Y1 - 2014/10/2
N2 - Following calls to center nation, we analyze sexual violence discourse in the US Peace Corps. The texts we consider deploy three typical dichotomies—public/private, self/other, and agent/victim—that, in this case, reveal inconsistencies at the intersections of race and gender. We argue that these inconsistencies are evidence of lability, counterintuitive discursive shifts necessary to maintain white heteromasculine dominance. Instead of blaming individual victims of rape and assault, the masculinization of victimhood shifts culpability to the Peace Corps. This organizational blame maintains the moral position of the US and legitimates imperialism. By marking these instabilities, we trace the solidity and vulnerability of sexual violence discourse as it organizes global power.
AB - Following calls to center nation, we analyze sexual violence discourse in the US Peace Corps. The texts we consider deploy three typical dichotomies—public/private, self/other, and agent/victim—that, in this case, reveal inconsistencies at the intersections of race and gender. We argue that these inconsistencies are evidence of lability, counterintuitive discursive shifts necessary to maintain white heteromasculine dominance. Instead of blaming individual victims of rape and assault, the masculinization of victimhood shifts culpability to the Peace Corps. This organizational blame maintains the moral position of the US and legitimates imperialism. By marking these instabilities, we trace the solidity and vulnerability of sexual violence discourse as it organizes global power.
KW - Discourse
KW - Intersectionality
KW - Organization
KW - Peace corps
KW - Postcolonialism
KW - Sexual violence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84911997336&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84911997336&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/14791420.2014.972421
DO - 10.1080/14791420.2014.972421
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84911997336
SN - 1479-1420
VL - 11
SP - 322
EP - 341
JO - Communication and Critical/ Cultural Studies
JF - Communication and Critical/ Cultural Studies
IS - 4
ER -
