Girls and Juvenile Justice - by Carla P Davis (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This book offers an ethnographic study of the lives of girls in the juvenile justice system. Based on rich, narrative accounts, the girls at the center of the study are viewed as confronted with the power of simultaneous race, class, and gender hierarchies. Through this framework, we see how the girls navigate this challenge by seeking status in their everyday lives: in their families; juvenile justice institutions; and neighborhood organizations, including gangs. Through analyzing the ways that the girls strive for higher social status, this book provokes debate about how policies and programs may be creatively rethought to incorporate this pursuit. Girls and Juvenile Justice offers a glimpse into the hearts, minds, and souls of adolescent girls. It will be of great interest for scholars of criminal justice, sociology, women's studies, and social-psychology.

From the Back Cover

'In this fascinating study, Davis provides an insightful account of the lived realities of girls in the juvenile justice system. Drawing on a unique mixture of ethnographic observations and interviews, Davis reveals how young women struggle for dignity amidst near--constant assaults on their humanity and personhood. She also exposes how girls navigate among state, community, and family institutions - and how, in the process, they use and alter dominant ideals of gender and citizenship. By remaining attentive to how social power operates simultaneously through gender, race, and class, Davis provides a model of intersectional analysis. Full of complexity and nuance, Girls and Juvenile Justice is quite an achievement and a must--read for social scientists across disciplines.'
-Lynne A. Haney, New York University, USA, author of Offending Women

'In Girls and Juvenile Justice, we hear directly from girls enmeshed in the U.S. juvenile justice system. Ways that the system criminalizes girls for simply challenging parental authority are clearly documented. Davis's important new book shows that the juvenile justice system is still discriminating against girls well into the 21^st century.'
-Meda Chesney-Lind, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Author of Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice

This book offers an ethnographic study of the lives of girls in the juvenile justice system. Based on rich, narrative accounts, the girls at the center of the study are viewed as confronted with the power of simultaneous race, class, and gender hierarchies. Through this framework, we see how the girls navigate this challenge by seeking status in their everyday lives: in their families; juvenile justice institutions; and neighborhood organizations, including gangs. Through analyzing the ways that the girls strive for higher social status, this book provokes debate about how policies and programs may be creatively rethought to incorporate this pursuit. Girls and Juvenile Justice offers a glimpse into the hearts, minds, and souls of adolescent girls. It will be of great interest for scholars of criminal justice, sociology, women's studies, and social-psychology.

Carla P. Davis is Associate Professor of Sociology at Beloit College, USA.

Review Quotes

"Girls and Juvenile Justice makes a major contribution to the study of minority adolescent girls and uses the sociological imagination to explore the effects of the greater societal forces of race and gender on youth in correctional settings. Perhaps the book's greatest strength can be found in its robust theoretical examination. ... The author's clear description of the processes involved in her research (another major strength of the book) also makes it useful for courses in qualitative research methods." (Leonard A. Steverson, Symbolic Interaction, April 17, 2019)

"The power in this book comes from the periodic interviews that Davis conducts with the girls--she is able to highlight personal experiences while finding common factors. The excerpts from interview lend the book a level of reality--these are not just participants in a study, these are real people who are affected by the justice system." (Kelli Steinbuck, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 47, 2018)

​

About the Author

Carla P. Davis is Associate Professor of Sociology at Beloit College, USA.