The Politics of Surviving: How Women Navigate Domestic Violence and Its Aftermath

Paige L. Sweet's book "The Politics of Surviving" explores how trauma discourses and coerced therapy play central roles in women's lives as they navigate state programs for assistance, and how "resilience" and "survivorhood" can become coercive and exclusionary forces. It also questions 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.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 340 pages
Publication date: 09 November 2021
Publisher: University of California Press

For women who have experienced domestic violence, proving that you are a "good victim" is no longer sufficient. Victims must now demonstrate that they are recovering, as if domestic violence were a disease. They must transition from being "victims" to becoming "survivors." The availability of life-saving resources for women may even depend on their ability to perform "good" survivorhood. Through archival and ethnographic research, Paige L. Sweet explores how trauma discourses and coerced therapy play a central role in the lives of women as they navigate state programs for assistance. Sweet employs an intersectional lens to unveil how "resilience" and "survivorhood" can become coercive and exclusionary forces in women's lives. The Politics of Surviving delves into challenging 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 that we offer them.

Weight: 478g
Dimension: 153 x 230 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520377714