Sexualising the Social: Power and the Organisation of Sexuality
In this chapter we examine recent debates about the meaning of sexual victimization.
Sexualizing the Social
Power and the Organization of Sexuality
Lisa Adkins and Vicki Merchant (eds.), Macmillan
Chapter title: Beyond Victim or Survivor: Sexual Violence, Identity and Feminist Theory and Practice Kelly, Liz (et al.)
1996, Sexualizing the Social, pages 77-101
In this chapter we examine recent debates about the meaning of sexual victimization. These struggles have implications for feminist praxis; for theory, research and practice. We explore several locations from which challenges to previous feminist re-definitions emerge; specifically, recent popularist publications which use, in a pejorative tone, the term ‘victim’ or ‘victimhood’ feminism and academic contestation of prevalence research. In the second half of the paper we connect these themes with a discussion of what we call ‘the victim/survivor dichotomy’, which represents another element in debates about the extent and meaning of sexual victimization.