Citation

Wallace D, Hirschinger-Blank N, Grisso JA. Crit. Sociol. 2008; 34(2): 271-290.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Dept. of Sociology, University of Oregon)

DOI

10.1177/0896920507085521

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In this article we present a theory of the prevalence of female-female non-partner violence in the African-American inner city. We employ `ghetto' (economic) and `internal colony' (political) models to illuminate dimensions of the African-American inner city which we view as proximal determinants of female-female interpersonal violence. These cultural and structural elements include conflict within the separate female-gendered cultural milieu centered in the female-headed household system, and the `rule of force' imposed by agencies of social control as the cultural model for dominance, oppression, and interpersonal violence. Verbatim accounts provided by respondents injured in female-female violent interactions are offered as illustrations of the theory.