Muslim Women and Foreign Prostitutes: Victim Discourse, Subjectivity, and Governance

In this article, we juxtapose the ways “Muslim women” and “foreign prostitutes” are commonly constituted as victims in media and politics. We analyze the functions of these two prototypical female victims in terms of the role they play in epitomizing “the problems of globalization” and in reinforcin...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social politics 2010-10, Vol.17 (3), p.270-294
Main Authors: Jacobsen, Christine M., Stenvoll, Dag
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Conflict (Psychology)
Crime Victims - economics
Crime Victims - education
Crime Victims - history
Crime Victims - legislation & jurisprudence
Crime Victims - psychology
Cultural Characteristics
Discourse
Discourse analysis
Family Conflict - economics
Family Conflict - ethnology
Family Conflict - history
Family Conflict - legislation & jurisprudence
Family Conflict - psychology
Females
History of medicine
History, 20th Century
History, 21st Century
Internationality - history
Internationality - legislation & jurisprudence
Islam
Islam - history
Islam - psychology
Muslims
Political Systems - history
Politics
Prostitution
Religion - history
Sex industry
Sex Work - ethnology
Sex Work - history
Sex Work - legislation & jurisprudence
Sex Work - psychology
Social conflict
Social Control Policies - economics
Social Control Policies - history
Social Control Policies - legislation & jurisprudence
Social representations
Victims
Women
Women - education
Women - history
Women - psychology
Women's Health - ethnology
Women's Health - history
Women's Rights - economics
Women's Rights - education
Women's Rights - history
Women's Rights - legislation & jurisprudence
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In this article, we juxtapose the ways “Muslim women” and “foreign prostitutes” are commonly constituted as victims in media and politics. We analyze the functions of these two prototypical female victims in terms of the role they play in epitomizing “the problems of globalization” and in reinforcing the existing social and political structures. Victim discourse, when tied to the transnational proliferation of the sex industry and of (radical) Islam, has depoliticizing effects because it places nonindividual causes of victimization outside of “our” polity and society and casts the state as protector and neutral arbiter of national and global inequalities, marginalization, and social conflict.
ISSN:1072-4745
1468-2893
DOI:10.1093/sp/jxq011