Sexed Work
Gender, Race, and Resistance in a Brooklyn Drug Market
Author: Lisa Maher Series: Clarendon Studies in Criminology
Set in a Brooklyn neighborhood plagued by AIDS, this book provides the first detailed account of the economic lives of women drug users
This is the first detailed account of the economic lives of women drug users. It is located at the boundaries of three disciplines - criminology, anthropology, and sociology - and based on three years of in-depth ethnographic fieldwork in New York City.
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Summary
Set in a Brooklyn neighborhood plagued by AIDS, this book provides the first detailed account of the economic lives of women drug users
This is the first detailed account of the economic lives of women drug users. It is located at the boundaries of three disciplines - criminology, anthropology, and sociology - and based on three years of in-depth ethnographic fieldwork in New York City.
Description
This is the first detailed account of the economic lives of women drug users. It is located at the boundaries of three disciplines - criminology, anthropology, and sociology - and based on three years of in-depth ethnographic fieldwork in New York City. Set in a neighbourhood plagued by drug use and AIDs, the book reveals the economic lives of a group of women whose options have been severely circumscribed, not only by drug use, but also by poverty, racism,violence, and enduring marginality. It is a fascinating account, with Maher drawing extensively on the women's own words, describing how structures and relations of gender, race and class, are articulated bydivisions of labour in the street-level drug economy. The book challenges the impoverished set of characterizations which dominate the literature, critiquing both feminist and non-feminist representations that view women lawbreakers as driven by forces beyond their control. It graphically illustrates the role of the drug economy as a site of cultural reproduction by drawing attention to the specific practices by which gender and race dimensions of inequality are constituted and contested instreet-level drug markets. This is a rich, nuanced, and theoretically sophisticated study of `crime as work' which will be compelling reading for all those interested in the ways in which women deal withthe intersection of gender, race, and work.
Critic Reviews
“"Maher does a superior job of challenging current conceptions of women's position and behavior in the street-level drug economy. An excellent examination of an often misunderstood and overlooked group and is informative for people from many disciplines." --Choice "An important contribution to the literature and will improve any reader's understanding of the inner workings of the drug world." --Professor Christopher Krebs, Florida State University in Journal of Drug Issues "Among the most important contemporary feminist scholarship in criminology. Excellent scholarship, deserving a wide readership." --Professor Jody Miller in Theoretical Criminology "A landmark work in social study. A rich mix of field study, sociological scholarship and theoretical analysis, [and] a portrait of prohibition drug policy in action. An unusual blend of savvy street ethnographer and rigourous scholar, her ability to so fully recognize and compassionately document the form and meaning of these women's lives is a tribute to the integrity of her methods." --Professor Ernest Drucker, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx NY in Addiction”
"Maher does a superior job of challenging current conceptions of women's position and behavior in the street-level drug economy. An excellent examination of an often misunderstood and overlooked group and is informative for people from many disciplines."
--Choice
--Professor Christopher Krebs, Florida State University in Journal of Drug Issues"Among the most important contemporary feminist scholarship in criminology. Excellent scholarship, deserving a wide readership."
--Professor Jody Miller in Theoretical Criminology"A landmark work in social study. A rich mix of field study, sociological scholarship and theoretical analysis, [and] a portrait of prohibition drug policy in action. An unusual blend of savvy street ethnographer and rigourous scholar, her ability to so fully recognize and compassionately document the form and meaning of these women's lives is a tribute to the integrity of her methods."
--Professor Ernest Drucker, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx NY in Addiction
About the Author
Lisa Maher is a Research Fellow of the Australian Drug Research Foundation at the University of New South Wales.
This is the first detailed account of the economic lives of women drug users. It is located at the boundaries of three disciplines - criminology, anthropology, and sociology - and based on three years of in-depth ethnographic fieldwork in New York City. Set in a neighbourhood plagued by drug use and AIDs, the book reveals the economic lives of a group of women whose options have been severely circumscribed, not only by drug use, but also by poverty, racism, violence, and enduring marginality. It is a fascinating account, with Maher drawing extensively on the women's own words, describing how structures and relations of gender, race and class, are articulated by divisions of labour in the street-level drug economy. The book challenges the impoverished set of characterizations which dominate the literature, critiquing both feminist and non-feminist representations that view women lawbreakers as driven by forces beyond their control. It graphically illustrates the role of the drug economy as a site of cultural reproduction by drawing attention to the specific practices by which gender and race dimensions of inequality are constituted and contested in street-level drug markets. This is a rich, nuanced, and theoretically sophisticated study of `crime as work' which will be compelling reading for all those interested in the ways in which women deal with the intersection of gender, race, and work.
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