Description
Book SynopsisIn this powerful and moving history of family violence, historian Linda Gordon traces policies on child abuse and neglect, wife-beating, and incest from 1880 to 1960. Drawing on hundreds of case records from social agencies devoted to dealing with the problem, she chronicles the changing visibility of family violence.
Trade Review"Feminist scholarship at its best."--
New York Times Book ReviewTable of Contents1 INTRODUCTION
2 "THE CRUELTY": CHILD PROTECTION, 1880-1910
3 THE PROGRESSIVE-ERA TRANSFORMATION OF CHILD PROTECTION, 1900-1920
4 SINGLE MOTHERS AND THE CONTRADICTIONS OF CHILD-PROTECTION POLICY
5 "SO MUCH FOR THE CHILDREN NOW, SO LITTLE BEFORE"; CHILD NEGLECT AND PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
6 "ONLY TO BRING MY CHILDREN UP GOOD": CHILD ABUSE AND SOCIAL CHANGE
7 "BE CAREFUL ABOUT FATHER": INCEST, GIRLS' RESISTANCE, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF FEMININITY
8 "THE POWERS OF THE WEAK": WIFE-BEATING AND BATTERED WOMEN'S RSEISTANCE
9 CONCLUSION: SOCIAL CONTROL AND THE "POWERS OF THE WEAK"
APPENDIX A RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS METHODS
APPENDIX B CLIENT CHARACTERISTICS
NOTES
INDEX
