Balancing Contradictory Identities—Performing Masculinity in Victim Narratives

Åkerström, Malin; Burcar, Veronika; Wästerfors, David

doi:10.1525/sop.2011.54.1.103

Cited by 26 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In order to become a legitimate crime victim, you have to be heard as a victim and seen as a victim (see also Polletta, 2009). However, the victim position is problematic due to its negative connotations (see Åkerström et al, 2011; Burcar and Åkerström, 2009; Jägervi, 2014; Walklate et al, 2018 etc. ), though it also renders individuals support, benefits and inclusion in the community (Loseke, 2003).…”

Section: Narrative Victimologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, previous research has shown how victims of different types of crimes themselves understand their victimization and construct a victim narrative (cf. Åkerström et al, 2011; Burcar, 2005; Burcar and Åkerström, 2009; Fohring, 2018; Jägervi, 2014, 2016; Löfstrand, 2009a, 2009b). However, young people’s narrative constructions of victimhood, in relation to their need for community support, have not yet been explored in detail.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Young victims’ positioning: Narrations of victimhood and support

Bruck

2019

International Review of Victimology

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The present study aims to analyze how young people narratively negotiate their position as victims, how their social surroundings react to their victim positioning and what types of support they are offered. It is argued that those who position themselves as innocent victims receive support, while those who do not position themselves as such are left to fend for themselves. It is concluded that receiving support functions as a way for young victims to keep intact their narratives of who they are; while young people who did not receive support and acceptance for their positioning needed to re-negotiate their narrative to make sense of who they are after the victimization. Thereby, the victimizing event was incorporated into their narrative identity.

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Section: Narrative Victimologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young victims’ positioning: Narrations of victimhood and support

Bruck

2019

International Review of Victimology

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“…Some argue that this occurs, for instance, when young men are interviewed as victims of crime, and it may explain the rather complicated way they talk about the crime event, i.e. about their own participation during the event and how they, in their narratives, let others rather than themselves describe their injuries (Åkerström, Burcar, and Wästerfors 2011) Similarly, showed how difficult it was for minority women superintendents to talk about discrimination when they were interviewed as career women. As career women, they had a settled discourse that implied success and competence.…”

Section: Incompatible Self-presentations?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Refraining from reporting crimes: accounts from young male crime victims with an immigrant background

Åkerström

Rypi²,

Alm

2018

Nordic Social Work Research

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Interactions between the police and young people with an immigrant background are well researched internationally and are often discussed in the context of discrimination. Such interactions may explain, at least in part, why these young people do not report crimes to the police when they are the victims of crimes. This article reports accounts from young crime victims who have an immigrant background. The young men who were interviewed mainly portrayed their decisions not to notify the police in the context of masculinity discourse rather than using a discourse of discrimination, even though the interviewers asked specifically about whether discrimination or trust in the police influenced their decision. We argue that these young men's accounts reflect their preferred self-presentations, since a dicriminination discourse may be tied to a victim identity that is incompatible with hegemonic masculinity.

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“…Discourses, in this regard, can be understood as cultural resources (Toerien and Durrheim 2001) through which gendered selves are constructed (Brickell 2005) or performed. A relevant literature on men and victimhood (Åkerström, Burcar, and Wästerfors 2011, Burcar and Åkerström 2009, Andersson 2008) has shown how this can be creatively done by men in their narrative accounts. At this point, the refugee story becomes a privileged site not only to study masculinity, but also the capacity of subaltern, marginalised groups to confront, resist or contest dominant narratives (Langellier 2010).…”

Section: Performing Masculinity and Refugeenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘If I Die here, I’m a Hero!’ On Masculinity and Vulnerability Among Male Asylum Seekers

Palillo

2018

JEA

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For asylum seekers, masculinity is often a site of conflict, negotiated through competing discourses and public narratives about what it means to be an asylum seeker. Here, the male 'genuine refugee' is often depicted as a feminised, passive victim who 'deserves' humanitarian protection on the base of his vulnerability. Focusing on the crossing of the desert to Libya, this article analyses asylum seekers' positioning of themselves as 'men' through their own narratives as well as the ways in which they engage with vulnerability, victimhood and agency in their storytelling. In particular, the focus lies on two cases, of Hakeem and David, selected from within 36 life history interviews with asylum seekers, refugees, and international protection holders collected in Sicily. For these men, the refugee journey is narrated as an accomplishment not only in terms of receiving asylum, but also in terms of their masculinity, exalting qualities such as endurance, courage, and competence. Two images, of the soldier and the hero, are presented as imaginary positioning of the self. This positioning appears to resolve performative tensions around masculinity/refugeeness, contesting the dominant image of the passive, feminized, helpless subject at the heart of 'the genuine refugee' public narrative. This might also be read as a strategy to reconcile profound questions about identity, the self, and experiences related to trauma and the loss of masculine status in the context of forced migration.

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Balancing Contradictory Identities—Performing Masculinity in Victim Narratives

Cited by 26 publications

References 24 publications

Young victims’ positioning: Narrations of victimhood and support

Young victims’ positioning: Narrations of victimhood and support

Refraining from reporting crimes: accounts from young male crime victims with an immigrant background

‘If I Die here, I’m a Hero!’ On Masculinity and Vulnerability Among Male Asylum Seekers

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