Where the Girls (and Women) Are

Abstract

This paper takes up a theoretical and empirical investigation of how two community-based projects for young women both create safety from community and domestic violence but how, in the process, discourses of multicultural inclusion define one site, and racist discourses of exclusion float through the other site. By relying on two intensive qualitative case studies of community-based organizations for girls, one exclusively White and working class and the other expressly multicultural and antiracist, we try to identify those structures and practices that support feminist, but inadvertently racist, work and those structures and practices that enable, at once, feminist and antiracist consciousness and praxis.

Imagining possibilities with and for contemporary youth: (re)writing and (re)visioning education today

“…In this space, in this time, the young women pull away from others. Unlike previous work, however, which suggests that this form of identity work in urban schools takes place largely along we/they racial lines (Bertram et al, 2000;Fine and Weis, 1998;Fine et al, 1997;Weis, 1990), particularly among workingclass whites, and most particularly boys and men, the particular form this distancing work takes here is that of distancing from other neighborhood young people, and, more broadly, from other girls/women thought to be heading down the wrong path.…”

Combatting Social Exclusion: “Safe Space” and the Dynamics of Inclusion at a Homeless Farming Site

“…Previous studies find that "safe spaces" provide a respite from stereotyping and prejudice (Cooper, 2012;Hall & Fine, 2005;Weis & Fine, 2000) and the farm was no exception, providing a place for personal development as well as positive intra-and interclass interactions. Institutional practices helped build these bridges.…”

“…Homelessness and the Need for "Safe Spaces" "Safe spaces" are consistently characterized by physical safety (e.g., from violence, toxic chemicals, with privacy and comfort), psychological safety (e.g., free from harassment or mistreatment), and development of culture and community (Cooper, 2012;Holley & Steiner, 2005;Weis & Fine, 2000). Fine and Weis (1998) found that working-class informants longed for spaces "from which stereotypes are banned and solidarity among those at the margins is encouraged" (cited in Hall & Fine, 2005, p. 183).…”

Weaving Feminism and Community Psychology: An Introduction to a Special Issue

“…Another often-overlooked element in the analysis of diversity dynamics is the importance of understanding constructions of ''the other'' (Herek, 1998;Wilkinson & Kitzinger, 1996). Through a juxtaposition of two settings for women and girls, Bertram, Hall, Fine, and Weis (2000) look at how settings can influence discourses about gender, race, and racism. They describe great contrasts between the two settings based on the organizations' histories and origins, the transitional nature of the surrounding neighborhood, and dominant community values about outsiders and newcomers.…”