Meda Chesney-Lind

Shows how, as women move from lives confined to the domestic sphere, their very spatial mobility might be perceived to be a form of defiance and deviance. Finds that public transport offers males both proximity and anonymity, which, in turn, results in high levels of abuse with very little risk of social or legal consequences.

Re-imagines the field of criminology with insights gleaned from feminist theory and exemplifies the feminist concern for thinking consciously about how and why research should be constructed with the crucial goal of producing knowledge that will promote social justice.

Uses the best data available about actual trends in girls’ uses of violence to find that by virtually any measure, incidents of girls’ violence are going down, not up. Additionally, rather than attributing girls’ violence to personality or to girls becoming “more like boys,” the contributors examine the contexts that produce violence in girls, demonstrating how addressing the unique problems that confront girls in dating relationships, families, school hallways and classrooms, and in distressed urban neighborhoods can help reduce girls’ use of violence.

Challenges the characterization of the new "bad girl," arguing that it is only a new attempt to punish girls who are not the stereotypical depiction of "good."

Examines the hidden ramifications of conviction for inmates, ex-felons, their families and the communities they come from.