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The Gendered Face of Terrorism
Author(s) -
Ferber Abby L.,
Kimmel Michael S.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
sociology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1751-9020
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2008.00096.x
Subject(s) - terrorism , ideology , masculinity , face (sociological concept) , politics , sociology , prism , criminology , white (mutation) , domestic terrorism , focus (optics) , gender studies , political science , law , social science , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , optics , gene
What does sociology have to contribute to our understanding of terrorism? As scholars of gender and the Far Right, we believe that we have much to offer the current debates. In this article, we focus both on contemporary cases of terrorism, the attacks of September 11 and the Oklahoma City bombing, and terrorist movements as gendered: as enactments of masculinity. In particular, we focus on the contemporary white supremacist movement, the most dangerous domestic terrorist threat faced by the USA. We suggest that the ideology and organization of many terrorist groups are saturated with gendered meanings, both as the analytic prism through which they view their situation, and also as a means of political mobilization.