Teaching fear : how we learn to fear crime and why it matters

Title:

Author:

Rader, Nicole E., author.

ISBN:

9781439921029

9781439921036

Personal Author:

Rader, Nicole E., author.

Physical Description:

x, 203 pages ; 23 cm

General Note:

Source of cataloging data: WCP

Abstract:

Where do lessons of "stranger danger" and safety come from--and do they apply differently for women? A gender-fear paradox shows that although women are less likely to be victims of most crimes (sexual assault aside), their fear of crime is greater. Moreover, girls and women--especially White women--are taught to fear the wrong things and given impossible tools to prevent victimization. In Teaching Fear, Nicole Rader zooms in on the social learning process, tracing the ways that families, schools, and the media have become obsessed with crime myths, especially regarding girls and women. Based on in-depth research and family studies, Rader reveals the dubious and dangerous origins of many of the most prominent safety guidelines that teach young girls to be more afraid of crime. These guidelines carry over to adulthood, influencing women's behaviors and the way they order their worlds, with dangerous consequences. As women teach their learned behavior and conditioned fear to others, gendered crime myths are recirculated from generation to generation, making them a staple in our society. Teaching Fear includes suggestions for taking precautionary measures and crime prevention strategies. Rader also provides guidance for instilling safety values and demonstrating how we can "teach fear better" to break this cycle and truly create greater security.

Contents:

Gendered Crime Myths -- Why Gender Matters -- Crime Myths -- Learning Myths -- Learning From Loved Ones : Parents -- Learning From Authority Figures At School -- Learning From Strangers : The Media -- Living Out Crime Myths -- Action-Based Precautionary Behaviors -- Avoidance-Oriented Crime Prevention Strategies -- Adaptation -- Consequences -- Raising Gen Z Children With Gen X Safety Values -- Instilling Safety Values -- Using Safety Lessons From The Past -- Teaching Fear With An Eye To The Future -- What Kids Hear And What Kids Fear -- What Kids Hear Parents Say -- Translating What Kids Hear From Parents To What Kids Fear -- Kids At School -- Other Things Learned From Kids -- Kids Teaching Other Kids -- How To Teach Fear Better -- What Society Can Do -- What We Can Do -- Conclusions.

Subject Term:

Fear of crime -- United States.

Crime -- United States -- Public opinion.

Women -- United States -- Attitudes.

Women -- Crimes against -- Prevention.

Children -- Crimes against -- Prevention.

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Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Book	BF575 .F2 R33 2023	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

Based on in-depth research and family studies, Rader reveals the dubious and dangerous origins of many of the most prominent safety guidelines that teach young girls to be more afraid of crime. These guidelines carry over to adulthood, influencing women's behaviors and the way they order their worlds, with dangerous consequences. As women teach their learned behavior and conditioned fear to others, gendered crime myths are recirculated from generation to generation, making them a staple in our society.

Teaching Fear includes suggestions for taking precautionary measures and crime prevention strategies. Rader also provides guidance for instilling safety values and demonstrating how we can "teach fear better" to break this cycle and truly create greater security.

Reviews (2)

Choice Review

Fear is, for the most part, gendered. Girls are taught to be afraid of a variety of things from a very young age and thus grow up living a much narrower world compared to males. Such fears tend to hamper their outlook and ability to move forward in life. This book is extremely helpful for understanding how the media, schools, and the criminal justice system perpetuate these fears, which can seriously impede peoples', particularly women's, lives. Rader (Mississippi State Univ.) strives to make readers understand that these fears frequently center on both specific races and the female gender. For example, white women are taught that they are the main targets for attack, which is not necessarily correct, and women of color are often invisible to mainstream institutions, including the media. Later chapters address how to cope with fear and what to teach children to understand and manage their anxiety, alongside interviews with research subjects. Although the author's research sample is a bit narrow, encompassing only 29 white, southern women who were each interviewed for roughly an hour on average, the insights gleaned are still notable. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers and lower-division undergraduates. --Susan J Zuber-Chall, Emporia State University

Library Journal Review

Rader (sociology, Mississippi State Univ.; Fear of Crime in the United States) tackles the connection between fearful fictions about crime in the U.S. that she believes are designed to keep women, in particular, docile and afraid, and the real issues that greatly affect not just women but all Americans. The author opens with an overview of the gendered myths surrounding crime that takes into account intersectionality and stereotypes in narratives. Rader explores how these stories are inculcated in U.S. society and the consequences that result when these often racist and/or gendered myths are internalized. There's a section dedicated to Gen Z readers and their perceptions of myths and realities. The book also devotes the three final three sections to action steps and ideas about what society and individuals can do to better prepare and protect people from crime by focusing on facts, not fetishized versions of crimes. VERDICT Recommended for educators, parents, and readers interested in gender identity, politics, and law.--Emily Bowles