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Colloquium Proposal: Intersectionality and Arts Initiatives with Female Juvenile Offenders
This colloquium includes comprehensive analyses of the University of South Carolina Women’s Well-Being Initiative’s (WWBI) issues-based arts initiative for female juvenile offenders – including the assignment of the program, its effect on participants, and the artwork produced. A gender-specific program for female juvenile offenders, the arts initiative is “issues-based” – through interactive discussions and artwork, girls critically engage with issues and dominant ideologies that affect them on a daily basis. The program is also intersectional in design; its curricula take into account race, class, and gender, and are tailored to each group of women and their particular interests and struggles. The arts class gives these girls “in trouble” a space where they can renegotiate their identities through engagement with art and each other.
The presentations proposed for this colloquium utilize an intersectional approach to evaluate each stage of the program: first, we examine the mechanisms and racial biases guiding program assignment. Then we employ an intersectional methodology in examining program effectiveness, and finally, we represent the artwork produced by female offenders, and how they challenge the idea of racial, sexual, and class identity as stable and fixed.
Title 1: Female Juvenile Offenders and the Process of Assignment to Gender-specific Arts Based Interventions and Anger Management Programs
Presentation Type: Colloquium
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Short Description:
Using an intersectional approach, we examine the processes through which female juvenile offenders are assigned to gender-specific arts-based intervention (ABI) and a gender-neutral anger management program (AMP) by assessing the charges prior to group assignment and racial composition of groups.
Longer Description:
Despite the increasing emphasis on gender-specific programming (Hartz & Thick, 2005; Zahn, 2006; Zahn et al., 2009), many arbitration programs either remain “gender-neutral” (Chesney-Lind & Pasko, 2004; Zahn et al., 2008) or rely on stereotypical gender roles (Goodkind & Miller, 2006; Holsinger, 2006). Furthermore, most programs for FJOs center on conceptions of white femininity due to inattention to race/ethnicity (Goodkind & Miller, 2006). The Women’s Well-Being Initiative’s ABI is directed towards the needs of FJOs, acknowledging the diversity in the background (i.e. race/ethnicity, class, and age) and experiences of offenders. Using the quantitative data obtained from Department of Juvenile Justice, we examine the underlying mechanisms behind the decisions regarding assignment to ABI and AMP, and document the racial differences in prior charges and the composition of the programs.
The majority of the ABI participants were White (58%, n=64), whereas the majority of AMP participants were Black (63%, n=46) (p<0.01). However, this association between race and assignment to either programs disappeared after controlling for most common charges, which were respectively shoplifting, possession of marijuana & alcohol, and disturbing schools among White FJOs, and simple assault, disturbing schools, shoplifting among Black FJOs. Additionally, recidivism rates were lower among FJOs who completed the ABI (14%) compared to FJOs who completed AMP (23%).
Even though ABI and AMP are not developed for offenders who commit a specific type of offense, results showed that the arbitrators’ decisions are shaped by the types of offenses that FJOs are charged with. Moreover, there is an association between certain charges and race which in turn shapes the racial differences in assignment. To promote the use of gender-specific arts-based interventions with diverse groups of FJOs, future research should examine the potential biases that guide program assignment in the juvenile justice system.
Key words: arts based interventions; anger management programs; female juvenile offenders
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Biographical Information*:
Ebru Cayir, MD
PhD Candidate
Department of Health Promotion, Education and Behavior
Women’s and Gender Studies Program
University of South Carolina
Anna Smith, MA
Program Coordinator
Women’s Well-Being Initiative
Women’s and Gender Studies Program
University of South Carolina
Lynn Weber, PhD
Department of Psychology
Women’s and Gender Studies Program
University of South Carolina
DeAnne Messias, PhD, FAAN, RN
College of Nursing
Women’s and Gender Studies Program
University of South Carolina
Title 2: Intersectional Approach to Issues-Based Arts Initiatives with Female Juvenile Offenders
Presentation Type: Colloquium
Short Description:
This intersectional study examines the effects of issues-based arts classes on female juvenile offenders by exploring the links between participant evaluations and class curriculum, class racial composition, and participant recidivism rates. We hypothesize that participant evaluations and recidivism rates will vary depending on class diversity and curricula.
Longer Description:
Despite known benefits of arts interventions with female juvenile offenders, rigorous evaluations and best practices models of arts interventions with juvenile offenders are scarce (Ezell & Levy 2003; Hillman, 2009; Miller & Rowe, 2009). The majority of studies rely on easily observable outcome measures, such as recidivism rates, to evaluate program effectiveness. Recidivism rates alone are insufficient outcome measures and fail to explain the processes at work within these classroom environments.
This study explores the effects of issues-based arts classes on female juvenile offenders participating in a juvenile arbitration program in Lexington, South Carolina. We aim to understand the ways in which curriculum and class racial composition affect outcomes, such as perceived attitude changes and recidivism rates. Using an intersectional approach, we conduct a qualitative analysis of arts class participant evaluations and examine the links between participant evaluations and class curriculum, class racial composition, and participant recidivism rates. Our results will contribute to filling the gap in the literature with regards to the influence of arts-based interventions on youth.
Key words: issues-based arts initiatives; intersectional approach; female juvenile offenders
Biographical Information*:
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Anna Smith, MA
Program Coordinator
Women’s Well-Being Initiative
Women’s and Gender Studies Program
University of South Carolina
Ebru Cayir, MD
PhD Candidate
Department of Health Promotion, Education and Behavior
Women’s and Gender Studies Program
University of South Carolina
DeAnne Messias, PhD, FAAN, RN
College of Nursing
Women’s and Gender Studies Program
University of South Carolina
Lynn Weber, PhD
Department of Psychology
Women’s and Gender Studies Program
University of South Carolina
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Title 3: Occupying Anonymous: A Video Project with Girls "in Trouble"
Presentation Type: Colloquium
Short Description:
Drawing upon José Muñoz’s disidentification metaphor and a Deleuzian concept of becoming, presenters reinterpret films produced by girls “in trouble.” Using anonymity, the girls challenged notions of racial, sexual, and class identity as fixed; created liminal space beyond the “good”/ “bad” girl dichotomy; and contested societal stigmas.
Longer Description:
Drawing upon the metaphor of disidentification by a queer scholar José Muñoz and a Deleuzian concept of becoming, presenters reinterpret short video films produced by African-American and Caucasian teenage girls attending a juvenile arbitration program in West Columbia, SC. As “bad girls” and “law offenders,” they could not be publicly identified due to institutional policies, and their appearances on camera had to be carefully masked. Through the use of wigs, props, and make-up, female participants could “occupy anonymous” and create theatrical personas in order to speak directly into the camera. Their occupying the anonymous challenged the idea of racial, sexual, and class identity as stable and fixed; opened up a liminal space beyond the dichotomy of a “good” and “bad” girl subject; and contested the societal stigma placed onto them.
Key Words: art; disidentification; identity
Biographical Information*:
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Olga Ivashkevich, PhD
Department of Art
Women’s and Gender Studies Program
University of South Carolina
Courtnie Wolfgang, PhD
Department of Art
Women’s and Gender Studies Program
University of South Carolina
*Colloquium presenters are graduate students and interdisciplinary faculty of the University of South Carolina's Women’s Well-Being Initiative. As an integral part of the initiative, we design and coordinate an arts-based program for local female juvenile offenders. This is a gender-specific and issues-centered arts program that engages girls in critical discussions and art and new media production about the dominant ideologies and roadblocks in their lives such as violence, abusive relationships, peer pressure, drug use, and body image The program is intersectional in design as its curricula take into account complex interrelationships between race, class, and gender in participants' lives, and are tailored to each group of women and their particular interests, needs, and struggles.