This week’s readings focus on “telling the codes” within
street and prison interactions. A code
is a set of rules or guidelines that are unwritten and followed by all members
of a given social system. These codes
are used as embedded instructions for viewing and describing a particular
social order. These unwritten guidelines
are present in every social system.
Nikki Jones analyzes the role of violence with young inner-city girls
and how this is impacted by the “girl code.”
Jones argues that violence is very much a large aspect in
the lives of many of these girls, contrary to popular opinion. In today’s society women are supposed to be
submissive and weak, when a girl breaks this norm she is often viewed as a
deviant (by contemporary standards.)
Girls are more likely to reach this deviant status if they are from a
lower socioeconomic level and a member of a minority group. Jones conducts interviews with several
members from this high violence group and analyzes the “code” in which these
girls follow in regards to violence.
The primary code of the street is to prove that they are not
someone to be “messed with” via engaging in public fights. After they achieve this they can begin to put
on a “tough front” which allows them to deter future fights without breaking
the code. This ability to defend one’s self
greatly strengthens a young girl’s confidence.
These girls can maintain successful interactions within their social
system as long as they follow the code of the street’s three “R’s” respect,
reputation, and retaliation. The girls
with the highest social statuses are the ones who adhere to the three “R’s.”
I find that Jones has done some very fascinating and
somewhat new research. It was
interesting to see the similarities and differences between men and women in
regards to violence. For men maintaining
the code of the street may often lead them to gain a higher masculine status
and for women maintaining this code often leads them to have their feminine status
revoked. With both genders in these
situations these unwritten rules need to be followed in order to achieve any
sort of respect however, the respect a man and a woman may receive for the same
act has vastly different implications on their overall rank in regards to power
and sexual attractiveness.
Reference:
Jones, Nikki.
Working 'the Code': On Girls, Gender, and Inner-city Violence [online]. Australian
and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, The, Vol. 41, No. 1, Apr 2008: 63-83.
Talking about codes, the first that popped into my head was the hugely popular "Bro Code" from How I Met Your Mother. Although that particular code is designed, let’s face it, mostly for entertainment purposes, it really sparked my curiosity along with the lectures and reading. I knew that both men and women would have their own codes but I found it really interesting your points relating to the violence and aggressive nature of the women in Jones' article, and how a demeanour of violence and strength or aggression is so intertwined with the codes surrounding these women and the behaviour and interactions of anyone else who comes in contact with them. It got me wondering how else demeanour and presentation of self and others may influence social codes and how people react to and maintain particular codes based on the individuals they are interacting with. In my research I happened across a really interesting article looking at the dating habits of disabled women. Howland and Rintala (2001) conducted an investigation into the dating habits of disabled women, interviewing 31 women with differing disabilities in an attempt to gain an insight into the differences between their dating habits and those of able bodied women. Interestingly enough their findings related quite similar o your point about a “tough front” only in this case it’s more of an able bodied front. Majority of the women report that until their disability becomes apparent (at which point their demeanour changes in the eyes of the other person) they are it on and flirted with as much as any able bodied individual. But as soon as their disability becomes apparent all social codes appear to go out the window. This would be similar to a girl who has a tough front, but somehow manages to lose it, say in a fight. Not only has she lost face, and her tough front but she has also broken a number of social codes. Not something a young lady wants to do.
ReplyDeleteHowland, C. A. & Rintala, D. H. (2001). Dating behaviours of women with physical disabilities. Sexuality and Disability, 19(1), 41-70.
Oh wow that's really interesting. I had honestly never thought about the demeanour of how disabled women date. That's definitely a new perspective that I wouldn't have come up with on my own and I love the parallels that you drew between that and my article! :)
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