Drawing on a wide range of perspectives and methods of analysis, the contributors in this book offer a nuanced look into the myriad ways minority women influence, and are influenced by, the political world. This is a necessary addition to our examination of institutions, voters, and elections, as it requires us to consider the power of identity and the growing influence of women of color.
Kathleen Dolan, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, USA
Pulling together original and thoughtful contributions from leading experts in the field on the role of women of color in politics and using a mix of methodological and theoretical approaches, the contributors to this edited volume delve deeply into the reality of the political experiences of Black, Latina, Asian American, and Native American women. The book is essential reading for those interested in truly understanding modern U.S. politics and the role played by women of color as candidates and in the general public.
Melissa Michelson, Menlo College, USA
DISTINCT IDENTITIES
Minority women in the United States draw from their unique personal experiences, born of their identities, to impact American politics. Whether as political elites or as average citizens, minority women demonstrate that they have a unique voice that more often than not centers on their visions of justice, equality, and fairness.
In this volume, Drs. Nadia E. Brown and Sarah Allen Gershon seek to present studies of minority women that highlight how they are similar and dissimilar to other groups of women or minorities, as well as variations within groups of minority women. Current demographic and political trends suggest that minority populations specifically minority women will be at the forefront of shaping U.S. politics. Yet, scholars still have very little understanding of how these populations will behave politically. This book provides a detailed view of how minority women will utilize their sheer numbers, collective voting behavior, policy preferences, and roles as elected officials, to impact American politics.
The scholarship on intersectionality in this volume seeks to push beyond disciplinary constraints to think more holistically about the politics of identity.
Nadia E. Brown is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science & African American Studies and Research Center at Purdue University. Her scholarship on intersectionality seeks to push beyond disciplinary constraints to think more holistically about the politics of identity and Black womens politics more specifically.
Sarah Allen Gershon is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University. Her research focuses on the incorporation of traditionally underrepre-sented groups (including women, and racial and ethnic minorities) into the American political system. In seeking to explain the challenges faced by these groups, Dr. Gershons work emphasizes the role of communication, campaigns and political attitudes.
Routledge Series on Identity Politics
Series Editor: Alvin B. Tillery, Jr.,
Rutgers University
Group identities have been an important part of political life in America since the founding of the republic. For most of this long history, the central challenge for activists, politicians, and scholars concerned with the quality of U.S. democracy was the struggle to bring the treatment of ethnic and racial minorities and women in line with the creedal values spelled out in the nations charters of freedom. In the midst of many positive changes, however, glaring inequalities between groups persist. Indeed, ethnic and racial minorities remain far more likely to be undereducated, unemployed, and incarcerated than their counterparts who identify as white. Similarly, both violence and work place discrimination against women remain rampant in U.S. society. The Routledge series on identity politics features works that seek to understand the tension between the great strides our society has made in promoting equality between groups and the residual effects of the ascriptive hierarchies in which the old order was rooted.
American Exceptionalism and the Remains of Race
Edmund Fong
The Political Uses of Motherhood in America
Cynthia Stavrianos
Sexploitation
Sexual Profiling and the Illusion of Gender
Michle Alexandre
Negotiating Identities
Politics and Religion in the United States
David S. Gutterman and Andrew R. Murphy
Distinct Identities
Minority Women in U.S. Politics
Edited by Nadia E. Brown and Sarah Allen Gershon
DISTINCT IDENTITIES
Minority Women in U.S. Politics
Edited by
Nadia E. Brown and Sarah Allen Gershon
First published 2016
by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2016 Taylor & Francis
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ISBN: 978-1-138-95883-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-95884-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-66101-8 (ebk)
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CONTENTS
Nadia E. Brown and Sarah Allen Gershon
Mirya R. Holman
K. Jure Capers and Candis Watts Smith
Pearl K. Ford Dowe
Jeanette Yih Harvie
Rachel VanSickle-Ward and Adrian D. Pantoja
Jessica D. Johnson Carew
Shyam K. Sriram
Ivy A. M. Cargile
Orlanda Ward
Kira Sanbonmatsu
Christina E. Bejarano
Ricardo Ramrez and Carmen Burlingame
Nicole Filler and Pei-te Lien
Andra Gillespie
Christina Greer
Diane-Michele Prindeville and Lawrence Broxton
Tonya M. Williams
Nadia E. Brown and Sarah Allen Gershon
When we first began to talk about this book, we were assistant professors. Our desire to work on this book came from observations regarding the literature on American political behavior. As many scholars in this field do, we frequently discussed the need for more work concerning the intersection of race, gender, and ethnicity in American political behavior. Coming from different methodological backgrounds, we wanted to edit a book that brought together scholars who utilized a variety of empirical and theoretical approaches to study minority women in American politics.
