Book Review: Elizabeth A. Mansley Intimate Partner Violence: Race, Social Class, and Masculinity El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly, 2009. 203 pp. $62.00 ISBN 978-1-59332-373-8

• Published date: 01 December 2010
• Date: 01 December 2010
• Author: Stephen S. Owen
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016810373077
• Subject Matter: Articles

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Criminal Justice Review 35(4)
Lynch’s book is a fascinating, and deeply distressing, read. She illustrates how local politics and
grudges, resistance to outside intervention, and bureaucratization combined in Arizona to drive the
creation of draconian policies in the prisons and increasingly long sentences for both violent and
nonviolent offenders. Sunbelt Justice is a well-written and researched exploration of how policy
is actually enacted at the state level, and it clearly illustrates why prison scholars studying trends
in incarceration should pay more attention to the local level. The book is of obvious interest to
researchers looking at the adult prison system. It is also of interest to those studying juvenile justice
because Arizona kept a combined juvenile and adult system for a longer time than other states.
Elizabeth A. Mansley
Intimate Partner Violence: Race, Social Class, and Masculinity El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly, 2009. 203 pp. $62.00
ISBN 978-1-59332-373-8
Reviewed by: Stephen S. Owen, Radford University, Radford, VA, USA
DOI: 10.1177/0734016810373077
Mansley’s book reports the results of a qualitative research study with men in treatment for
intimate partner violence. Drawing upon feminist theory and methods, the research questions were
stated as follows: ‘‘Since domestic violence is an expression of masculine power and control, how is
this expression mitigated and/or aggravated by race and class differences? Are the cultural contexts
used to justify the abuse different? Specifically, do the structural factors identified by the abusive
men as contributing to domestic violence differ by race and class?’’ (p. 39). These questions offer
a wide latitude for a nuanced exploration of issues not only specific to race and class but also to age
and neighborhood structure (and more), all with a focus on their relationship to intimate partner vio-
lence (IPV).
The first two chapters provide the theoretical perspectives for the work. They include an over-
view...