Book Reviews : Fraternity Gang Rape: Sex, Brotherhood, And Privilege On Campus by Peggy Reeves Sanday. New York University Press, 1990. 203 pp. cloth

• Author: Joanne Belknap
• DOI: 10.1177/088740349000400309
• Published date: 01 October 1990
• Date: 01 October 1990
• Published By: Sage Publications, Inc.

285

one.

Furthermore,

Fishman’s

outstanding

analysis

of

the

interview

data

more

than

compensates

for

any

problems

this

organizational

decision

may

create.

This

book

is

appropriate

as

a

text

for

many

sociology,

criminology,

and

women’s

studies

courses,

including

sociology

of

the

family,

sex

roles,

women

and

crime,

victimology,

corrections,

the

criminal justice

system,

and

social/jus-

tice

policy.Because

the

book

is

rich

in

quotations

from

the

wives,

it

would

provide

the

general

public

with

a

more

informed

perspective

of

the

experiences

of

prisoners

and

their

wives

that

should

challenge

many

of

our

negative

stereotypes

provided

by

the

mass

media.

Women

at

the

Wall

should

be

required

reading

for

all

students,

faculty,

and

practitioners

in

the

area

of

corrections.

Fishman’s

analysis

points

to

visitation

policies

(e.g.,

strip

searches)

that

unnecessarily

add

to

the

traumatization

of

the

prisoners

and

their

wives.

Even

the

policy

of

unlimited

telephone

calls

should

be

examined

by

corrections

administrators.While

telephone

calls

provide

vital

communication

contacts

between

prisoners

and

their

wives,

Fishman’s

research

indicates

that

this

can

additionally

traumatize

some

of

the

wives,

if

the

husbands

use

this

to

check

on

and

control

their

wives.

In

sum,

Laura

Fishman

is

to

be

commended

for

her

superb

work

that

significantly

contributes

to

the

social

scientist’s

and

practitioner’s

knowledge

and

understanding

of

the

impact

of

our

criminal

justice

system

on

the

lives

of

prisoners

and

their

families.

Hopefully,

administrators

and

policy-makers

will

read

this

book

and

be

challenged

to

reconsider

some

of

our

current

criminal

justice

policies.

Imogene

L.

Moyer

Indiana

University

of

PA

Fraternity

Gang

Rape:

Sex,

Brotherhood,

And

Privilege

On

Campus

by

Peggy

Reeves

Sanday.

New

York

University

Press,

1990. 203

pp.

cloth.

Peggy

Reeves

Sanday’s

book,

Fraternity

GangRape,

is

a

disturbing

account

of

an

issue

which

probably

plagues

every

campus

with

fraternities

in

the

United

States.

The

importance

of

uncovering

and

demystifying

these

all

too

common

crimes,

and

the

behaviors

and

culture

surrounding

them,

cannot

be

underes-

timated.

Sanday

uses

her

rich

qualitative

data,

comprised

largely

of

taped

interviews

over

a

two

year

period

conducted

by

trained

male

and

female

students,

to

portray

the

complexities

and

horror

of

fraternity

gang

rapes.

This

book

is

haunting

and

riveting.

Sanday

provides

an

honest

and

unsen-

sationalized

examination

of

the

victims,

offenders,

and

non-fratemity

students,

as

well

as

of

the

cultures

within

the

university

and

the

fraternities

themselves.

Importantly,

she

also

analyzes

sexuality

and

rape

and

the

cultural

conditioning

involved

in

defining

them.

For

example,

the

fraternity

members

she

examines

are

obsessed

with

making

fun

of

(particularly

male)

homosexuality

and

apply

a

phallocentric

approach

to

everything.

After

completing

the

book,

I

wanted

every

university

administrator

across

the

country

to

be

required

to

read

it.

Of