This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Zurbriggen, E. L. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Sexualized Torture and Abuse at Abu Ghraib Prison: Feminist Psychological Analyses

University of California, Santa Cruz, zurbrigg{at}ucsc.edu

A feminist analysis of the torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib illuminates aspects of the abuses that have not been previously considered. Social psychological studies that emphasize the importance of a (degendered) 'power of the situation' in determining behaviour have not adequately considered the effects of masculine socialization. The sexualized nature of the abuses at Abu Ghraib was centred on feminization of the prisoners and was an enactment of misogyny and homophobia. Rather than minimizing the harmfulness of the Abu Ghraib abuses, comparisons of them with fraternity hazings and pornography suggest that hazing and pornography are harmful. Finally, prevention of future abuses will be difficult because of the fundamental contradiction in socializing soldiers to kill, yet expecting them to feel empathy for the enemy.

Key Words: empathy • fraternity hazing • homophobia • masculine socialization • misogyny • pornography • prison abuses • sexualization

Feminism & Psychology, Vol. 18, No. 3, 301-320 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0959353508092083


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?