The Condemnation of Black Motherwork
Anti-Bodies and Sexual Assault Sentencing
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2725831 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sameena Mulla (0000-0002-5880-5771, Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Emory University Atlanta Georgia USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-25 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Anthropologist (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7294 • E-ISSN: 1548-1433 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/aman.70013 |
| OpenAlex | W4413566058 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 6 |
This essay argues that maternal condemnation is a key technique of carceral disciplining in sexual assault sentencing hearings in the United States. The frequency, arbitrariness, and intensity of such condemnation demonstrates Black women's susceptibility to public critique, even when they are not at the center of projects of carceral discipline. By engaging the concept of Black anti-bodies, the essay shows how carceral institutions extend a logic of caring for Black women and girls in the process of sexual assault prosecutions. The public nature of court proceedings produces a spectacle of condemning Black maternal figures in the name of this care. The forms of talk that are publicly uttered also become part of a public record, which forms the basis for future sentences
Criminology · Medical emergency · Poison control · Sexual assault · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · History · Homelessness and Social Issues · Medicine · Race, History, and American Society
| Highly cited | No |
|---|