An explanation of honour-related killings of women in Europe through Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic violence and masculine domination

Bibliographic Data

ID8045586
AuthorsMagdalena Grzyb (0000-0002-7685-1624, Jagiellonian University, corresponding author), Magdalena A Grzyb (Jagiellonian University)
Year2016
Volume64
Issue7
Pages1036-1053
Publication date2016-03-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCurrent Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0011-3921 • E-ISSN: 1461-7064
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0011392115627479
OpenAlexW2318924778
LanguageEN
Citations received24
References cited25

This article aims to explain the lethal violence against women observed in certain contexts in recent years. It analyses the phenomenon of female homicide victimization through the lens of Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic violence. The principal manifestation of homicide of female victims explored in this article are honour killings in migrant communities in Europe, a culturally specific form of gender-related homicide. The concept of symbolic violence partially explains the honour-related violence within the framework of patriarchal theories and emphasizes the function of direct violence against women as a patriarchal backlash in a situation of structural changes in gender relations. Applying Bourdieu’s theory to honour killings in Europe will explain the dynamics of violence against women in a situation where symbolic patriarchal power is undermined, due to new structural conditions, and offer guidelines on context and agent-focused approaches to tackling the phenomenon

Homicide · Honour · Phenomenon · Sociological theory · Symbolic power · The Symbolic · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Intimate Partner and Family Violence

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub