Gendered politics in the modern South
Subtitle: the Susan Smith case and the rise of a new sexism
By: Keira V. Williams
Series: Making the modern South series
Publisher: Louisiana State University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Baton Rouge
Language: eng
Number of pages: 255
ISBN-13: 9780807147689; 9780807147696; 9780807147702; 9780807147719
Subjects: Motherhood; Case studies; Sex role; Infanticide; Stereotypes (Social psychology); Sexism
Description: In the fall of 1994 Susan Smith, a young mother from Union, South Carolina, reported that an African American male carjacker had kidnapped her two children. The news sparked a multi-state investigation and evoked nationwide sympathy. Nine days later, she confessed to drowning the boys in a nearby lake, and that sympathy quickly turned to outrage. Smith became the topic of thousands of articles, news segments, and media broadcasts--overshadowing the coverage of midterm elections and the O.J. Simpson trial. The notoriety of her case was more than tabloid fare, however; her story tapped into a cultural debate about gender and politics at a crucial moment in American history.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Susan Smith and the "mommy myth"; title: "A hard week to be Black in Union"; title: The "modern-day Medea"; title: Personal responsibility; title: Union's family values; title: "In a lake of fire"; title: From "monster" to "mentally ill"; title: Epilogue: the new "new momism".