Intimate Intrusions Revisited: A Case of Intimate Partner Abuse and Violations of the Territories of the Self

Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.5.1.03

Authors

Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson University of Exeter, UK

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.5.1.03

Keywords:

Intimate partner abuse, Abused men, Erving Goffman, Territories of the self, Topical life history

Abstract

Intimate partner abuse is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon, highly situated and “locally-produced” by intimate partners in the domestic interactional milieu. Adopting a symbolic interactionist approach, this article uses a limited topical life-history case study to investigate the interactional experiences of a male victim of female-perpetrated intimate partner abuse. The theoretical analysis utilises Goffman’s conceptualisation of the “territories of the self” and their subjection to various forms of contamination or “modalities of violation”, applied in this case to the contested domestic interactional milieu. The paper seeks to add to a developing qualitative literature on male victims’ experiences of intimate abuse and violence, and to extend Goffman’s conceptual insights into a new domain.

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Author Biography

Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson, University of Exeter, UK

Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson is a sociologist based in the Qualitative Research Unit, within the School of Sport & Health Sciences at the University of Exeter. Employing primarily a symbolic interactionist perspective, she has published widely on identity and identity work in relation to a range of social groups, from doctoral students to graduate administrators in higher education, and more recently, victims of intimate partner abuse. Working as a social phenomenologist, she is also interested in lived-body experiences, particularly in relation to narratives of sporting embodiment, and the role of the senses.

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