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There Is No Strength in Emotions: The Role of Street Enculturation in Influencing How Victimized Homeless Women Speak About Violence

Journal of Interpersonal Violence

Published online on

Abstract

This article is based on analysis of 76 in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with homeless women in Los Angeles. What is revealed are three patterns of street enculturation—"low-," "medium-," and "high street"— which are linked to attitudes women professed to hold about violence. In essence, the degree to which a woman had adopted a "street orientation" is seen to influence how she spoke of violence during earlier portions of the interview. However, several "medium-street" and "high-street" women subsequently acknowledged (directly or indirectly) that they were "fronting" for the interviewer to preserve a tough façade. When they opened up about their real feelings, the extent to which they had internalized the trauma of violence was revealed. Implications of these findings are explored.