WHITE WOMEN, POPULAR CULTURE & NARRATIVES OF ADDICTION Jessie Daniels, PhD @JessieNYC Jules Netherland, PhD @Jnetherland #cdphelsinki

DRUG USE IN U.S. IS

RACIALIZED

There are 100,00 total marijuana smokers in the US and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, swing, result from usage.This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and others.

~ Harry Anslinger, Testimony to US Congress, 1937

“ “

POP CULTURE SHAPES DRUG USE NARRATIVES

WHITENESS & WHITE WOMEN’S ROLE in the RACIST DRUG WAR

“ “ One of the recurring themes in the history of colonial repression is the way in which the threat of real or imagined violence towards white women became a symbol of the most dangerous form of insubordination. In any colony, the degree to which white women were protected from the fear of sexual assault was a good indication of the level of security felt by the colonial authorities. ~ Vron Ware, Beyond the Pale, 2015

METHODS: CONTENT ANALYSIS (2000-2010)

INTERVENTION

LAW & ORDER

Tragic victims, lost potential, hope for redemption

CHARACTERS (“ADDICTS”) ON INTERVENTION BY RACE

(2000-2010)

87%

4% 6% 1%1% 1%

White AfAm La2na/oAsian Na2veAm Biracial

“ “ We have a very long list of different elements we try to find in a story. The most important one is, will the story in some way challenge the stereotype of what addiction is?

~ Dan Partland, Executive Producer, Intervention

71%

18%

11% 0%

White Black La2no Asian Na2veAm Biracial

38%

62%

Male Female

DRUG STORYLINES BY GENDER (2000-2010)

DRUG STORYLINES BY RACE (2000-2010)

THERAPEUTIC & CARCERAL AGENCY OF WHITE WOMEN

Thank you!

Jessie Daniels @JessieNYC Jules Netherland @JNetherland