“I zyxwvutsrqpon Don’t Have to be Afraid of You”: Rape Survivors’ Emotion Management in Court Amanda Konradi Ohio zyxwvuts University zyxwvu This analysis of 32 semi-structured interviews with rape survivors explores why and how emotions are managed during court events. I examine rape survivors’ accounts to identify the factors that contribute to intense feelings in the courtroom, incentiveslmotivations survivors have to manage their feelings and expressions of specific emotions, survivors‘ individualized strategies for deflecting, suppressing, and cultivating emotion, and interpersonal strategies for achieving emotional control that involve others in the courtroom. This investigation shows that sutiivors are not passive victims and that emotions are a fundamental feature of interaction in courtrooms. This investigation builds on Mills and Kleinman ‘s zyxwvut (I 988) cognitivelernotional framework and other studies of interpersonal emotion management in and out of formal organizations. INTRODUCTION Research indicates that women are not passive in the face of rape attempts (Bart and O’Brien 1985; Caignon and Groves 1987; Kleck and Sayles 1990), and they selectively bring assaults to the attention of the legal system (Greenberg and Ruback 1992; Williams 1984). Yet rape survivors’ active involvement in the process of prosecuting their assailants has not been extensively examined. Research on rape survivors’ experiences in court- rooms, where they make an essential contribution to the justice process, has emphasized their emotional trauma. Researchers have emphasized that rape survivors are frustrated and pained when blamed in cross-examination, they are fearful to confront their assailants, and they experience distress when relating the rape event during direct-examination (Bohmer and Blumberg 1975; Holmstrom and Burgess 1983, Lurigio and Resnick 1990; Madigan and Gambel 1989). Yet little has been done to analyze the sources of rape survivors’ dis- comfort and no one has sought to understand what rape survivors zyxw do with and about their feelings. To fully understand how the courts operate as sites of resistance as well zyx as domi- Direct all correspondence to Amanda Konradi, 295 Lindley Hall, Department of Sociology and Anthropol- ogy, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701-2979; e-rnail: konradi@ohiou.edu. zyxw Symbolic interaction 22(1): 45-77 ISSN 01 95-6086 Copyright 0 1999 by JAl Press Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.