Criminology And Queer Theory

This book offers critical reflections on the intersections between criminology and queer scholarship, and charts future directions for this field. Since their development over twenty-five years ago, queer scholarship and politics have been hotly contested fields, equally embraced and dismissed. Amid calls for criminology and criminal justice institutions to respond more effectively to the injustices faced by LGBTIQ people, criminologists have recently developed a Queer Criminology and turned to queer scholarship in the process. Through a sweeping analysis of critical criminologies, as well as issues as varied as shame and utopian thought, Matthew Ball points to the many opportunities for criminology to engage further with the more politically disruptive strands of queer scholarship. His analysis highlights that criminology and queer theory are 'dangerous bedfellows', and that navigating the tension between them is central to confronting the social and criminal injustices experienced by LGBTIQ communities. This book will be of particular interest for scholars of criminology, criminal justice, LGBTIQ studies, gender studies and critical theory.

This book surveys the growing field of Queer Criminology. It reflects on its origins, reviews its foundational research and scholarship and offers suggestions for future directions. Moreover, this book emphasizes the importance of Queer Criminology in the field and the need to move LGBTQ+ issues from the margins to the center of criminological research. Core content includes: • Contested definitions of and conceptual frameworks for Queer Criminology • The criminalization of queerness and gender identity in historical and contemporary context • The relationship between LGBTQ+ communities and law enforcement • The impact of legislation and court decisions on LGBTQ+ communities • The experiences of queer victims and offenders under correctional supervision This revised and updated edition includes new developments in theory and research, further coverage of international issues and a new chapter on victimization and offending. It is essential reading for those engaged with queer, critical, and feminist criminologies, gender studies, diversity, and criminal justice.

This ground-breaking book explores the practical applications of queer theory for criminal justice practitioners. It covers theoretical concepts within queer criminology and the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals as victims, offenders and professionals, and proposes ways in which a real difference can be made to training, policy and practice.

Queer criminological work is at the forefront of critical academic criminology, responding to the exclusion of queer communities from criminology, and the injustices that they experience through the criminal justice system. This volume draws together both theoretical and empirical contributions that develop the growing scholarship being produced at the intersection of 'queer' and 'criminology'. Reflecting the diversity of research that is undertaken at this intersection, the contributions to this volume offer a deeper theoretical and conceptual development of this field alongside empirical research that illustrates the continued relevance and urgency of such scholarship. The contributions consider what it means to be queering criminology in the current political, social, and criminological climate, and chart directions along which this field might develop in order to ensure that greater social and criminal justice for LGBTIQ communities is achieved.

Queer criminological work is at the forefront of critical academic criminology, responding to the exclusion of queer communities from criminology, and the injustices that they experience through the criminal justice system. This volume draws together both theoretical and empirical contributions that develop the growing scholarship being produced at the intersection of 'queer' and 'criminology'. Reflecting the diversity of research that is undertaken at this intersection, the contributions to this volume offer a deeper theoretical and conceptual development of this field alongside empirical research that illustrates the continued relevance and urgency of such scholarship. The contributions consider what it means to be queering criminology in the current political, social, and criminological climate, and chart directions along which this field might develop in order to ensure that greater social and criminal justice for LGBTIQ communities is achieved.

The Myth of the Queer Criminal documents over a century of writings by sociologists, psychologists, criminologists, and forensic scientists, in Europe and the United States, who asserted that LGBT persons were innately and uniquely criminal. Applying the tools of narratology and queer theory, Jeffery P. Dennis examines the ten types of queer criminal that have appeared in seminal texts, both literary and scientific, over the past 140 years - beginning with Lombroso's Criminal Man (1876) and extending to postmodern criminologists and contemporary textbooks. Each type is named after its defining characteristic. The pederast, for example, was believed to be a master-criminal, leading vast criminal empires. The degenerate, intellectually and morally corrupted, was perceived as a symptom or cause of societal decay. The silly, lisping pansy was a figure of ridicule, rather than of dread. The traitor was murderous and depraved, prepared to destroy democratic institutions worldwide. The book aims to contextualize this mythology, revealing the motivations of the agents behind it, the influence of broader preoccupations and anxieties of the age, and its societal, political and cultural impact. This carefully researched, meticulously written history of the queer criminal will be of interest to students and researchers in criminology, gender studies, queer studies, and the history of sexuality.

Honorable Mention, 2018 Distinguished Book Award presented by the American Sociological Association’s Sociology of Sexualities Section The first inside look at gay gang members. Many people believe that gangs are made up of violent thugs who are in and out of jail, and who are hyper-masculine and heterosexual. In The Gang’s All Queer, Vanessa Panfil introduces us to a different world. Meet gay gang members – sometimes referred to in popular culture as “homo thugs” – whose gay identity complicates criminology’s portrayal and representation of gangs, gang members, and gang life. In vivid detail, Panfil provides an in-depth understanding of how gay gang members construct and negotiate both masculine and gay identities through crime and gang membership. The Gang’s All Queer draws from interviews with over 50 gay gang- and crime-involved young men in Columbus, Ohio, the majority of whom are men of color in their late teens and early twenties, as well as on-the-ground ethnographic fieldwork with men who are in gay, hybrid, and straight gangs. Panfil provides an eye-opening portrait of how even members of straight gangs are connected to a same-sex oriented underground world. Most of these young men still present a traditionally masculine persona and voice deeply-held affection for their fellow gang members. They also fight with their enemies, many of whom are in rival gay gangs. Most come from impoverished, ‘rough’ neighborhoods, and seek to defy negative stereotypes of gay and Black men as deadbeats, though sometimes through illegal activity. Some are still closeted to their fellow gang members and families, yet others fight to defend members of the gay community, even those who they deem to be “fags,” despite distaste for these flamboyant members of the community. And some perform in drag shows or sell sex to survive. The Gang’s All Queer poignantly illustrates how these men both respond to and resist societal marginalization. Timely, powerful, and engaging, this book will challenge us to think differently about gangs, gay men, and urban life.

This Major Reference series brings together a wide range of key international articles in law and legal theory. Many of these essays are not readily accessible, and their presentation in these volumes will provide a vital new resource for both research and teaching. Each volume is edited by leading international authorities who explain the significance and context of articles in an informative and complete introduction.