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Better Left Unsaid? The Role of Agency in Queer Criminological Research

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Abstract

In this article, I review the scant literature on gay men’s involvement in violence, gangs, and crime, which characterizes gay men as having little opportunity for agency. In discussing the popular culture, academic, and political reasons why this population has been neglected from study, I identify existing stereotypes that have shaped representations of gay men. I challenge our societal and disciplinary assumptions by presenting examples from my interview-based and partially ethnographic study of 53 gay gang- and crime-involved men, who both respond to and actively resist stereotypes about them. I also critically reflect on whether a continued lack of attention to queer populations in the criminological and related literatures is desirable today, but conclude the article by providing suggestions for scholars looking to conduct research with LGBT populations, especially within criminology and criminal justice.

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Notes

  1. All names contained herein are pseudonyms, and all quotes presented are verbatim.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by two awards from the University at Albany’s Initiatives for Women. I sincerely thank Matthew Ball, Carrie L. Buist, and Jordan Blair Woods for their thoughtful comments on an earlier draft of this article.

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  1. School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, Center for Law and Justice, 123 Washington Street, Suite 579B, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA

    Vanessa R. Panfil

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Correspondence to Vanessa R. Panfil.

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Panfil, V.R. Better Left Unsaid? The Role of Agency in Queer Criminological Research. Crit Crim 22, 99–111 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-013-9227-y

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