Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States [Paperback]

Winner of the 2011 PASS (Prevention for a Safer Society) Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency

A groundbreaking work that turns a “queer eye” on the criminal legal system,Queer (In)Justiceis a searing examination of queer experiences—as “suspects,” defendants, prisoners, and survivors of crime. The authors unpack queer criminal archetypes—like “gleeful gay killers,” “lethal lesbians,” “disease spreaders,” and “deceptive gender benders”—to illustrate the punishment of queer expression, regardless of whether a crime was ever committed. Tracing stories from the streets to the bench to behind prison bars, they prove that the policing of sex and gender both bolsters and reinforces racial and gender inequalities.

A Note from the Series Editor (Michael Bronski)

Introduction

1Setting the Historical Stage: Colonial Legacies

2Gleeful Gay Killers, Lethal Lesbians, and Deceptive Gender Benders: Queer Criminal Archetypes

3The Ghosts of Stonewall: Policing Gender, Policing Sex

4Objection! Treatment of Queers in Criminal Courts

5Caging Deviance: Prisons as Queer Spaces

6False Promises: Criminal Legal Responses to Violence against LGBT People

7Over the Rainbow: Where Do We Go from Here?

Acknowledgments
For Further Reading
Notes
Index

“Eloquent and seamless . . . essential reading for anyone interested in how queers intersect with the criminal legal system.” —Yasmin Nair,Windy City Times

“Queer (In)Justice ought to be force-fed to the staffs and boards of directors of every national and state gay organization in the hope that it might open their eyes to a reality they too often deliberately ignore. . . . It’s that important.”—Doug Ireland, GayCity News