Abstract
Queer theory is becoming an increasingly popular theoretical framework for the exploration of different academic areas. Its use for the study of the legal and justice arenas is still incipient, although it counts some very remarkable pieces, such as Carl Stychin’s Law’s Desire: Sexuality and the Limits of Justice (Routledge, 1995), Janet Halley’s Split Decisions: How and Why to Take a Break from Feminism (Princeton University Press, 2006), or Nico Beger’s Tensions in the Struggle for Sexual Minority Rights in Europe: Que(e)rying Political Practices (Manchester University Press, 2009). Queer Criminology by Buist and Lenning continues the trend set by the mentioned books and takes on queering the field of criminology.
This new monograph makes use of queer theory to discuss and draw attention to the stigmatisation and victimisation suffered by members of the queer community in their interaction with the criminal legal system. ‘Queer’ is itself a notion that defies easy definition, as acknowledged by the authors. Buist and Lenning handle this issue by offering working definitions of the term, as well as of the multiple sexual and gender identities used within the queer community. An aspect to highlight is that the fluidity of queer identities and their refusal to accept strict and clear constraints led the authors (perhaps inadvertently) to define ‘lesbian’ as an identity that involves an attraction to women, but refusing to pin down the subject of desire as a woman herself. Whether being avowed or unintentional, they end up sketching a very queer definition of a sexual identity.
Notwithstanding the inherent difficulties of establishing what a queer approach can be, the authors do an excellent job at contextualising the rationale for their research and in clarifying why it should be considered queer. They explain that their work has been inspired by the fact that those who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and queer disproportionately suffer negative experiences when engaging with the criminal legal system, either as offenders, victims, or agents of the system. The queer approach adopted by the research leads to the authors’ assertion that criminology should be both identity-driven and deconstructionist; identity-driven because gender and sexual identities can be central to queer people’s lives and how they experience their interaction with the criminal legal system; and deconstructionist, since this allows for understanding conceptions of gender and sexuality that underpin current criminological inquiry.
Following the introduction, each chapter deals with a specific area of criminological interest through the lens of queer theory. While chapter 2 focuses on how legislation continues to criminalise queer identities around the globe, chapter 3 deals with the relationship between law enforcement and queer individuals. Then, chapter 4 engages with queerness and the court room, and chapter 5 discusses the queer community within the world of corrections. Lastly, the final chapter presents ideas for future directions in queer criminology.
When dealing with the criminalisation of queerness, the authors argue that criminal legal systems are the primary institutions through which queer lives are socially controlled. They affirm that in our days 78 states continue to deploy criminal law to prohibit consensual same-sex sexuality, highlighting that even developed countries make use of the law to punish same-sex desire. For instance, while it took until 2003 for the Supreme Court of the United States to declare unconstitutional the criminalisation of consensual same-sex sexuality, anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) legislation is still common in several states, which have passed legislation allowing detrimental treatment against sexual and gender non-conformity, as long as it is presented as a ‘religious objection’.
Regarding law enforcement, the authors highlight how a structure of policing that holds masculinity and aggression as values has a truly problematic relationship with the queer community. They argue that this problem exists not only for those queer victims who choose not to report crime due to a fear of revictimisation, but that this fear also extends to queer police officers, who report experiencing a heightened sense of marginalisation and harassment. A similar concern is expressed regarding how queer people appearing in court rooms face widespread discrimination, which applies both to victims and offenders. The reluctance to allow queer offenders to benefit from the so-called ‘Romeo and Juliet’ defence in cases of statutory rape, or the acceptance of the ‘gay panic’ and ‘trans panic’ defences when it comes to justifying a violent crime against queer victims, are clear examples of how queerness can be perceived as a devalued form of existence by the legal system.
As to the relation between LGBTQ people and the correctional services, the authors explain that this is one of the few areas of queer criminology in which trans individuals are at the centre of the research. They discuss how trans people suffer unique problems when it comes to serving sentences, since a system that is heavily based on gender classification tends to ignore trans identities. In addition, the actual possibility of undergoing a gender transition process while incarcerated is certainly not a priority of correctional services, imposing on trans lives further restrictions to that of imprisonment itself.
Lastly, the concluding chapter presents some direction as to needed further research in the field. The authors point out that the available data on queerness and criminology are qualitative in nature, as there is an almost absolute absence of quantitative research. They also highlight that not every queer identity is equal, and certainly not all queer experiences are homogeneous. However, existent data are mostly concerned with gay and lesbian individuals, with a focus on trans identities only when it comes to corrections, and a complete absence of attention to bisexuality (and to fluid and non-binary identities in general, I would add).
To summarise, the book is successful in exploring the use of queer theory as a tool for studying criminology. It concludes by emphasising that queer criminology needs to be intersectional and interdisciplinary, and should pay attention to life beyond academia, in particular to the use of new media. It seems to suggest that queer criminology should be dynamic, as true queer identities can be.