“So Much for Protect and Serve”: Queer Male Survivors’ Perceptions of Negative Police Experiences

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-250
Author(s):  
Doug Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Racial Identity ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Police Response ◽  
Gender Nonconforming ◽  
Male Survivors ◽  
Men Of Color ◽  
Sexually Assaulted ◽  
Gender Presentation ◽  
Depth Interviews

The author employs a critical queer criminology approach to examine the negative reporting experiences of queer men who have been sexually assaulted. Based on qualitative, in-depth interviews, findings reveal that queer men of color’s perceptions differed based on gender expression with those participants who did not describe themselves as feminine or gender-nonconforming expressing surprise that police officers had disparaged their sexuality. Moreover, White participants differed based on age, as younger White queer men expected the police to provide support, whereas their older counterparts were not surprised by the negative police response. These findings have implications for theorizing the intersections of gender and sexuality with race and age, given that results indicate younger White queer men may now increasingly perceive the police as providing protection. In contrast, gender-nonconforming queer men of color described continual profiling experiences based on their gender presentation and their racial identity.

Constructing hierarchies of victimhood: Queer male survivors' evaluations of sexual assault survivors

Sexualities ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136346072110605
Author(s):  
Doug Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Sexual Assault Survivors ◽  
Male Survivors ◽  
Common Response ◽  
Feminist Theories ◽  
Consensual Sex ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Assault Survivors

The author employs a critical sexualities approach and draws on feminist theories of sexual assault to examine queer male survivors’ constructions of hierarchies of victimhood. Results, based on in-depth interviews conducted with 60 queer male survivors, reveal that participants most commonly responded to questions concerning hierarchies of victimhood by arguing that sexual assault is taken more seriously when it happens to women than to men. The second most common response involved participants constructing other queer male survivors as blameworthy, invoking a stereotype of a feminized queer man seeking consensual sex. In light of these findings, the author argues for greater attention toward building solidarity among survivors across the lines of gender and sexuality and for further feminist, sex critical interventions that challenge the pathologizing of male femininity and consensual sex.

Gay (White) Male Speech and the E(race)sure of Identity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brianna R. Cornelius
Keyword(s):  
Racial Identity ◽  
Language Use ◽  
White Male ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gay Identity ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Language Varieties ◽  
Gay Male ◽  
Men Of Color ◽  
African American Language

Although a notable body of work has emerged describing gay male speech (GMS), its overlap with African American language (AAL) remains comparatively understudied. This chapter explores the assumption of whiteness that has informed research on gay identity and precluded intersectional considerations in sociolinguistic research. Examining the importance of racial identity, particularly Blackness, to the construction of gay identity in the United States, the chapter investigates the treatment of GMS as white by default, with the voices of gay men of color considered additive. The desire vs. identity debate in language and sexuality studies contributed to an understanding of gay identity as community-based practice, thereby laying a necessary framework for the study of GMS. However, this framework led to a virtually exclusive focus on white men’s language use. Although efforts to bring a community-based understanding to gay identity have been groundbreaking, the lack of consideration of intersectionality has erased contributions to GMS from racially based language varieties, such as AAL.

“Blacks Can’t Jump”: The Racialization of Transit Police Responses to Fare Evasion

2021 ◽  
pp. 215336872110075
Author(s):  
TaLisa J. Carter ◽  
Lallen T. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Racial Identity ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Predominately White ◽  
White Neighborhoods ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Race And Place ◽  
Fare Evasion

This study demonstrates that racially disparate fare evasion citation outcomes are the product of racialized social systems that allow transit police officers to determine the belongingness of Black riders in systems of mass transit. Using citation data from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, we test the impact of race and place attributes on transit officer decisions to allocate punishment for subway fare evasion using mixed effects logistic regression controlling for individual and contextual predictors. Although rider racial identity alone proves statistically irrelevant, Black riders suspected of fare evasion possess an elevated risk for being fined as opposed to merely being warned at stations located within predominately white neighborhoods and as stations increase in ridership. These findings demonstrate how transit police officer discretion challenges Black belongingness on systems of public transportation. Broader implications of this work include the importance of scholarship linking statistical disparities to organizational intent and integrating diverse voices in policing policy development.

scholarly journals Navigating “Mixedness”: The Information Behaviours and Experiences of Biracial Youth in Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Indra Ayu Susan Mckie
Keyword(s):  
Racial Identity ◽  
Social Life ◽  
External Validation ◽  
Racial Climate ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Information Avoidance ◽  
Daily Experiences ◽  
Continuous State ◽  
Physical Features ◽  
Depth Interviews

It is generally understood that, ‘for those deemed white, the idea of race serves as a vast source of unearned privilege within all facets of life; for those deemed coloured, it means susceptibility to countless forms of prejudice and racism’ (Nuttgens 2010, p. 255). But what does this mean for a person with indistinguishable physical features, who is questioned daily, “where are you from?” or, even more dehumanisingly – “what are you? In the current racial climate of Australia, biracial second-generation Australians are left to choose between two or more identities on how to behave in attempts to fit binary racial groups and expectations (Shih & Sanchez 2009). This paper presents the data from six in-depth interviews with Asian biracial youth from across Sydney. The interviews explore how this group has confronted race while developing their own identities during adolescence, as well as how their understanding of being “mixed” has developed over time. In exploring this collective racial identity, I draw from my own racialised experiences to address emergent themes from my findings. Numerous displays of information behaviours emerged from the participant’s stories of isolation, belonging and resentment towards their racial mixedness. Information avoidance, browsing, seeking and satisficing were observed within their daily experiences of school, family and social life. Such practices informed how these individuals internalised their inherited intersection of racial persecution and privilege. Critical engagement with information behaviours theories justifies the modern notions of identity as a continuous state of reconstruction (Hall 1996) as the biracial participants of this study struggle to find balance with the external validation of others and their driving agency to be themselves.

scholarly journals We Live Here, and We Are Queer!: Young Gay Connected Migrants’ Transnational Ties and Integration in the Netherlands

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-101
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Patterson ◽  
Koen Leurs
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Coming Of Age ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Bridging Social Capital ◽  
Transnational Ties ◽  
Values And Beliefs ◽  
Bonding And Bridging ◽  
Sexual Identification ◽  
Depth Interviews

Upon arrival to Europe, young migrants are found grappling with new language demands, cultural expectations, values, and beliefs that may differ from global youth culture and their country of origin. This process of coming-of-age while on-the-move is increasingly digitally mediated. Young migrants are “connected migrants”, using smart phones and social media to maintain bonding ties with their home country while establishing new bridging relationships with peers in their country of arrival (Diminescu, 2008). Drawing on the feminist perspective of intersectionality which alerts us socio-cultural categories like age, race, nationality, migration status, gender and sexuality impact upon identification and subordination, we contend it is problematic to homogenize these experiences to all gay young adult migrants. The realities of settlement and integration starkly differ between desired migrants – such as elite expatriates and heterosexuals – and those living on the margins of Europe – forced migrants and lesbian, gay, trans, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) migrants. Drawing on 11 in-depth interviews conducted in Amsterdam, the Netherlands with gay young adult forced and voluntary migrants, this paper aims to understand how sexual identification in tandem with bonding and bridging social capital diverge and converge between the two groups all while considering the interplay between their online and offline entanglements of their worlds.

scholarly journals Ameliorating the Plight of Awaiting-trial Inmates in Ebonyi State, Nigeria Through Reasonable Bail Conditions

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Okorie Ajah ◽  
Emmanuel Ekeoma Uwakwe ◽  
Bonaventure N. Nwokeoma ◽  
Cyril O. Ugwuoke ◽  
Rebecca Ginikanwa Nnamani
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Sampling Techniques ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Economic Capacity

Bail is a privilege granted to suspects at the discretion of a court. The court exercises this discretion to give temporary freedom to crime suspects pending the conclusion of court trial. Where the bail conditions become stringent, unattainable or out of reach for suspects, suspects overreach themselves and this defeats the moral intentions of ‘bailing’ and the law. This paper discusses how awaiting-trial inmates are the most victimized by the challenges of the criminal justice system in Ebonyi State and how easing bail conditions for awaiting-trial inmates could reduce suspects’ costs of victimization. Using qualitative and quantitative research approaches, a sample of 1498 respondents comprising 623 awaiting-trial inmates, 617 police officers, 145 prison officers and 113 court staff was drawn from Ebonyi State. Multi-stage and purposive sampling techniques were used to reach the respondents. Questionnaire and in-depth interviews were instruments for data collection. Findings confirmed that keeping suspects in prisons longer than necessary is traumatic to suspects. Key recommendations include easing of bail conditions for awaiting-trial inmates by cutting the high bail prices to match the economic capacity of Ebonyi State’s neighborhood or relaxing bail terms that could enable inmates to meet bail requirements.

Men in Mixed-Orientation Marriages in Contemporary China: Unpacking the Role of Heteronormativity and Patriarchy

2021 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2110557
Author(s):  
Changhui Song ◽  
Joyee Shairee Chatterjee ◽  
Donna L. Doane ◽  
Philippe Doneys
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Filial Piety ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Contemporary China ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
The Social ◽  
Depth Interviews

This qualitative study based on 34 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with cis-gendered tongzhi (men who are attracted to men) critically explores the factors influencing their decisions to enter mixed-orientation marriages (MOMs) in China. Theoretically, the study weaves together insights from queer and feminist theorizing and analyzes the role of heteronormativity and patriarchy, especially in relation to hegemonic masculine ideals, in the context of marriage norms in contemporary China. Our examination showcases the contradictory role heteronormativity and patriarchy play in simultaneously marginalizing and privileging these groups of men along the axes of sexual, gender, and lineage (inter-generational) hierarchies. It also underscores the continued role of filial piety norms. Overall, the study contributes to deepening our understanding of the complex nature of MOMs and discussions of MOMs as marriage fraud. We argue that examining these non-normative marriages furthers explication of the social structures underpinning gender and sexuality in a context of patriarchal marriage-normative societies.

Complex Colorblindness in Police Processes and Practices

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Welsh ◽  
Joshua Chanin ◽  
Stuart Henry
Keyword(s):  
Racial Disparities ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Racial Profiling ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Traffic Stops ◽  
Enforcement Policy ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract Racial disparities in police-community encounters are well documented, with people of color experiencing higher levels of police scrutiny. Far less is known about how police officers perceive the racial dynamics at play in their work. As part of a 2016 study of traffic stops in San Diego, we conducted in-depth interviews with 52 city police officers. Despite evidence of racial disparities in SDPD practices related to post-stop outcomes, officers denied, minimized, or even condemned racial profiling during traffic stops; officers described operating under a neutral policy of “colorblindness.” Our analysis identifies cognitive and discursive mechanisms which explain this complex and contradictory picture. We find that officers’ accounts excuse, justify, or otherwise negate the role of race in routine police work, yet officers’ thoughts and actions are based on racialized and, at times, dehumanizing narratives about people and communities of color. These morally neutral accounts form a pattern of micro-racialized discourse, constituting a layering of racialized processes and practices that cumulatively produce racially disparate outcomes. We argue that rejection of explicit racism alone is insufficient to address the progressive micro-racial aggression that emerges at key points during police-community encounters. We discuss the implications for law enforcement policy and practice.

Toward a Relational Perspective on Young Black and Latino Males: The Contextual Patterns of Disclosure as Coping

2014 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Knight
Keyword(s):  
Community Violence ◽  
Social Perceptions ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Male Adolescents ◽  
School Settings ◽  
Men Of Color ◽  
Ecological Theories ◽  
Latino Male ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Black And Latino

In this article, David J. Knight investigates where and when Black and Latino male adolescents engage in self-disclosure—sharing their emotions, thoughts, and social perceptions—with their peers. Building from asset-based research and ecological theories of development, Knight analyzes in-depth interviews and finds that these adolescents may consider context in their decisions regarding whether or not to disclose to peers. Participants who reported disclosing behaviors tended to do so outside of school settings, while those who did not report disclosure discussed how experiences with community violence contributed to their decision not to share their feelings. Knight discusses the implications of this work for practitioners who hope to provide safe educational settings for young men of color.

scholarly journals Police officers’ experiences as victims of hate crime

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 526-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob C. Mawby ◽  
Irene Zempi
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Hate Crime ◽  
Police Training ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to fill a research and literature gap by examining the nature and impact of hate crime victimisation on police officers, and their responses to it. The research explores victimisation due to the occupational stigma of policing and the personal characteristics and identities of individual officers.Design/methodology/approachThe research design is qualitative, based on 20 in-depth interviews with police officers in one English police force. Thematic analysis was applied to the data.FindingsAll participants had experienced hate crime arising from their occupational or personal identities. Initially shocked, officers became desensitized and responded in different ways. These include tolerating and accepting hate crime but also challenging it through communication and the force of law.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is based on a small sample. It does not claim to be representative but it is exploratory, aiming to stimulate debate and further research on a contemporary policing issue.Practical implicationsIf further research works were to confirm these findings, there are implications for police training, officer welfare and support, supervision and leadership.Originality/valueThe police occupy a problematic position within hate crime literature and UK legislation. This paper opens up debate on an under-researched area and presents the first published study of the hate crime experiences of police officers.

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