Exploring the Utility and Limits of Intersectionality: An Analysis of Anti-LGBT Hate Crimes

• In Event: 1480 - Section on Sociology of Sexualities Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 04. Sexuality, Health, and Crime

Abstract

This paper provides a systematic intersectional account of anti-LGBT hate crimes in the US by examining three distinct, but interrelated research questions were examined.
1. Is the enactment of state civil rights legislation related to the incidence of anti-LGB hate crimes?
2. Are anti-LGBT hate crimes tied to demographic and other characteristics of victims and perpetrators?
3. Where are victims seeking help post-victimization?
This adds to the literature developing an intersectional, theoretically informed, and empirically sound account of these crimes in order to fully understand the social and individual dynamics that contribute to their occurrence. This project also provides a more advanced and nuanced statistical account of anti-LGBT hate crimes than previous studies have provided by utilizing two nationally representative data sets, the Uniform Crime Report and the National Crime Victimization Survey. Current analyses are often descriptive rather than explanatory in nature, and explanatory accounts are often limited to small, nonprobability samples. Explanatory accounts that are representative at the national level, such as the ones provided in this project, are necessary to understanding how and why anti-LGBT hate crimes occur. Finally, this project also substantively advances our understanding of anti-LGBT hate crimes, insomuch that it examines how social policy can impact rates of victimization and explores post-victimization outcomes, which have not widely been examined in prior research. Examining these issues in conjunction with one another provides critical insight in understanding the utility of intersectionality, but also it’s limits, as it applies to multiply marginalized groups.

Author

• Liz Coston, State University of New York-Stony Brook