Panic and Power: Developing a History of Gay and Trans Panic as a Sociolegal Force

• In Event: Sociology of Law Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Sociology of Law Section Roundtables: Table 3 — Gender, Sexuality, and Legal Categories

Abstract

This paper utilizes a Foucauldian lens to chart the history of gay and trans panic as an emergent sociolegal force in the United States. Taking guidance from Foucault’s History of Sexuality Vol. 1, four cases are outlined as inflection points of incitement to discourse and analyzed through media and filmic depictions, their public reception, and the legislative movements of the moment. Understanding power as force relations, this exploration reveals the risks inherent in the repression of discourse. Accordingly, while this paper advocates for the abolition of the gay and trans panic defenses, it argues the need for bias education expansion, especially among jurors.

Author

• Sophia Davis Castillo, UC Irvine