Queering Life-Course Criminology: Examining Queer Turning Points Among Justice-Involved LGBTQ+ Adults

• In Event: Innovations in Queer Criminological Research

Abstract

From a theoretical and policy perspective, little is known about the life-course development of LGBTQ+ people in criminology. In particular, turning points for LGBTQ+ people have yet to receive much theoretical discussion or testing. The lack of theoretical discussion persists even though LGBTQ+ people are overrepresented in the criminal legal system. To address this gap, the current paper seeks to queer the life-course perspective in criminology. This paper takes stock of the relevancy of traditional turning points (i.e., marriage and employment) for LGBTQ+ people, examines through a critical lens the hetero- and cis-normative construction of life-course criminology, and theorizes turning points specific to LGBTQ+ people. To accomplish this, this paper draws on scholarship from various disciplines to present and test an interdisciplinary framework that theorizes three queer turning points: (1) the coming-out process, (2) family acceptance and family rejection, and (3) establishing a chosen family. This study is among the first to collect original data via interviews with justice-impacted LGBTQ+ people to offer comprehensive and in-depth examinations into the relationships between the coming out process, family reaction, and chosen family on criminal behavior and desistence.

Author

• Skyler Morgan, Arizona State University