"The 'Bad Guy': Policing, Patriarchy, and the Gendered Construction of Evil

• In Event: Critical Criminology 2: Critical Approaches to Policing and Control

Abstract

This article critically examines the gendered construction of evil through the routine invocation of the term bad guy in police discourse. Drawing on qualitative interviews with law enforcement officers, this study explores how the bad guy archetype is constructed within policing narratives and how this framing reflects and reinforces patriarchal structures. Utilizing a critical criminological lens, this analysis situates the bad guy within a continuum of violence, linking the engagement in direct violence to broader structural violence rooted in patriarchy. By unmasking the implicit gendered assumptions embedded in the language of law enforcement, this article interrogates how the criminalization of certain behaviors and bodies aligns with hegemonic masculinity, reinforcing a binary of good (protector) versus evil (threat). The findings highlight how such linguistic and conceptual framings obscure systemic harms while legitimizing state violence. This study contributes to feminist and critical criminology by illustrating how everyday police discourse perpetuates gendered logics of punishment and control, ultimately shaping broader societal understandings of crime, justice, and morality.

Authors

• Abigail R Henson, Arizona State University

• Janani Umamaheswar, George Mason University