Abstract
Starting with the premise that queer theory is primarily committed to anti-normativity, this article explores the extent to which queer criminology embraces anti-normative politics. It traces the development of queer activism, queer theory and queer criminology and noting their different histories and engagements, concludes that queer criminology has become too much ‘criminology’ and not enough ‘queer theory’. Noting the efficacy of queer thought and the limitations of criminology, the article identifies and troubles three trends within queer criminological scholarship: its preoccupation with identity, identity categories and identity politics; its non-coalitional political agenda; and finally, its disengagements with norms, normativity and normalisation. The reification of criminology and the sanitisation of queer thought within queer criminology produces a range of problematic practices and effects and against this backdrop, I argue that queer criminology should adopt a queerer and anti-normative politics that upsets the toxic and injurious status quo.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 562-578 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Crime, Media, Culture |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue number | 4 Special Issue: Queer Matters in Criminology |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s). 2025 This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Keywords
- anti-normativity
- criminology
- norms
- queer criminology
- queer theory