About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

21 Chicano-Latino L. Rev. 38 (2000)
Confronting the Limits of Gay Hate Crimes Activism: A Radical Critique

handle is hein.journals/chiclat21 and id is 50 raw text is: CONFRONTING THE LIMITS OF GAYt HATE CRIMES ACTIVISM: A RADICAL CRITIQUE JANE SPADE c& CRAIG WILLSEt Throughout the last decade, hate crimes committed against gay, lesbian and transgender individuals have come to the fore- front of gay political organizing efforts. Likewise, especially within the last year and a half, local and national governments and the mainstream press have struggled to determine the appro- priate forms and levels of protection necessary for sexual and gender minorities. Questioning the emancipatory potential of hate crimes activism for sexual and gender non-normative peo- ple, this paper outlines the limits of criminal justice remedies to problems of gender, race, economic and sexual subordination. The first section considers some of the positive impacts of hate crimes activism, focusing on the benefits of legal naming for disenfranchised constituencies seeking political recognition. In the next section we outline the political shortcomings and troubling consequences of hate crimes activism. First, we ex- amine how hate crimes activism is situated within a mainstream gay agenda, a term we use to designate the set of projects priori- t We use the word gay to describe the hate crimes activism for a number of reasons. First, the primary hate crimes legislation sought for and achieved by mainstream gay organizations has not specifically included transgender people. Many gains in hate crimes legislation covering gender variance have been made in separate campaigns waged by transgender people and their allies, and most states with hate crimes laws covering sexual orientation do not have protections against hate crimes motivated by transphobia. Second, we choose the generic term gay over the terms queer or gay/lesbian/bi because we see, as will be described in the paper, that this activism does not routinely engage a struggle for liberation for a broader spectrum of sexual and gender variation implied by the term queer. Additionally, the narrow activist agenda of which gay hate crimes activism is a part privileges a gay male perspective at the expense of feminist perspectives and women's perspectives, and rarely if ever incorporates the experiences and concerns of bisexuals. f Jane Spade is a student in the Public Interest Law and Policy Program at UCLA School of Law. Craig Willse is an independent scholar and works as a case manager at a transitional living program for formerly homeless gay, lesbian, bisex- ual, and transgender youth. Both have engaged in grassroots and institutional activ- ism concerning queer, trans, and sex work issues.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most