Joey Mogul

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: The first comprehensive work to turn a “queer eye” on the criminal justice system, providing an eye-opening study of LGBTQ+ rights and equality.

Drawing on years of research, activism, and legal advocacy, Queer (In)Justice is a searing examination of queer experiences as “suspects,” defendants, prisoners, and survivors of crime. The authors unpack queer criminal archetypes—from “gleeful gay killers” and “lethal lesbians” to “disease show more spreaders” and “deceptive gender benders”—to illustrate the punishment of queer expression, regardless of whether a crime was ever committed. Tracing stories from the streets to the bench to behind prison bars, the authors prove that the policing of sex and gender both bolsters and reinforces racial and gender inequalities.

An eye-opening study of LGBTQ rights and equality, Queer (In)Justice illuminates and challenges the many ways in which queer lives are criminalized, policed, and punished.

I RECEIVED THIS BOOK FROM THE GOODREADS M/M GIFT EXCHANGE. THANKS!

My Review: Back in the innocent days of 2020, when I received it, this was a mind-blowing read. In 2025, a mere five years later, its infelicities are brought into sharp relief by the spotlight the current US regime is shining on issues of social justice by trampling on, trying to bury, and (where possible) expunge progress made.

I have trans friends and family members. I'm guessing that was either not the case for the authors, or they simply did not delve deeply into those folks' experience. Importantly, though it might seem trivial to some, referring to trans women as "trans" and cisgender women as "women" just perpetuates their othering. The terms "gender non-conforming" and "genderqueer" are not synonyms for "transgender." "Genderqueer" is a different thing, its own category of queerness. I grant you that, when I first saw it codified in the 1990s, it did not have the sense of meaning it does now. "Gender non-conforming" includes anyone, cisgender or even heterosexual, whose manner of self-presentation falls on the edges or outside of a specific culture'e gender norms.

It is a case of the times being unkind to a solidly researched and competently argued (and footnoted!) work of scholarship.

That lacuna, addressable if Beacon Press brings out a second edition of this thirteen-year-old work, aside, I have the greatest respect for this genuinely informative scholarly examination of why decriminalization of same-sex sexual acts is only one small step for humankind. It is a project worth examining in the current horrifying recrudescence of the intolerant ignorance of our never-distant past. When frightened by change, humans routinely find scapegoats and the cynical, power-hungry would-be tyrants feed that base, appallingly cruel need in our ape-brained characters.
An admirable facet of this treatment of the legal system's weaponization of power is that it never isolates the causes of victimization. Race, biological sex however expressed, and socioeconomic class are all very explicitly brought into the conversation. The extent of violence against transfem and gender non-conforming queer men around the world...I'm specifically thinking of the violence committed on the US-Mexico border, though it is by no means the only place this occurs...is often exacerbated by socioeconomic pressures leading these vulnerable people into prostitution. No such threats of violence appertain to their clients. Why would that be, if it is the act of having sex with another man that is being scapegoated here?

I'll leave that thought to marinate with y'all.

In many ways it is the abolitionist movement's intersection with queer-rights groups that powerfully reinforce each other's main thrust: Reform. The system is, as the looneys on the political right constantly complain, rigged. They do not see that it's been rigged for a purpose, and that purpose is also served by impoverishing and immiserating them. Reform for selectively applied to benefit some and exclude others is the antithesis of fairness, justice, equitable distribution...all those things everyone likes until the language they're couched in gets politicized. show less

It's important to contextualize this book in the time it was published. This book is from 2011 and does not account for the past ten years. However, it is an important study in how queer people are treated in the criminal justice system. This book shows us just how unsafe it is to be gay, queer, POC, and/ or gender non-conforming in America, and how our political climate has affected and changed the treatment of queer people in the last hundred years. As a queer person trying to learn about show more the history of my community, I think this is an essential read to understand what our community has had to do to survive and to seek out equity. If anything, I think this book is a little repetitive and maybe, wouldn't appeal to the people who NEED to read it. I.e. right-wing, blue-lives-matter touting, gay-hating people.

I really appreciate that the authors pointing out that POC queers and immigrant queers are in more danger than white queers. And, in fact, are often abused by white queers, their families, and police. The authors will not let you forget the hierarchy in the queer community, how it was forced on us, and also how we are perceived by non-queer folk. I had never before thought of prisons as queer places, but now I understand the ways in which queers are abused in prisons, how queerness is viewed in prison, and the amount of victim blaming that occurs. It's really very upsetting and scary and I highly recommend reading it if you need to contextualize the abuse the LGBTQ has faced. show less

This book is an absolute must-read. It details this history of how the criminal system has preyed upon queer people throughout the centuries and how criminalization effects queer people more severely than other folks. This book covers in-depth the intersections of class, race, gender, and gender identity to present a chilling picture how police and society preys upon queer people; particularly poor, queer, people of color and offers them no recourse. The authors present on the show more ineffectiveness of domestic violence laws and hate crimes legislation.

I was challenged by this book to think in new ways about prisons and prison reform. I think this book should be required reading for all queer people and all people of faith who want to see justice for queer people. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. show less

What a mess this book is! I wanted to read this or something like it, after reading about the abuse of gays by San Francisco law enforcement in Randy Shilts' The Mayor of Castro Street. The book failed in so many ways to present a case for the state of affairs, perhaps because it had three authors and they were all so passionate about their subject that they couldn't control themselves. The beginning part of the book is particularly poorly done. (Because all three authors co-wrote it?) It show more jumps all over the place, making points, supposedly about injustices to gays, by pointing out examples of injustice to blacks and other minorities. (Huh?) And it does that while failing to point out many key nuances of those injustices to blacks that are easily learned by studying the literature readily out there. Certainly, there are several examples of LGBT injustices given, many quite memorable and to the point, but there are inadequate statistics to give backing to those examples. In the end, this should have been no more than an extended magazine article plus a booklet for handout to persons interested in the topic. The book does make a very key point about the connection between the perceived "deviance" of LGBT lifestyles and what then becomes the presumed "illegality" of anything LGBT people do. But what about the questions of why religion has a fetish with homosexuality abuse or why so many homophobic people go into law enforcement and other related questions that are never approached in this book? After reading this, I'm not sure the book I'm looking for even exists yet. show less