Citation

Moore D, Rennie AM. Can. J. Criminol. Crim. Justice 2006; 48(5): 823-834.

Affiliation

Carleton University; McGill University

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Canadian Criminal Justice Association, Publisher University of Toronto Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article explores two 'gay bashings', the murders of Alain Brosseau and Aaron Webster. In both cases, we argue that the application of anti-hate crime legislation reveals the troubling nature of attempts to legally fix sexual identities. The law imagines gayness to be innate and obvious. These cases show that sexual identity is fluid and contingent. Our study also shows that, through the application of hate-crime law, sexual identification is not necessarily self-determined. Politicized communities, legal actors, assailants and media all participate in naming someone's 'gayness'.