The Ecology of Anti-Gay Violence

Abstract

This article discusses how prejudice and violence directed at lesbians and gay men are unique and how they are similar to other forms of prejudice and violence in American culture. The article begins with a brief discussion of how children learn prejudice in general and speculates about the possible origins of anti-gay prejudice in particular. Then, violence in American society is discussed, and the concept of “ethnoviolence” is introduced to refer to violence motivated by a desire to do harm to an “other” who represents a group against which the attacker is prejudiced. The assumption that most anti-gay violence is perpetrated by young males is rejected as biased because it is based only on reported cases. The characteristics of the attacker often are not known and, where known, are likely to vary according to the site of the attack. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the psychological impact of ethnoviolence on victims (who are more traumatized than victims of other crime), on witnesses, and on researchers and service providers.

Antecedents and Consequences of Victimization of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Young People: A Structural Model Comparing Rural University and Urban Samples

“…Although Ehrlich (1992), Herek (1992), and others have discussed the antecedents of heterosexist victimization (e.g., cultural gender role norms) and Garnets et al (1992) have suggested the importance of examining outcomes of heterosexist victimization (e.g., psychological distress), very little effort has been made to address such relationships empirically. Examining these antecedents and consequences of victimization can yield a more comprehensive understanding of these events rather than simply documenting their prevalence.…”

A theoretical framework for antigay aggression: Review of established and hypothesized effects within the context of the general aggression model

“…Over the past 25 years, a great deal of research has been dedicated toward this aim. Numerous scholars have proposed theories of antigay aggression (Ehrlich, 1990;Herek, 1986Herek, , 2000Franklin, 2000;Kimmel, 1997;Kite & Whitley, 1998) that explore mechanisms by which sociocultural and/or individual factors facilitate antigay violence. To elucidate these processes further, Herek (in press-b) defined sexual stigma as "the negative regard, inferior status, and relative powerlessness that society collectively accords to any nonheterosexual behavior, identity, relationship, or community" (pg.…”

When It Happens to Men, It's ”Hate„ and ”A Crime„

“…Finally, the literature fails to take into account differences in men's and women's experiences produced by their different structural locations and life trajectories; heretofore, for example, this literature has not addressed questions about how asymmetrical patterns of parenting, heterosexual divorce, and child custody might make lesbians and bisexual women vulnerable to hate violence in ways men, in general, are not. Despite some recognition of the gendered nature of bias crimes against gay men (Ehrlich, 1992), this literature repeatedly argues that homophobia and heterosexism are the problems to be addressed (Harek, 1992), problems whose resolutions would not fundamentally challenge male dominance. Despite the exclusion of women's interests qua women from the National Hate Crimes Statistics Act, other hate crimes legislation, and the "hate crimes" literature, there appears to be a relationship between feminist approaches to violence and anti-gay violence work.…”