Book Review: The gang’s all queer: The lives of gay gang members

• DOI: 10.1177/0734016819839116
• Date: 01 March 2022
• Published date: 01 March 2022
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

Chapter 6 serves as a conclusion to the text. Rickard addresses the shortcomings of current notifica-

tion laws to prevent crimes and the public’s understanding of the sex offender’s likelihood of reoffend-

ing. She underscores the difficulty in having a rational debate about existing policies regarding sex

offenders; there is no sex offender advocacy group, and no lawmaker wants to appear soft on crime.

Rickard makes a policy recommendation to remove sex offender registration and notification laws.

She points out that they do little to effect recidivism rates, and most sex offenders are first-timeoffenders.

Considering the stigma that comes with being a sex offender (even for a minor of fense), future research

should be conducted to investigate whether removing notification laws has a negative impact.

Rickard utilizes qualitative data through narrative analysis to uncover how respondents manage

the sex offender label and their existence in free society that places constrictions on them. She inter-

viewed six men for 3 hr each (two 90-min interviews) using open-ended in-depth interviewing

methods. This technique was used to avoid imposing a narrative on the interviewee by restricting

their answers based on a predetermined line of questioning. The first interview consisted of questions

aimed at collecting background information including family history. This interviewing strategy was

aimed at building the rapport necessary to discuss their current and prior offenses in the follow-up

interview. The second interview focused on the nature of their offense. Rickard chose nonstructured

interviewing techniques to allow the respondents to construct their own story to result in unique nar-

ratives that were meaningful to each person being interviewed.

Rickard outlines efforts to gain access to research subjects and the challenges incurred. Only three

sex offender treatment centers were labeled as such, making it difficult to find locations to recruit

participants. Through the Probation Department, Rickard was able to distribute fliers to probation

officers to pass along to their “clients.”Rickard received calls to participate in the study, but few

returned her calls or showed up for interviews, even with a financial incentive to do so. Utilizing

this strategy, Rickard was able to interview four men. When Rickard went to one of the treatment

centers to discuss the project and increased the financial incentive, she was able to recruit seven

more men, two of whom were interviewed. She does not state why she ultimately chose these six

men to interview and capture in this text. Based on the small sample size, Rickard’s results may

not be generalizable, but the stories conveyed by the respondents are on par with the current literature

on sex offender typologies.

Sex Offenders, Stigma, and Social Control is well suited for undergraduate and graduate students in

criminal justice classes. Often, I find undergraduate students think of sex offenders as falling into dichot-

omous categories (rapists and child molesters). This text can challenge popularly conceived notions of

offending and is useful in guiding conversations on sex offenders, treatment, and the impact of public

policy. Furthermore, Sex Offenders, Stigma, and Social Control effectively outlines how correctional

policy impacts real people. Finally, Sex Offenders, Stigma, and Social Control would be an ideal text

for offender counseling classes. Students who are interested in correctional counseling would find

this text insightful and valuable in considering how to counsel sex offender populations.

Panfil, V. R. (2017). The gang’s all queer: The lives of gay gang members. New York: New York University Press.

289 pp. $28.00, ISBN: 9781479870028.

Reviewed by: Christian L. Bolden, Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA

DOI: 10.1177/0734016819839116

The Gang’s All Queer sets out to contest the heteronormative framework of criminological research

regarding “who”can be a gang member and “how”people navigate boundaries and identity work in

the precarious social arena of gangs and street life. On both fronts, Panfil successfully accomplishes

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