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Continuum
Journal of Media & Cultural Studies
Volume 28, 2014 - Issue 1
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General papers

Scripting hate crimes: victim, space and perpetrator defining hate

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Abstract

Hate crime legislation is meant to address discrimination at a community level. The hate crime categorization involves the justice system and the media – who play a key role in the community's understanding of the act. In 2008 in Washington, DC, two separate attacks on gay men – one White, one African-American – were categorized differently. One was a hate crime; the other was not. This paper looks at the social scripts employed within the media and police statements that contextualize these events in terms of neighbourhood as well as the race, gender and sexuality of the victims and perpetrators.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Andrew R. Spieldenner

Andrew R. Spieldenner is Assistant Professor in the Department of Rhetoric at Hofstra University. His examines issues of culture and the body in three primary areas: HIV/AIDS, gay men, and health.

Cerise L. Glenn

Cerise L. Glenn is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her research interests center on social constructions of difference and diversity, particularly identity negotiation and representations of underrepresented groups in organizational, intercultural, and popular media contexts.

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