Abstract
In Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, and Sexual Assault: Challenging the Myths, authors Corina Schulze, Sarah Koon-Magnin, and Valerie Bryan discuss the results of their mixed methods study about the lives of members of the queer community (i.e., gender and sexual minorities). The study took place during the fall of 2013. The researchers combined the Sexual Experiences Survey and the Social Reactions Questionnaire (p. 22) into a larger survey and disseminated it to mostly queer-identified undergraduate students. Respondents had the opportunity to provide their contact information for follow-up interviews, which resulted in 22 qualitative participants. This book draws from a variety of critical perspectives to fill a gap in the knowledgebase by addressing “both gender and sexual orientation […] in tandem and critically” in the context of sexual violence within the queer community (p. 1).
The book has seven chapters and five appendices. Chapter 1, titled “Understanding Sexual Violence,” explains the theoretical foundation of the book by summarizing key points of queer theory, feminist theory, Black feminist theory, along with their roles in criminology. The book not only summarizes these frameworks but also provides historical context by explaining the social movements that have affected views of sexual violence and queer communities.
While the first chapter briefly explains the choice for a primarily qualitative approach to the study along with a list of the book’s goals, the bulk of the methodological explanation takes place in Chapter 2 (“The Importance of Identity”) and three of the appendices. The authors take great care to detail the full analytical process of the consensual qualitative research strategy (CQR, a qualitative technique that is “new” to the social sciences). The CQR technique is an admirable choice for the researchers’ goals and data, and this chapter does an excellent job of outlining the CQR approach and its value to the study design. The chapter also clearly highlights the complex relationship between the participants’ gender identity and sexual orientation using direct examples from the participants’ own words; This includes a brief discussion of certain types of bias that exist both within and outside of the queer community (such as biphobia and transphobia). Finally, the chapter discusses the language participants used to describe rape and sexual assault along with its relationship to their gender and sexual identities.
Chapter 3 (“Sexual Assault and Disclosure”) explores the participants’ experiences with sexual violence. The chapter begins with a broad discussion of the larger societal context of this type of violence, including the distinction between “victim” and “survivor,” the emotional impact of sexual violence, and the prevalence of this violence in both the general population and the queer community. The authors tie these broad patterns into their unique findings, providing examples from the participants’ narratives to clarify and expand upon existing knowledge in this area. The researchers did find that some of their participants’ victimization experiences coincide with the results of existing literature, such as the finding that assaults are usually perpetrated by someone known to the victim as well as other broad victimization patterns (p. 86). However, the authors found a more complex relationship between victimization experiences and queer identity. Specifically, queer participants were concerned about the questioning of their gender identity or sexual orientation in light of a victimization experience (p. 86).
Chapter 4 (“Rape Myths and Rape Culture”) begins by including a broad discussion of rape culture, including a discussion of victim blaming and rape myths. Most notably, during the study, the researchers gave a copy of the widely used Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (IRMAS) to their participants and asked the participants to comment on its applicability to the queer community (pp. 92–93). By using this method, the authors were able to direct attention to the weaknesses of the IRMAS in assessing queer communities. The chapter also compares the qualitative findings with quantitative findings from the survey instrument. Chapter 5 (“The Identity Inclusive Sexual Assault Myth Scale”) builds on the findings noted in chapter four to propose a rape myth scale that addresses the weaknesses inherent in IRMAS, including preliminary analysis using their quantitative data from the beginning of the project.
Chapter 6 (“Unique Concerns and Resources”) serves to “glean tangible policy directions from the participant interviews” (p. 153). The chapter begins with a list of unique concerns for each “sub-community”: sexual assault within the queer community, the lesbian female community, the trans community, and several other sexual orientations and gender identities. Further, the authors explain the needs of the queer community, such as broader sex education (including consent education) in K–12 schools (p. 173), and propose several strategies that could address many of these needs. The possible strategies are divided into categories, including macrolevel strategies (e.g., large-scale social movements and awareness events) and microlevel strategies (e.g., developing better antidiscrimination programs). The book closes with Chapter 7 (“What Have We Learned?”), which summarizes each of the preceding chapters and contextualizes them in the larger academic context. This chapter also provides two key areas for future research: the impact of the media on sexual assault and the impact of the Internet on sexual violence (pp. 193–195).
Overall, one of the greatest strengths of this book is that it fills a significant gap in the academic literature by providing a much-needed overview of the state of the field regarding the sexual victimization of queer people. As such, this book is an excellent reference for any interested scholar. Given its use of a more complex qualitative technique plus its academic context in queer victimization, the book would also have great value as an assignment in a graduate-level course in queer studies, gender studies, victimology, or qualitative methodology. Finally, because of the real-world implications described throughout the book, it might also be of interest to those seeking to close the gap between theory and practice regarding the inclusion of queer people in victim’s services.
