Sociality of hate: The transmission of victimization of LGBT+ people through social media
| Author | James Pickles |
| Date | 01 September 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0269758020971060 |
| Published date | 01 September 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Sociality of hate:
The transmission
of victimization of LGBTþ
people through social media
James Pickles
Sheffield Hallam University, UK
Abstract
Hate crimes carry many emotional and psychological detriments for those who are targeted
because of who they are. The harms associated with hate are commonly theorized in the context
of those directly targeted. Using a victimological lens, I consider how the harms of a mass anti-
LGBTþshooting in Orlando, Florida were carried across social media, indirectly victimizing
LGBTþpeople in the North East of England. This article examines seven distinct interviews
conducted post-Orlando from a wider sample of 32. LGBTþparticipants were victimized vicar-
iously by receiving news of the Orlando shooting. They utilized social media to organize vigils,
stand in solidarity with LGBTþFloridians, and share in the emotional distress caused by the
shooting. The findings contribute to our understandings of hate crime as a communicative tool, by
examining the role of social media in carrying the emotional harms associated with hate. Through
these in-depth narratives, this article encourages a conversation about how hate crimes, trans-
mitted across social media, can victimize people who share the victimized identity with the direct
victims.
Keywords
Hate crime, LGBT, social media, terrorism, victimization
Introduction
The use of social media as a communicative tool has been well researched. It is acknowledged (see
Murthy, 2012) that social media platforms are used to find like-minded others and form commu-
nities. Conversely, they can also be used to communicate hatred towards marginalized groups and
Corresponding author:
James Pickles, Sheffield Hallam University, Collegiate Campus, Collegiate Crescent, Sheffield S10 2BP, UK.
Email: j.pickles@shu.ac.uk
International Review of Victimology
2021, Vol. 27(3) 311–327
ªThe Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/0269758020971060
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communities who are often subject to online abuse and harassment, usually in the form of hate
speech (Awan, 2016). Online victimization is frequently considered a direct form of abuse within
scholarly studies, whereby the perpetrator(s) use social media to directly target and harass the
victim(s). Few studies have considered how the transmission of information through social media
platforms, relating to hate victimization, indirectly victimizes those who share an identity with the
victimized group. This article draws on seven distinct semi-structured interviews from a sample of
32 LGBTþpeople in the North East of England.
From January–May 2016, 25 interviews were conducted. However, on 12 June 2016, Omar
Mateen walked into Pulse, a queer nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Pulse was hosting a Latin night
for Latinx, black, and queer people of color from the local area. Armed with a semi-automatic rifle,
Omar entered Pulse and began shooting its inhabitants, killing 49 and injuring 58. This marked the
deadliest incident of targeted violence towards LGBTþpeople since the Holocaust and represents
an extreme example of homophobic terrorism (Schweppe and Walters, 2016). I observed members
of LGBTþonline social media groups – of which I was a member for recruitment purposes –
disseminate news of this event across these platforms. Seven interviews were conducted, as part of
the main project, post-Orlando. Questions about the Orlando shooting were then posed to partici-
pants as part of the regular interview schedule, to keep the project current and in line with
participants’ daily realities. Ordinarily, a sample size of seven would be very small; however,
given the unexpectedness of the Orlando shooting, it is not unreasonable to examine the perspec-
tives of participants interviewed after such a landmark event of anti-LGBTþviolence. The imme-
diacy of interviews conducted post-Orlando provided a unique opportunity to produce high-quality
data, given the paucity of research into vicarious victimization across social media.
Utilizing Iganski’s (2001) model of hate crime, this article takes the form of a qualitative case
study and examines how victimization was transmitted to participants in the North East of Eng-
land. I argue that participants shared in and experienced this terrorist hate crime, indirectly, and
vicariously, through their collective LGBTþidentity. Few studies capture the (indirect) victimiza-
tion of individuals as it is unfolding and occurring. Indeed, Iganski (2001: 636) concludes that
‘little is known about the effects of hate crimes beyond the impact of the initial victim’. This article
therefore provides a unique snapshot into the victimization process caused by information sharing.
I argue that information transmission and communication of hate events across social media can
indirectly victimize those who share the victimized identity of the direct hate victims.
Social media use and hate crime
In England and Wales, hate crime is defined as ‘any criminal offence which is perceived, by the
victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a
personal characteristic’ (Crown Prosecution Service , 2016: 2). Police forces monitor five key
strands of hate crime: race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, disability, and
transgender identity (College of Policing, 2014). Specifically, Section 146 of the Criminal Justice
Act 2003 offers protections to LGBTþpeo ple, which ‘empowers courts to impose en hanced
sentences for offences involving hostility directed towards the victim’s sexual orientation, dis-
ability or transgender identity’ (Chakraborti and Garland, 2015: 10). However, hate crime offences
are treated differently depending on the country where the crime was committed, due to differential
legislative powers within respective jurisdictions.
Statistically, hate crime is of serious criminological concern. Between the years 2017 to
2018, 94,098 hate crime offences were reported to the police in England and Wales, with
312 International Review of Victimology 27(3)
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