Queer criminology: the force of queer utopias, shame and melancholia

This article reviews the emergence of queer criminological literature from 1998 to 31 July 2024, highlighting key contributions and guiding future theoretical and policy directions. It examines central themes and challenges in this field, identifying four main areas of focus: the ontological question of identity; the epistemological role of deconstruction; tensions with queer theory; and applications to criminal justice. Despite recent global policy setbacks, particularly affecting trans people and racialised migrants, in areas such as sex work, healthcare, asylum and prison policy, queer criminology continues to grow. This persistence underscores its relevance in confronting global social and political injustices. Concepts rooted in queer theory, namely queer utopias, shame and melancholia, function as a counter-disciplinary intervention that constitutes queer criminology as a distinct force, subverting criminological orthodoxies, challenging cisnormative and heteronormative biases and extending the field’s epistemic and empirical scope beyond the Global North-South divide while drawing on histories of trauma and loss to imagine transformative possibilities.