Brian Frederick

About Me

Originally from Los Angeles, California, I moved to the United Kingdom in 2012 to begin the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate in Cultural & Global Criminology program at the University of Kent (School of Social Policy, Sociology & Social Research) and Universität Hamburg (Institut für Kriminologische Sozialforschung). This included attendance on the 'Advanced Qualitative and Legal Methods in Criminology' summer session at Utrecht Universiteit and participation in the Common Study Programme in Critical Criminology. Prior to completing my PhD, I completed a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice at California State University at Fullerton (2010) and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice at California State University at Long Beach (2012). 

I moved back to the U.S. in July 2022.

In my past life ('pre-criminology'), I worked in the entertainment industry for 14 years as an executive assistant at such studios as Warner Bros., Paramount and Sony, and also as a talent agent assistant at various agencies, including the Agency for the Performing Arts, International Creative Management and Paul Kohner, Inc. I ended my career in 2002 as a talent agent with my own agency: Bliss, Frederick and Associates.

Research

My research is unique because it applies a queered cultural criminological lens to the study of crime and crime control-related issues that impact the lived experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) individuals. Three areas in which I am research active are:

  • Intimate partner violence (IPV) and intimate partner homicide (IPH) in same-sex relationships and in relationships where transgender individuals are victims

  • Serial murder involving gay, bisexual and queer male victims and perpetrators

  • Queer male drug use (known as chemsex in Europe and Asia or party and play [PNP] in North America).

My research draws on a number of (mostly) qualitative methodologies, including ethnography and 'instant' ethnography, ethnographic content analysis, text- and visual-content analysis and Foucauldian discourse analysis.

As a queered cultural criminologist, I focus largely on the (sub)cultural dynamics that underpin and or shape crime, deviance and transgression that is committed or experienced by LGBTQ men and women. For this reason, I am particularly interested in the past and present marginalization and oppression of sexual minorities -- especially where a resultant stigma is felt or perceived. I also investigate the ways in which the media and other moral entrepreneurs 'represent' LGBTQ-related crime and deviance through, for example, the perpetuation of myths and stereotypes and through the framing of moral panics. I have also recently begun to explore the emergence of what I refer to as self-mediated representations -- that is, the production of personal photo or video content by LGBTQ individuals that depicts them engaged in acts of crime, deviance, transgression or resistance and which is then posted to both public and 'members-only' cyberqueer social media sites and webcam networks.

Finally, I take a critical stance towards 'War on Drug'-led criminal justice policy and outdated (and in some cases, stigmatising) HIV/AIDS public health strategies and discourses surrounding non-normative drug- and sex-related behaviors. Instead, I advocate for drug decriminalization/legalisation and non-interventionist, non-stigmatising, 'zero-discrimination' approaches by drug and sexual health service providers.

Media Availability

Presently, I'm a subject matter expert (SME) on 'Meet, Marry, Murder with Michelle Trachtenberg', a  one-hour 'true crime' television series which launched on A&E's Crime+Investigation channel in the U.K. and is now airing on the True Crime Network, 'Twist' and Netflix in the U.S. The series, produced by U.K.-based FirstLookTV, investigates real-life cases of intimate partner homicide in both countries.

I'm also an SME on 'Making a Serial Killer', a new television series that profiles several North American serial killers and is presently airing on Amazon Prime and AppleTV.

Finally, I've made numerous media appearances at the local, regional and national level on topics such as American politics, the U.S. criminal justice system, the 'Dark Web', U.K. knife crime, psychopathy and the Salisbury poisonings, to name a few. I am also available for interviews or commentary on criminal justice-related issues pertaining to and/or affecting LGBTQ individuals and the LGBTQ 'community'.

Degrees

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Cultural and Global Criminology from University of Kent (England) & Universität Hamburg (Germany)
  • Master of Science in Criminal Justice from California State University – Long Beach
  • Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from California State University – Fullerton

Awards

  • University of Portsmouth Exceptional Teaching Award 2022 - 2022-06-01
  • University of Gloucestershire University Teaching Fellow 2020 - 2020-06-01

Publications

  • Frederick, B. J. (2022). Negatively framed mediated representations of'Chemsex'and'Party N Play'. Rivista Salute e Societá, 21(2/2022), 23-35.

  • Livesey, L., Rees, K., Dooley, P., Frederick, B., & Kesy, J. (2018). 'They are Not the Ones Facing a Life Changing Choice': Public Attitudes to Anti-Reproductive Choice ('Pro-Life') Protests. Available at SSRN 3132457.

  • Frederick, B. J. (2016). Exploring the (sub) cultural dynamics of gay, bisexual and queer male drug use in cyberspace. University of Kent (United Kingdom).

  • Frederick, B. J., & Danica, T. (2016). Social media and drug markets. In European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction: Insights 21: The Internet and Drug Markets (pp. 115-123). Publications Office of the European Union.

  • Frederick, B. J., & Larruskain, P. (2015). Cultural criminology. The Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment, 1-4.

  • Frederick, B. J., & Perrone, D. (2014). “Party N Play” on the Internet: Subcultural formation, craigslist, and escaping from stigma. Deviant Behavior, 35(11), 859-884.

  • Frederick, B. J. (2014). “Delinquent boys”: Toward a new understanding of “deviant” and transgressive behavior in gay men. Critical Criminology, 22(1), 139-149.

  • Frederick, B. J., & Fradella, H. (2012). Leopold and Loeb. In The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America: An Encyclopedia. SAGE Publications Inc..

  • Frederick, B. J. (2013). Partying with a purpose: Finding meaning in an online ‘party ‘n’ play’ subculture [Master’s thesis]. California State University, Long Beach.

  • Frederick, B. J. (2012). The marginalization of critical perspectives in public justice core curricula. W. Criminology Rev., 13, 21.

  • Because an overwhelming majority of serial killers are men who target women, it is perhaps not surprising that a detailed consideration of the queerness of men who target men is virtually absent from analyses of the serial killing phenomenon—not only in research but also in the commentary provided by true crime directors and television producers. This chapter draws upon some of the theoretical concepts developed in the study of the mediated representations of crime in an attempt to analyze true crime content that features—in whole or in part—queer male serial killers (QMSKs). First, the chapter applies “mediatizing” narratives that are specific to serial killers (i.e., prurient reporting; the marginalization and denigration of victims; failures of law enforcement investigations) to the mediated representations of QMSKs. The chapter then focuses on the missing mediated representations of QMSKs—that is to say, aspects of the men and their crimes that are not mediatized.