ABSTRACT
Contemporary debates about hate crime have had surprisingly little to say about gender, particularly when considering perpetrators. Based on a small empirical study in the UK, this chapter provides an exploration of data from interviews with a group of white males who regularly targeted Asian shopkeepers for physical and verbal abuse. The data demonstrates how the respondent’s motivations for attacks were often informed by their reflections upon their own masculine identities. The chapter concludes that a greater focus on perceived threats to masculine identities could produce a more nuanced appreciation about why and how certain hate crimes manifest themselves.
