Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction: Fear Eats the Soul PART ONE: SEX PANIC 1. Panic: A Guide to the Uses of Fear 2. Innocents at Home: How Sex Panics Reshaped American Culture 3. To Catch a Predator: New Monsters, Imagined Risks, and the Erosion of Legal Norms 4. The Magical Power of the Accusation: How I Became a Sex Criminal and Other True Stories PART TWO: THE PUNITIVE STATE 5. Zero Tolerance: Crime and Punishment in the Punitive State 6. Innocents Abroad: Taboo and Terror in the Global War 7. Constructing Victimization: How Americans Learned to Love Trauma 8. The Victimology Trap: Capitalism, Liberalism, and Grievance Conclusion: Whither the Punitive State? Appendix 1: Race, Incarceration, and Notification Appendix 2: Notes on Method Notes Index

About the Author

Roger N. Lancaster is Professor of Anthropology and Cultural Studies at George Mason University and is the author of several books, including Life Is Hard and The Trouble with Nature, both from UC Press.

Reviews

"Casts a thought-provoking perspective." Salon "A convincing argument." The Gay & Lesbian Review "Smart, witty, and political. The critique of state responses to sex offense is desperately needed in a policy debate that celebrates ever harsher punishment." Contexts "This book provides a ... window on the use of sex panics and fear-mongering by the state to increase its control over private behavior." -- J.A. Myers Gay & Lesbian Review/Worldwide