One thing I forgot to mention about the Gay Panic Defense, in reference to the outdated assumptions of "male = logical/female = emotion": As someone who exists on the female/femme end of the gender spectrum, I think about how many times I have been sexually harassed on a daily basis, just walking in public, for the past--I don't know--25 years. Had I responded by assaulting or murdering each person who propositioned me, there would be a body count to the heavens and back. My point is this: if it is mostly men who use the Gay Panic Defense in court, then what does that say about the assumption of dispassionate male logic? Also, if women are bombarded with sexual harassment and threats on (pretty much) a daily basis, what does that say about our so-called "emotionality?" Just thoughts, folks.
