Caught in the Crossfire

An Intersectional Analysis of Gun Violence in America

Abstract

The United States experiences far more mass shootings than any other country, with increasingly more violent rampages in recent years. Public institutions have done very little to change the way that people obtain guns, giving way for private corporations to write the cultural script around gun ownership and usage. In this paper, we will discuss gendered innovations in gun violence: how considering gender can redefine gun culture. Specifically, we will see that society has defined violence as a means to establish or reassert masculinity. In addition to considering gender, we will take an intersectional approach in evaluating gun violence carried out by white men in America who experience a sense of entitlement that have been disrupted by shifting economic and political tides. Finally, we will explore short-term and long-term remedies to violent tendencies beyond policy change that can reshape the way we approach the dialogue around gun violence.