Crime And Deviance - Gender And Crime Flashcards
What do official stats show about male offenders? Include stat from England and Wales 2014
They’re more likely to commit crime
EAW 2014 -> men accounted for 95% of prison pop.
What crimes are usually committed by men?
Sex offences
Criminal damage
Robbery
What crimes are usually committed by women?
Theft
Fraud
Drug offences
What is sex-role theory?
Children are socialised into the 2 sexes from infancy
Boys -> tough, aggressive (more likely to be violent -> crime)
Girls -> prepared for the expressive role
Males are the breadwinners -> girls have a female role model at home, boys reject femininity and seek compensatory compulsory masculinity (anti-social behaviour)
What is sex-role usually associated with?
Parsons -> instrumental/expressive role
EVALUATION: Who speaks about the lack of a male role model & how that can influence boys to turn to street gangs to claim status?
Cohen
EVALUATION: What does Murray say about boys from female headed lone parent families?
They’re more likely to turn to street gangs as a source of status & identity
EVALUATION: What does Walklate say about the sex-role theory and it’s biological assumptions?
Argues that just because women can bear children doesnt mean theyre best suited for the expressive role -> FAMILY DIVERSITY (more women out to work & less women having kids)
The theory is based on biology to explain gender differences in offending-> flawed
EVALUATION: What have feminists done as a response to the sex-role theory?
Put forward alternative explanations -> control theories (HEIDENSOHN & CARLSON)
What are the similarites between the sex-role theory & control theories?
Both focus on patriarchal nature of society & women’s subordinate position in it
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Heidensohn say about patriarchal control?
Attempts to explain why women conform & commit less crimes then men
Argue patriarchal societies control women more effectively then men (more difficult to break the law)
SOCIOLOGIST: What are the 3 main things Heidensohn looks into about patriarchal control?
Control of women at home, work & public
How does patriarchal society control women at home, according to Heidensohn?
Women spend most of their time at home (childcare etc.) -> little time for crime
Daughters have less freedom then sons -> develop a ‘bedroom culture’
How does patriarchal society control women at home, according to Dobash & Dobash?
The threat of DV is imposed on women who try to reject their domestic roles -> dont committ crmie out of fear
What was Dobash & Dobash’s research into refugee women? Give one strength & weakness
Used unstructured interviews
strength -> rapport was able to gain the trust of the women & establish valid data
weakness -> sensitive topic (can result in psychological/emotional damage)
How does patriarchal society control women at work, according to Heidensohn?
Women usually controlled by male superiors (may be intimidated by various forms of harassment)
Glass ceiling -> prevents women rising to senior positions
How does patriarchal society control women in public, according to Heidensohn? Include a statistic from the Islington crime survey
Women often choose to stay home due to fear of being a victim of crime/harassment + limit their behaviour (fear of being labelled ‘slut, slag, bitch’)
54% women avoid going out after work, compared to 14% of men
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Leeds point out about boys in education?
They maintain control through sexualised verbal abuse
Who argues that women are encouraged to conform to class & gender deals?
Carlen
What are class deals, according to Carlen? What is the consequence of it?
Material rewards which occur through working in paid employment -> women can purchase consumer goods & enjoy a respectable life
What are gender deals, according to Carlen
Rewards that arise from fulfilling family roles -> material & emotional support is provided by the male breadwinner
What happens when a woman is denied the rewards from class & gender deals?
They rationally turn to crime because they have nothing to lose & can offer benefits e.g. £££ which aren’t available through the legitimate means (class/gender deals)
EVALUATION: What is a strength of Heidensohn’s theory?
Shows many patriarchal controls that help prevent women from deviating
EVALUATION: What is a strength of Carlen’s theory?
Shows how failure of the patriarchy to deliver the promised deals to some women removes controls -> prevents them from offending
What do sociologists & criminologists say about female crime & official statistics?
Female crime is underestimated -> less likely to be reported/detected/prosecuted & more likely to be let off lightly
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Heidensohn say about female crime and official stats?
Female crime was invisible/sociologists assumed stereotypical ideas on females due to
Male dominance of offenders & sociology, sociological theorising & vicarious identification (what sociologists find interesting)
What is the chivalry thesis?
argues most CJS agents are men who are socialised to act in a chivalrous way towards women -> reluctant to punish women
What is evidence for the chivalry thesis?
Women consistently leniently treated by the law
More likley to recieve community/suspended/shorter sentences
Regarded as less serious threat
What is evidence against the chivalry thesis?
Walklate & Heidensohn -> commit less serious offences (those who violate socially acceptable patterns of female behaviour risk harsher punishment)
subjected to Double jeopardy (trial for crime & deviation of stereotypes)
evil woman theory -> women seen as sexually promiscuous/neglectful/violent perceived worse by CJS
SOCIOLOGISTS: What is the feminist argument regarding the chivalry thesis?
Argue CJS is biased against women (instead of in favour -> proposed by chivalry thesis)
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Heidensohn say about the double standard in the CJS?
treats women more harsh when they deviate norms of female sexuality
sexually promiscuous girls (that havent committed an offence) more likely to be taken into care than boys
However, courts may be reluctant to imprison mothers with young children
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Carlen say about the double standard in the CJS?
women more likely to be sentenced according to courts assessments of them conforming to their gender roles (e.g wives/mothers/daughters) then the crime itself
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Smart say about the CJS?
argues it is patriarchal -> especially how male judges & lawyers deal with female rape victims (victim blaming & sexist remarks)
EVALUATION: How does Waltlake support Smart’s view?
suggests it isnt the defendant on trial but the victim -> she has to prove her respectability in order to have her evidence accepted
What are some different explanations for female crime?
Physiological & Biological (Lombroso => innate criminality)
EVALUATION: What is the support for the biological explanation of female criminality?
High levels of testosterone (males) -> accounts for gender differences in reoffending
Moir & Jessel -> some violent crime linked to PMS (however most sociologists focus on social causes of crime)
SOCIOLOGIST: What is the liberation thesis proposed by Adler?
growing female crime due to changing gender roles
Women in Britain have more independence & are more successful in education etc., & trad controls are weakening -> more leisure time out on the street & see more crime happening
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Denscombe say about the liberation thesis?
there’s a ladette culture -> young women adopting trad behaviour of young men & assert their identity through binge-drinking, peer related violence
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Heidensohn & Silvestri say about the liberation thesis?
cite evidence suggesting changes are due to changes in labelling & criminalisation of girls behaviour than the act -> CJS acting more seriously then dealing with it informally + womens crimes tend to be less serious e.g. shop-lifting
Do stats support Adler’s liberation thesis?
yes -> 17% increase each year (2000-08) -> shows increase in women committing ‘male’ crimes
SOCIOLOGIST: What do Steffensmeier & Schwartz say about the criminalisation of females?
the rise in police stats didnt reflect victim surveys (victims didnt report increase in attacks by females) -> due to CJS widening net
(are american, might not be the case here in ENGLAND)
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Burman & Batchelor say about the media & women?
young women depicted as drunk & disorderly & looking for fights
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Sharpe say about media & women & what is the effect of this?
judges & police influenced by media stereotypes of violent ‘ladettes’ -> self fulfilling prophecy & amplification spiral
What does research show about gender & victimisation?
fewer women victims of violence -> w(2%), m(4%) etc. -> women have greater fear of being victims however they are much less at risk of it
How does sex role theory & gender socialisation explain why males commit more crime than females?
mens trad role = breadwinner (parsons -> instrumental role) -> have more independence than women + opportunities to commit crime
What is hegemonic masculinity?
male gender identity that defines what is involved in being & real man & dominate those who dont conform to it
What does hegemonic masculinity feature?
independence, self confidence, toughness, competition etc
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Connell say about the assertion of masculinity?
suggests hegemonic masculinity associated with trad masc image in the world -> male peer group reinforces tendencies associated with it (particularly among young w class men) -> leads to higher risks of crime & delinquency
What theory does Connell’s explanation link to?
subcultural theory -> Miller -> focal concerns of lower w class subculture
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Messerschmidt say about the assertion of masculinity?
men turn to crime & violence as means of asserting masculinity when trad means are blocked e.g. success @ school, secure status as breadwinner etc.
men seek ‘masculine-validating’ resources e.g. threatened/actual use of violence
those lacking legit masc-validating resources (most likely) come from deprived backgrounds
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Lyng say about the assertion of masculinity?
some men commit crime for the thrills (edgework) -> more likely from men who legit means are blocked but nature of hegemonic masculinity explains why some some m class men commit white-collar/corporate crimes
EVALUATION: What is a limitation of the masculinity thesis?
is a plausible explanation, but doesn’t explain why all men that don’t has access to legit means don’t commit crime
doesn’t explain the different types of crimes committed
not all male crime can be interpreted as an assertion of masculinity
What do labelling theorists suggest the reason that more males commit crimes then women is?
police assumptions & stereotypes are opposite than women
police more likely to see men as potential offenders, label behaviours as criminal & press charges -> explains why they’re more predominant in official stats
What do control theory, rational choice & opportunity theory suggest the reason that more males commit crimes then women is?
men dominate public sphere & face fewer constraints than women (have less to lose in terms of reputation & may enhance it) -> demands of hegemonic masculinity give men more to gain then lose
