Crime and gender

Question 1

How are violent female criminals viewed by society?

Answer 1

Female killers extremely rare compared to male killers, when females commit significantly violent crime is often attributed to other factors
-Dominant male partners
-Result of abuse from men
-Mental illness
Female criminals that have seriously challenged the expectations of femininity in society tend to be treated harshly in the media and given harsher sentences than those live up to the stereotype

Question 2

Why do females commit less crime than males?

Answer 2

Functionalist sex role theory
Heidensohn patriarchal control

Question 3

Functionalist sex role theory- How do gender roles in the family cause boys to engage in compensatory compulsory masculinity?

Answer 3

Because of the way they are socialised e.g. boys tough and aggressive
Men instrumental breadwinning roles
-Women’s expressive and nurturing, socialising children thus meaning girls get a good role model vs boys down and reject femininity slipping into delinquency

Question 4

Functionalist sex role- Cohen?

Answer 4

Due to the lack of role model, boys are more likely to tun to street crimes and gangs to identify with
Subculture groups earn status by risk taking

Question 5

Functionalist sex roles- new right?

Answer 5

Absence of the male role in matrifocal lone parent family’s turn boys to criminal street gang for a source of identity

Question 6

Functionalist sex role- Walklate criticism?

Answer 6

Parsons assumes that because women have the biological capacity to bear children that they are best suited to the expressive role
Although this theory explains gender differences in crime in terms of behaviour via socialisation, its based on the biological assumptions of sex differences

Question 7

Heidensohn patriarchal control- control at home?

Answer 7

Housework and childcare restricting time and movement, reducing opportunity for crime
-Daughters less likely to go as they please ‘bedroom culture’ leading girls to be at home

Question 8

Heidensohn patriarchal control- control at home Dobash and Dobash?

Answer 8

Violent attacks on women from their husbands if they don’t satisfy their husbands with domestic tasks

Question 9

Heidensohn patriarchal control- control in public?

Answer 9

The threat and fear of ale violence e.g. 54% of women avoid going out after dark for fear of being victim in crime vs 14% of men
-Females defined as respectable for wearing makeup
-Avoid pubs in order to not get called ‘loose’

Question 10

Heidensohn patriarchal control- control in public Heidensohn?

Answer 10

Reporting rape adds to the fear due to the distortion of rape that the media do portraying rapists as strangers

Question 11

Heidensohn patriarchal control- control in public- Sue Lees?

Answer 11

In schools boys control via sexual verbal abuse, if girls don’t conform to gender roles they are labeled as ‘slags’

Question 12

Heidensohn patriarchal control- control at work?

Answer 12

Controlled by male supervisors and managers
Sexual harassment to keep women in their place, being subordinate reduces major criminal activity due to the glass celling preventing white collar crime

Question 13

Heidensohn patriarchal control- control at work Heidensohn?

Answer 13

Patriarchy may push women to crime e.g. women more likely to be poor turning to theft and prostitution to get a decent living standard

Question 14

Why do females commit less crimes- Risk taking?

Answer 14

Women are risk avers
This means they are less likely to engage in criminal activity due to the risks it brings
-Women feel more protective of their homes and children and would feel they have more to loose then men if they went to prison

Question 15

Risk taking- criticism Denscombe?

Answer 15

Gender roles are changing
Females likely to engage in risk taking
D did a indebt interview of 15-16 yr old girls who find they took on male attitudes of ‘looking hard’ and ‘control’
This is due to post modern society

Question 16

Reasons for women committing less crime- Knowledge and opportunity bedroom culture McRobbie?

Answer 16

Girls are more likely to be indoors vs boys outdoors where opportunity for delinquency can rise

Question 17

Reasons for women committing less crime- Knowledge and opportunity?

Answer 17

-Adulthood demands of home and children takes all the time and energy from women
-Employment women are restricted lower levels of work reducing the opportunity to engage in white collar crime
-Women likely to have less knowledge on how to commit a crime e.g. stealing cars, breaking locks etc as all require ‘masculin’ knowledge