Crime Topic 5 - Gender Flashcards
What is observed as the most significant feature of recorded crime?
Gender differences
Heidensohn observes that gender differences are a key aspect of crime statistics.
What percentage of convicts in the UK are male?
80%
Four out of five convicts in the UK are male.
By the age of 40, what percentage of females had a criminal conviction compared to males?
9% of females and 32% of males
This highlights the disparity in criminal convictions between genders.
Which type of offences are females more likely to be convicted for?
Property offences, except burglary
Females are convicted for property crimes more than males.
What type of offences are males more likely to be convicted of compared to females?
Violent or sexual offences
Males have a higher conviction rate for serious crimes.
Are men or women more likely to be repeat offenders?
Men
Men are more likely to commit crimes again and engage in serious offences.
What three key questions emerge from gender differences in crime statistics?
- Do women commit less crime than men?
- How can the crimes of women who offend be explained?
- Why do men commit more crime?
Why are female crimes like shoplifting less likely to be reported?
They are less visible compared to male crimes
Female crimes are often overshadowed by more prominent male offences.
What does the Chivalry thesis explain?
Women appear less in crime statistics due to leniency from the criminal justice system
The thesis suggests that male agents of the justice system are more lenient towards women.
Who argues that men have a protective attitude towards women affecting their arrest rates?
Otto Pollak
Pollak suggests that male police officers show more leniency towards female offenders.
What did Graham and Bowling’s self-report study find about female involvement in crime?
Higher than crime statistics suggest
Their study revealed girls’ crime rates were underestimated.
How are females treated in comparison to males when it comes to prosecution?
More likely to be cautioned than charged
This indicates a disparity in the handling of female offenders.
What did Farrington & Morris find regarding sentencing for theft offences?
Women were not sentenced more leniently than men for comparable offences
This challenges the Chivalry thesis.
What do feminists argue regarding the treatment of women in the courts?
Women are punished more harshly for deviating from gender norms
Courts impose stricter penalties on women for behaviours deemed inappropriate.
What does Heidensohn’s Patriarchal Control Theory suggest about women’s conformity?
Women are conformist due to patriarchal control limiting their opportunities to offend
Control mechanisms in society restrict women’s criminal behaviour.
What are the three areas of control identified by Heidensohn?
- Control at home
- Control in public
- Control at work
What is the Class Deal according to Carlen’s study?
Material rewards for women who work leading to avoidance of criminality
Economic stability is linked to lower crime rates among women.
What is the Gender Deal as described by Carlen?
Promise of material and emotional rewards from family life
Women conform to societal norms for family stability.
What did Adler argue regarding women’s crime rates?
Women are committing more typically male crimes as patriarchal controls lessen
As gender equality increases, women’s offending patterns change.
What evidence supports Adler’s Liberation Thesis?
Rise in female violent crime statistics
Official data indicates a shift in the types of crimes committed by women.
What is net widening in the context of female criminalisation?
Justice system arrests females for less serious forms of violence
This reflects a broader interpretation of criminal behaviour.
What did Steffensmeier and Schwartz conclude about the increase in female arrests?
It reflects the justice system widening the net
More women are being prosecuted for minor offences.
What is a mismatch between fear and risk concerning women and crime?
Women fear crime more but are at less risk of victimisation
This highlights a discrepancy in perceptions of safety.
What is a common misconception about male and female crime rates?
That all crime theories are applicable to both genders equally
Many theories have historically focused on male offenders.
What does Messerschmidt argue about masculinity?
It is a social construct influencing male offending behaviour
Understanding masculinity is key to addressing male crime.
What percentage of females who have experienced serious sexual assault report it to the police?
8%
What do feminists argue about non-feminist theories of crime?
They only focus on males and do not explain all crime.
What question have criminologists not specifically asked according to feminists?
What is it about being male that leads men to offend?
Who argues that masculinity is a social construct or ‘accomplishment’?
Messerschmidt
What is HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY defined by?
- Work in the paid labour market
- Subordination of women
- Heterosexism
- Drive and uncontrollable sexuality of men
What are SUBORDINATED MASCULINITIES?
Types of masculinity that include lower class and ethnic minority males who lack resources to achieve hegemonic masculinity.
According to Messerschmidt, how do different men use crime and deviance?
As resources to accomplish masculinity.
What type of masculinity do WHITE MIDDLE CLASS YOUTHS exhibit in school?
Accommodating masculinity
What is the behavior of WHITE WORKING CLASS YOUTHS in relation to masculinity?
Oppositional both in and out of school.
What study by WILLIS illustrates the behavior of WHITE WORKING CLASS YOUTHS?
‘The Lads’ study
How do BLACK LOWER CLASS YOUTHS often express their masculinity?
Through gang membership and violence.
What type of crime are middle-class individuals more likely to commit?
White collar crime
What are two critiques of Messerschmidt’s theory?
- Is masculinity an explanation or a description of male crime?
- Fails to explain why all men do not use crime to achieve masculinity.
What shift in society does WINLOW associate with globalization?
From a modern industrial society to a late modern or postmodern de-industrialised society.
What did WINLOW study in Sunderland?
The lives of bouncers.
What did WINLOW find about working-class young men in Sunderland?
They expressed masculinity through violence and found success through illegitimate opportunities.
What concept did WINLOW draw on from Cloward and Ohlin?
Distinction between conflict and criminal subcultures.
What does BODILY CAPITAL refer to in WINLOW’s study?
The ability to use violence as a way to display masculinity and earn a living.
What is the significance of maintaining the sign value of their bodies for men according to WINLOW?
To discourage competitors from challenging them.
In a postmodern world, what does masculinity become?
A commodity in its own right.
How does WINLOW’s study illustrate changes in masculinity?
It shows how masculinity changed with the move from modern industrial society to a postmodern de-industrialised society.
