Essay

Question 1

How many acts of violence were recorded by the Office of National Statistics in 2015?

Answer 1

1.2 million

Question 2

Who looked at the concept of masculinity?

Answer 2

Hiedensohn (1985)

Question 3

How did Kimmel (2005) describe manhood?

Answer 3

A man in power, man with power and a man of power

Question 4

What did the educational progress say?

Answer 4

Today, masculinity is much more diverse and although some characteristics from 100s of years ago are still resent (aggressiveness), there are emerging ways for men to achieve masculinity

Question 5

Who looked at the biological principles/features of humans?

Answer 5

Lombrosso

Question 6

How did Ellis (2015) describe Lomrosso’s work?

Answer 6

It was the framework that set the argument that males and females were biologically different and males had masculine biological characteristics that made them more prone to commit violent crime

Question 7

What did Harrington and Nee state in 2005?

Answer 7

Women lack masculine tendencies and are less likely to commit violent crimes

Question 8

Explain Sutherland & Cressey’s 1996 ‘Sex role theory’

Answer 8

• Links with Parson’s idea of socialisation
• Essentially boys and girls are assigned different roles
• Girls get more supervision where as boys are more likely to be unsupervised and find themselves in delinquent cultures which could lead to violent crime
• It is historic that boys be masculine and fight (e.g world war 2)

Question 9

Harland (2009)

Answer 9

‘The fear of looking unmanly’ has traditionally contributed to young men displaying aggressive masculinity as a defence mechanism against the threat of perceived humiliation from others

Question 10

Ellis (2015)

Answer 10

The socialisation of males and females is varied and differs in such a manner that there is more opportunity for males to find themselves committing violent crime against women

Question 11

Parsons (1964)

Answer 11

Masculinity was internalised during adolescent’s socialisation whereby boys were more likely to be involved in deviant behaviour

Question 12

What did Cressey argue in 1966?

Answer 12

Whilst girls were given greater supervision and were encouraged to adopt maternal roles in their primary socialisation, boys were more likely to be exposed to criminal subcultures/environments that were more prone to violence

Question 13

Who said ‘the context of gender stereotype is historic’?

Answer 13

Sinnot (1986)

Question 14

What did Archer say in 1994?

Answer 14

Investing time to be aggressive, tough and masculine are not so well suited to gaining status in contemporary Western societies

Question 15

Describe Messerschmidt’s 1993 theory of structured action

Answer 15

• Males will turn to violence in order to achieve the masculinity that they want
• If they lack the legitimate resources to gain masculinity through educational qualifications or a good job then the last resort is to establish their masculinity through violent crime
• The males will turn to those hegemonic ideals that remain ideal
• Masculinity is a social construction and men have to constantly work at presenting it and constructing it to others

Question 16

What is a critique of sex-role theory?

Answer 16

• There are cases where females commit violent crime

- Most males grow out of their adolescent deviance so how reliable is it on explaining violent crime as young adults

Question 17

What is the critique of Messerschmidt (1993)?

Answer 17

• Does masculinity actually explain the crime or does it just describe the offender?
• Not all men use violence to achieve the masculinity they desire

Question 18

Hall (2002)

Answer 18

• Argues that violence serves a purpose to men who are struggling socially and economically
• It is all about filling the gap with violence when power is absent

Question 19

Katz (1988)

Answer 19

• The gap of legitimate resources to achieve masculinity can lead men into feelings such as shame and rage
• This theory is concerned with the male wanting to feel worthy just like any other individual
• Looked at the example of street elitism which is basically older gangs, more serious
• Violent crimes are committed in order to gain respect and they defy the very organisations and authorities that they could not adapt to, e.g schools

Question 20

What does Hobbs (1998) state about the working classes and masculinity?

Answer 20

• Violence is part of the working class’ life and offers a means of achieving respect that other men can receive through their jobs
• The masculinity that is generated through the working class is based on hardness and territory whereas the middle class masculinity is generated through their education advancement and job prospects
• Similarly, if young lads don’t have a father figure they will turn to delinquent role modes and gangs and learn their methods of obtaining respect and enforcing masculinity which will then be replicated

Question 21

What is meant by the concept of Marginality and Violence ?

Answer 21

The working class struggle to gain status through their qualifications. They lack the resources that middle class families have in order to improve their chances of better grades and jobs.