feminism Flashcards
What is the feminist view of crime?
Feminism is a macro conflict theory which focuses on patriarchy and its effects on crime and deviance
female crime - stats
In 2021, 75% of those prosecuted for TV licence evasion were female.
This offence accounted for 18% of all female prosecutions
Heidensohn - malestream criminology
Criticised the male dominance of the study of crime, which she refers to as ‘malestream criminology’ and has suggested that one of the reasons why female offenders are ignored is because the majority of offenders are male, and so for many sociologists it was more appropriate to study them - rather than the minority of female offenders.
Smart - transgressive criminology
Suggests that criminology itself is a discipline that is tied to male questions and concerns and that it can never offer answers to feminist questions.
Argues there is a need for a feminist version of criminology that answers the concerns of women - she called this transgressive criminology.
This means going behind the boundaries of criminology and looking at a whole range of activities (both legal and illegal) that actually harm women.
smart - sex role theory
Sex-role theory argues that women are less likely to commit crime than men because there are core elements of the female role that limit their ability and opportunity to do so. Theorists tend to focus on three key issues:
sex role theory - girls are socialised differently
- the expectations of behaviour associated with each of the sexes (gender roles) are created through the process of socialisation.
- From infancy children are taught that the two sexes are different and that there are clusters of attributes which males and females ought to have. For instance, one could argue that female roles contain such clusters as attractiveness, softness, caring, sweetness and domesticity whereas male roles contain such attributes as toughness, aggressiveness and sexuality.
- As a result of socialisation, girls could be said to be ‘lacking’ in the values which are generally thought to be associated with delinquency, particularly the elements of toughness and aggressiveness associated with masculinity in our society.
- This approach is supported by the low levels of conviction of females for violent street crime.
sex role theory - girls have tighter social controls
The controls men place upon women’s behaviour also become embedded in the consciousness of women.
According to Heidensohn (1985) women and men occupy different spheres and perform different roles: women occupy the private sphere (the world of the home) and men occupy the public sphere (the world of work and the street). These roles shape male and female behaviour, providing men with more opportunities to commit crime. Women in the workplace are controlled by patriarchal ideology, male superiors and sexual harassment.
Women in the public sphere feel threatened and unsafe because of the sensational reporting of rapes and the unsympathetic attitude of some police and judges to rape victims act as forces controlling women. As a result, women limit their behaviour in public spaces because they are at risk of assault and of being labelled unrespectable (see the terms applied to women such as ‘slag’, ‘slut’ and ‘bitch’). We will look at the social control of women in the home and in public.
sex role theory - women have less opportunity to commit crime
the result of the socialisation process is that women have less desire and less opportunity to engage in deviant, risk taking or criminal acts. We can see this in a number of ways
Carlen - guardians of domestic morality
Argues that women are deterred from committing crime because they are brought up to see themselves as ‘guardians of domestic morality’.
Girls are closely supervised by their parents so have less opportunity to commit crime and patriarchal ideology promises women happiness and fulfilment from family life.
McRobbie
States that females are less likely to commit crime as they are endorsed in ‘bedroom culture’.
Bedroom culture suggests that females spend more time in their bedrooms revising or doing other activities and therefore spend less time on the streets.
This means that girls and young women both do better at school and commit less crime.
walklate
In cases of rape it is often the victim that is put on trial, ‘she asked for it’ due to clothing or behaviour
irish rape case
Dobash and Dobash
Domestic violence is a sign of patriarchy. Often occurs when male privilege, or authority is challenged e.g coming home late from the pub
Stanko
There is an act of domestic violence every 6 seconds in the UK
Domestic violence stats
1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence at some point in their life
1 in 6 men will experience domestic violence at some point in their life
campbell - cult of femininity
- Although women generally commit far less crime than men, there is one exception: shoplifting. Campbell attempted to explain why this is seen as the ‘typical’ female crime.
- She suggests that there are extra pressures on girls which push them towards certain types of crime. Girls are brought up with pressures to buy cosmetics, jewellery and clothes and to do what they can to enhance their looks.
- Thus, females tend to be more susceptible to the pressures of the market and the forces of consumerism than males. This will tend to incline them toward petty theft.
- Girls feel the pressure to look good and they internalise this, accepting the message that men want beauty not brains and that their function, therefore, is decorative. She calls this the ‘cult of femininity’.
- Campbell focuses on girl shoplifters, but it should be stressed that other females who shoplift, such as pensioners or single mums, might do so for more basic material needs.
double deviance
This argument states that women are treated more harshly by the criminal justice system. This is because they are doubly deviant – they have deviated from social norms by breaking the law and deviated from gender norms which state how women should behave.
Heidensohn
and double deviance
If women commit criminal acts they are treated more harshly by the court system
Smart
and double deviance
partner murder in domestic abuse cases often see women imprisoned for long periods whereas men often argue in court they they were provoked to violence
examples of double deviance
myra hindley
rosemary west
amanda knox
what is the chivalry thesis?
pollack
- argues that “women get away with more”, with the police more likely to caution women compared with men.
- He argues that the ‘chivalry factor’ is applied, where women, especially young and attractive ones, are able to use their attributes to avoid prosecution.
- Pollack argues that women are treated in a ‘paternalistic way’ by the police and the courts which may result in them being treated more leniently.
- This may have an impact on police recorded crime statistics, making it appear that women commit less crime than men.
AA (1996)
support for chivalry thesis
CT is supported by a report carried out by the AA (1996) which tried to explain the huge increase in speeding offences amongst women.
The AA argues that this was due to the use of speed cameras which are not affected by the ‘chivalry factor’.
Smart
and the chivalry thesis
Smart argues that women are treated in a ‘paternalistic way’ by the police and the courts which may result in them being treated more leniently
Denscombe
Argues that changing female roles over the last ten years means that females are increasingly as likely as males to engage in risk-taking behaviour.
Adler and ‘liberation theory’
women have more freedom now (‘women’s liberation’) and so commit more crime at work or in society
