Gender and crime

Question 1

Patriarchal control theory (Heidensohn)

Answer 1

women have at least one male figure in their life who does not want them to commit crime (father, husband, brother)

Question 2

Functionalist sex role theory (Parsons)

Answer 2

due to their biology and the way they are socialised, women are nurturing by nature, and therefore are incapable of/ do not want to commit crime

Question 3

Chivalry thesis (Pollak)

Answer 3

men have a protective attitude towards women and thus are more lenient, so their crimes are less likely to end up in official statistics
- women being let off for speeding

Question 4

Liberation thesis (Adler)

Answer 4

women are now becoming much more equal in society with men, therefore they now commit more crime

Question 5

Class and gender deals (Carlen)

Answer 5

women have two deals, the class deal and the gender deal. The class deal is that if they work hard they will be financially rewarded in life. The gender deal is that if they are a good mother and wife they will be treated well. Carlen believes that when both deals break down, women turn to crime

Question 6

Masculinity (Messerschmidt)

Answer 6

Men use hegemonic masculinity through crime to show ‘strength’ and status

Question 7

Globalisation (Winlow)

Answer 7

globalisation had led to a decline in traditional manual jobs in which many working-class males could express their masculinity through. However, there has been an increase in the night-time leisure economy which has provided a combination of legal employment and criminal opportunities to express masculinity