Gender and Crime Flashcards
What is the chivalry thesis? (2)
Suggests that men are socialised to be more softer and protective towards females while being harder on males.
Pollack: argues that women are treated more leniently and women are more skilled at deceiving people as they are able to hide menstruation etc.
What is evidence for the chivalry thesis? (2)
Women get shorter sentences.
Women are less likey to be stopped and searched.
What is evidence against the chivalry thesis? (2)
Womens less severe treatment is mainly due to the fact that they commit less serious crimes.
Rates of imprisonment has increased for women in early 21st century.
What is patriarchal control and who argues this? (2)
Heidensohn.
Men/ societyexercise patriarchal control over women who commit crimes that transgress away from their gender roles.
Double standards exist because the criminal justice system is against women based on stereotypical gender roles.
What is the sex-role theory? (2)
Different gender socialisation encourages women to adopt feminine characteristics like being emotional and less aggressive.
Girls have a clear role model to folow that emphasises caring and support. (bedroom culture)
Functionalism.
What is the control theory? (4)
Women are ideologically controlled on society which deters them from crime:
Control at home: their domestic role has restrictions on their time and movement reducing crime. Teenage girls develop bedroom culture where they are supervised.
Control in public: by a threat of fear of male violence against them. They are at home so they won’t commit crime.
Control at work: sexual harassment is widespread and keeps women in their place with the glass ceiling reducing women’s opportunities.
What is the control and gender deal? (3)
The class deal refers to material rewards that arise from working.
The gender deal is accepting a long term relationship for support from the male bread-winner.
But the rewards may not be available to women due to unemployment and poverty so they have to make a rational choice on when to commit crime and what it is for.
How does the sex-role theory explain male criminality?
Men take more risks and may not have a clear male role model which could lead them to crime.
How well does the rational choice theory explain all female offending?
The factors that are identified are not unique to women, they can apply to men too.
How does the control theory explain male criminality?
Men are the ones doing the controlling and they don’t have curfews so they can stay out later and commit more crime.
What is a criticism of the control theory? (2)
Not all men commit crime and control
women.
There have been improvements for women, more freedom and apps to keep them safe. But, it is still difficult to explain why female crime rates are low.
What did Denscombe find out?
There is now a more masculinised ‘ladette culture’ where yound women are adopting behaviour associated with young men and assert their identity thrpugh binge drinking.
What is the masculinity thesis? (3)
Men sometimes turn to crime to assert their masculinity specifically hegemonic masculinity which is competitive.
Businessmen may express their masculinity through sexual harassment or abuse.
A man who has no power at work may express his masculinity through domestic abuse and gangs.
What are criticisms of the masculinity thesis? (3)
Too deterministic.
Some men may commit crime for pleasure.
The term masculinity is socially constructed.
What does Winlow’s study show? (2)
Due to manual jobs declining and service jobs increasing, men can now get jobs like being a bodyguard where they can maintain body capital and assert their dominance.
This leads to them finding a way into organised crimes like drug dealing.
