Gender and crime Flashcards
Chivalry thesis
- the idea that most criminal justice†ice agents such as police officers and judges are men and they are socialised to act in a chivalrous way towards women
chivalvrous - respectful, polite towards women
Pollack (1950)
argues that men have a protective attitude towards women so they are not willing to charge, arrest or prosecute them
- this means womens crimes are less likely to end up in the official statistics
- this gives a false picture on the amount of crime females commit
flood page et al evaluation
flood-page et al evaluation
- functionalists would be in support of the chivalry thesis as it keeps family structure and the mother is there to help socialise the children
- however is someone who has been convicted of a crime the right person to socialise a child?
Feminist evaluation
- would argue that this thesis is not supporting the equality of gender as a male dominance over women is still being maintained
- some other feminists may take this as a win since women are oppressed in other aspects of life
Functionalist sex role theory
- believe that there are low rates of crime due to socialisation between males and females
- boys are encouraged to be tough, aggressive and risk taking and this can mean they are more likely to commit acts of violence
Parsons
- believes boys are socialised to be tough, masculine and according to parsons this is typical of the conventional gender roles in the nuclear family
-from this boys may identify with male street gangs who are anti-social models to form a masculine identity - this is them feeding into stereotypes of the conventional nuclear family but in turn also rejecting society’s norms and values - Link to cohen and labelling
e.g those labeled as deviant become deviant because of the label (SFP)
New right view - links to cohen
- cohens point is emphasised by the new right view who argue that lone parent families have made an underclass
- an underclass is a social class who have a lack of regard for the values/norms in society
Criticisms of the functionalist sex role theory
- ignores the importance of free will and rational choice
- the fact women are performing domesticated roles allow them to hide their crimes
- just because women have the biological capacity to bear children does not mean they will crime
Patriarchal control theory - Frances heidensohn
- argues that low rates of crime by women is due to oppression
- the patriarchal family imposes a greater control over women as it produces conformist women and men still have control over women in different situations so women have less opportunities to engage in criminal roles
control at home - women are confined to housework and childcare al day which gives them less of a chance to have opportunities to offend
However being at home can give a chance for more crime
control over daughters - daughters developed a bedroom culture as they socialised at home rather than going out
control in public - women are controlled through the threat of male violence against them
control at work - women are less likely to progress to senior positions where there is a greater opportunity to commit more white collar crimes
- all these points make it more difficult for women to break the law simply due to a patriarchal society that controls women more effectively than men
Masculinity and crime - Messerschmidt
- argues male crime is higher due to gender roles and stereotypes
-claims that crime and deviance is a means that some men may use to accomplish masculinity :
-White middle class youths have been socialised to be obedient and conformist and within school they behave but outside of it they act in ways to assert masculinity e.g graffiti, minor thefts
-White working class youths have less chance of academic success so they may construct masculinity around physical aggression and create an image of being ‘tough’ - can lead to developing subcultures leading to deviant behaviours
Black lower working class youths
- use violence to express masculinity and become involved in more serious crimes compared to w/c boys - experience more strain so crime offers them a prospect of material success
Criticisms of Messerschmidt
only describes what traits a male offender has - which is they are masculine
- some argue it is not about theory it is just a description
- does not explain why all men do not use crime to accomplish masculinity- cultural changes to ideas of masculinity makes it outdated
- some crimes have nothing to do with having masculine traits
Post modernity, Masculinity and crime ( Winlow )
Globalisation, detraditionalisation and traditional male jobs
- globalisation has led to many traditional manual jobs to disappear
- men have jobs in the service sector including pubs, clubs etc because they lacked jobs that allowed them to express masculinity because of globalisation
Study on bouncers in north of england
- city of sunderland had a high role of de-industrialisation
- young men worked as bouncers of clubs for legal employment - led to them being involved in drug crime, anti social behaviour because the context made it more accessible
Evaluation - theories to explain a rise in in female crime (liberation thesis -adler)
Womens liberation and offending behaviour
- led to new types of female criminal and increase in crime from women
- women taking on make social roles in both legitimate and illegitimate aspects of society and instead of confining themselves to female crimes of shoplifting they would murder, mug or rob banks
To support:
Denscombe - argues that females are likely to engage in risk taking behaviour much like men and girl gangs are adopting a male stance and behaviour
- Sex discrimination and equal pay act means that more and more women are in senior positions at work which gives them the opportunity time to commit White Collar crimes
Criticisms
- female crime began rising in the 1950s before liberation
- most are w/c and are least likely to be influenced by liberation
- lack of evidence
- women still commit more female crimes
