gender & crime Flashcards
who commits more crime?
men
reasons why it seems women commit less crime
- different socialisation
- differential controls
- sex-role theory
- chivalry thesis
- different types of crime
how does differential socialisation affect women and crime?
leonard argues that women are socialised into a culture of femininity that stresses empathy, compassion and communality cooperation, these values are more likely to deter crime.
how does the sex-role theory affect women and crime?
parsons argues women traditionally perform the ‘expressive role’ in their families, including raising children and taking care of their husbands’ emotional needs. as a result, girls grow up internalising values such as beingcaringandempathetic,which reduces their likelihood of causing harm to others or committing crimes.
how does differential controls affect women and crime?
heidensohn argues women are controlled by the patriarchal society which reduces their opportunities to offend. Patriarchal control operates at home, in public spaces and at work.
control at home
- women’s domestic role confines them to the house for long periods, reducing their opportunities to commit crime.
- girls are less likely to be allowed to stay out late or leave the house when they wish. as a result, they develop a ‘bedroom culture’ (McRobbie) socialising at home with friends rather than in public. this means they have less opportunity to engage in deviant behaviour on the street.
control in public
women are controlled in public by the threat/fear of male violence against them. for example, the Islington Crime Survey found that 54% of women avoided going out after dark.
control at work
women’s behaviour at work is controlled by male supervisors and managers. women’s subordinate position reduces their opportunities to engage in major criminal activity (white collar crime such as fraud) at work.
how does differential types of crime affect women and crime?
female forms of crime such as shop-lifting and prostitution may be “less visible” to the police and harder to detect. whereas, much male crime (e.g crimes of violence) involves clear victims and is likely to be witnessed.
how does the chivalry thesis of crime affect women and crime?
courts may deal more-leniently with females. for example, women are more likely than men to be given cautions rather than being sanctioned.
evaluation of these explanations that females appear to commit less crime
+ heidensohn shows the many patriarchal controls that help prevent women from deviating.
- liberal feminists would consider other feminist theories on gender and crime outdated, arguing that women in contemporary societies have achieved much more equality and are not completely constrained by the patriarchy.
- the chivalry thesis is questioned by many sociologists. Women are actually considered ‘doubly deviant’ and are often punished more harshly.
reasons why males appear to commit more crimes than women
- masculinity
- socialisation
- control theory
- the thrill of crime
how does masculinity affect men and crime?
men strive for financial success to prove they’re a ‘real man’. according to Merton’s Strain theory, not all men can achieve this goal through the legitimate means of getting a high paying job. consequently, some men will turn to crime to show that they’re successful. for some of these individuals this could involve earning money by criminal means, e.g drug dealing or theft which are commonly committed by men. winlow found that working class men who lack the intelligence or opportunity to engage in utilitarian crime may simply get frustrated due to a lack of power or status, so prove their toughness through violent crimes. in addition, in contemporary society there is a crisis of masculinity due to ‘changes in employment’. deindustrialization had led to the reduction of traditional male jobs such as hard labour.
how does differential socialisation affect men and crime?
males are socialised into aggressive, self-seeking behaviour that makes them more inclined to commit crime (Smart & Oakley).
how does control theory affect men and crime?
boys are able to stay out later and generally are under less informal surveillance than girls.
