Lecture 12: Feminist Perspectives Flashcards
1
Q
What is the feminist approach to social deviance?
A
- We need to integrate gender into our analysis of deviance
- Consider the culture of masculinity and violence in shaping our norms for social deviance.
- We cannot extrapolate male deviance to women and non-binary
- Critique androcentric (male-centric) theories of women’s deviance
- A spotlight on women’s victimology –> How does the victimization of women creates forms of deviance later on.
2
Q
Integrating gender in our analysis of deviance
A
- Susan Brownmiller - journalist and activist. Book - Men, Women and Rape
- Women’s rights movements and civil rights
- To understand violent crime and rape, we need to look into how our society is structured according to patriarchy.
- Our society is a Patriarchal society.
- The culture of masculinity and violence shapes our social reaction to rape.
3
Q
Feminist Approaches to Social Deviance
A
- “By anatomical fiat - the inescapable construction of their genital organs - the human male was a natural predator, and the human female served as his natural prey.”
- “Female fear of an open season of rape, and not a natural inclination towards monogamy, motherhood or love, was probably the single causative factor in the original subjugation of women by man”
- Thornhill and Palmer - evolutionary mechanism. Brownmill would be critical of this argument. This idea of our anatomical bodies; weakness of female, strength of men that creates this aggressive behaviour is deterministic. Reduces it to biological.
- Critique of brownmiller: there is this essence of males and females.
- Normalizes rape.
- This book brings to our attention that rape has existed actually for most of the human history. It was not considered a crime against women.
4
Q
Marxist triangle, but for Brownmiller
A
Base: Initial subjugation of woman → repressive relationship for males and females. (everything is built on this…)
* Law was designed to perpetuate violence and rape against women but also perpetuate the existence of women as property of male.
Superstructure: Hierarchy, slavery and private property.
5
Q
What was the consequence for rape and virginity in Hebrew law?
A
Hammurabi code/Hebrew law:
* rape is not a crime against women because women are seen as property.
* When they are violated, the crime is not against the women its against the property owner (father, brother or husband)
* The theft of virginity is an embezzlement of a market transaction - compensation to the father.
* The standard price for her virginity - the husband needs to pay to father.
- If women was raped, rapist had to pay the father and marry her,
* A married woman who was raped had a death penalty alongside her rapist.
- She was considered an equal party in the adultery crime.
6
Q
What is the need for integrating gender into the analysis of deviance?
A
To understand how masculinity and violence shape norms for social deviance
Gender plays a crucial role in the perception and treatment of deviance.
7
Q
What does Susan Brownmiller’s book ‘Men, Women and Rape’ emphasize?
A
The need to understand violent crime and rape within the context of a patriarchal society
Brownmiller critiques how societal structures contribute to the victimization of women.
8
Q
What is the critique of androcentric theories of women’s deviance?
A
They fail to accurately represent women’s experiences and victimization
Such theories often generalize male deviance to females.
9
Q
How does the victimization of women lead to forms of deviance?
A
It can create a cycle where women resort to deviant behaviors as a response to their victimization
Understanding this cycle is crucial for addressing female deviance.
10
Q
What is the Marxist triangle as it relates to Brownmiller’s perspective?
A
Base: Initial subjugation of women → Superstructure: Hierarchy, slavery, and private property
This framework illustrates the systemic oppression of women.
11
Q
According to historical laws, how was rape viewed?
A
As a crime against property, not against women
Punishments: it was seen as adultery “thou shalt not rape”
* Coveting of thy neighbor’s wife, house, his field, his servant, ox and ass.
* Consequence = murder of family members, or rape of family members
* Based on unequal relationship and patriarchal relationship between male and female.
This reflects societal views of women as property of male guardians.
12
Q
What is the critique of applying male models to female deviance?
A
Feminist thinkers challenge the idea of understanding deviance solely through male samples and extrapolating those conclusions to females.
13
Q
What percentage of arrests do girls account for in the United States?
A
- About one third of all arrests of young people
- Adults women account for approximately 25% of all persons accused of criminal offenses.
This statistic highlights the prevalence of female involvement in the justice system.
14
Q
What is the lack of gender consideration in deviance theories
A
- Existing theories often ignore or downplay gender as a significant factor influencing crime and deviance.
- Feminist scholars emphasize the need to address the victimization of girls and women as an explanation for their involvement in deviant or criminal activities.
15
Q
Different Crime Trajectories for Men and Women
A
- Violent crime is more prevalent among men.
- Higher female participation is observed in theft, criminal damage, and public order offenses.
16
Q
What are the crimes commited by girls?
A
- Larceny (shoplifting) is a leading type of crime for which young girls are arrested.
- Girls are also frequently arrested for drug abuse violations.
- Status offenses: Girls are often arrested for curfew violations, loitering, and running away, which are considered status offenses (non-criminal offenses).
This reflects socioeconomic factors influencing girls’ criminal behavior.
17
Q
Criminalization of Survival Strategies for young girls
A
- There is a significant connection between the victimization of young girls and their involvement with the justice system.
- Running away from abusive homes: Many girls run away from homes due to sexual abuse and are then arrested for running away.
- Shoplifting/Larceny: For girls who run away from abusive homes, shoplifting or stealing may be their only survival strategy.
- Girls arrested for commercial sex participation often come from situations of sexual abuse.
18
Q
What is the victimization approach summary
A
- Essentially, a lot of young women run away from sexual victimization at home and are forced into crime to survive.
- Encounters with abusive environments can lead to encounters with the criminal justice system, perpetuating criminal activity.
19
Q
What is the role of the juvenile justice system?
A
The juvenile justice system can be a major force in the social control of girls, potentially criminalizing behaviors that arise from not conforming to traditional expectations.
20
Q
Traditional approaches and family engagement
A
Traditional expectations of how girls should behave can lead families to involve the justice system, further controlling young girls.
21
Q
Adult women and crime
A
- In the US and Canada, females account for about 25% of all persons accused of criminal offenses.
- The majority of adult women offenders are arrested and tried for relatively minor and non-violent offenses.
- The highest number of arrests are for shoplifting, fraud, welfare fraud, credit card fraud, prostitution, disorderly conduct, driving under the influence, and drug abuse violations.
- Women commit only 10% of all murders in the United States. In Canada, in 2023, 78 women were accused of homicide compared to 518 men.
22
Q
What is the ‘Chivalry Hypothesis’?
A
- Historically, a central explanation for the disproportionately low rates of female crime has been that women possess a different mind structure from men, making them incapable of violence.
- Another theory suggests that women engage in crime more often than statistics show, but are treated with leniency by the justice system. Empirical studies have demonstrated leniency towards women in the justice system, especially towards those who conform to particular gender roles, are perceived as good mothers, are attractive, or are wealthy.
This hypothesis suggests that gender roles influence legal outcomes.
23
Q
What does the Liberation Hypothesis suggest about women’s crime rates?
A
- **Improvements in women’s social status lead to increased participation in crime. **
- The idea that improvements in women’s economic and political positions also increase their participation in crime. As women emerge from their traditional roles and enter male-dominated fields, they may approach equality with men in criminal activity.
- FBI statistics show a dramatic increase in the number of women arrested for non-traditional crimes.
- Between the 1960s and 1975, arrests of adult women went up 60.2%, and arrests of juvenile women increased 253%.
- Most scholars question the liberation hypothesis, citing fluctuating crime rates, changes in how specific crimes are defined, and shifts in police practices.
- The increase in crimes was in traditional female crimes.
- Achievements of the feminist movement are not reflected in the majority of women charged and processed by the justice system, who are generally uneducated and poor.
This hypothesis has been debated regarding its validity.
24
Q
What are the different explanations for women’s engagement in criminal activity?
A
- Economic disadvantage: Women are overrepresented in low-paying and low-status jobs, increasing motivation for property crimes and drug offenses.
- Street crime as a survival mechanism in cases of blocked access to other means for survival.
- Pathways to crime: A strong link exists between childhood victimization and adult offending. Abused and neglected girls are nearly twice as likely to be arrested as juveniles and adults, and 2.4 times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes.
25
What connection exists between childhood victimization and adult offending? Gilus's study
Abused and neglected girls are more likely to be arrested later in life.
* Interviewed 20 incarcerated women and documented how childhood neglect and physical and sexual abuse were linked to adult crimes.
* The majority of interviewees experienced significant abuse and were runaway girls. As adults, many lived with violent men and were expected to bring in money through prostitution and shoplifting.
* These women saw their criminal roles as a form of caretaking for their children and abusive boyfriends.
## Footnote
This highlights the long-term impacts of early trauma.
26
Drug related crimes
* From 2000 to 2009, arrests of adult women for drug abuse violations increased by 15%.
* Drug-related crimes and stricter sentencing for drug crimes account for the larger increase in imprisonment rates of women.
* Disproportionate representation of women of color, African American women, uneducated, unskilled, poor mothers with high rates of mental or physical illness.
* Drug addiction and drug offenses are strongly interconnected to other crimes, pushing women to engage in acts such as prostitution.
* Women occupy the lowest rungs in the drug trafficking business, often making many small transactions.
* Drug dealing is one of the only options available for poor women beyond sex work for making money on the streets.
* Drugs can be seen as a coping mechanism for dealing with depression and stress, particularly during prostitution.
* Reliance on drugs is documented in cases of child abuse, intimate partner violence, incest, sexual molestation, and severe physical beatings.
27
General considerations for crime
* Experiences of abuse, violence, and pathways to crime are not unique to women.
* However, the higher percentages of young girls experiencing abuse and the limited survival strategies available to marginalized young girls create a more holistic understanding of women's pathways to crime
28
What was the estimated number of witches executed in Europe during the witch hunts?
Between 200,000 and 500,000
* Witch hunts happened in Americas, England and Nordic countries.
## Footnote
The majority of those executed were women, reflecting societal misogyny.
29
What behaviors were typically associated with accusations of witchcraft?
Flying, cursing livestock, and having sexual relations with demons
* Authorities were often called upon to investigate witchcraft following natural disasters (such as frost destroying crops), disease outbreaks, or interpersonal conflicts.
Specific behaviors were associated with witchcraft, including flying, participating in "witch's shabbat" or dances, having sexual relations with Satan or demons, and desecrating sacred objects.
* Accusations often came from neighbors, with owning pets or familiars, conversing with animals, and cursing or harming livestock considered signs of sorcery.
## Footnote
These behaviors were often exaggerated or fabricated.
30
Kai Erikson's Functionalist Approach to witch hunt?
Erikson suggests that witch hunts can be understood by examining community dynamics during times of crisis. According to this view, communities may redefine behaviors as deviant and punish individuals to reestablish social order, reinforce norms, and address uncertainty.
31
Frederici's Feminist Marxist Perspective?
* Federici emphasizes the importance of understanding why the witch hunts primarily targeted women.
* Federici questions why witch hunts were primarily directed against women and why women were seen as the personification of evil. She asks why the establishment of new norms required the persecution of women.
* She links the witch hunts to the transition to a market economy and agrarian capitalism in Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries. This transition involved the disintegration of communal forms of agriculture, the privatization of common lands (land enclosures), and the expropriation of common resources, leading to impoverishment and inequality.
32
What did Federici link the witch hunts to?
The transition to a market economy and agrarian capitalism
## Footnote
This connection highlights the economic motivations behind the persecution.
33
Who were accused for the witch hunt? Why?
* Women of all ages and social classes were hunted as witches, but there was an over-representation of old, poor women and young women of fertile age.
* Poor women were seen as a burden on resources because they were no longer exonomically productive.
* Old women represented a memory of the old traditions and social order which was a threat to the new bourgeois and religious elites.
* Young women's sexuality became a central focus of the witch hunts because of the new economic mode of production required social discipline and productivity.
* Witch hunts aimed to create a clear distinction between appropriate, married femininity and the perceived deviance of witches.
* The goal was to promote a model of femininity that was obedient, submissive, and sexless.
34
Why were old and poor women particularly targeted during witch hunts?
They were seen as a burden on resources and a threat to the new social order
## Footnote
This reflects societal shifts in economic structures and values.
35
Witch hunt and social control
* From a Marxist perspective, accusing and burning witches served to quell rebellion and create a new moral order that justified the emerging economic structure.
* These actions aimed to encourage people to adapt to new forms of life, such as selling their labor on private lands or moving to cities to become part of the labor force needed for the capitalist system.
* Witch hunts served to break up communities and communal relationships that existed before the rise of capitalism.
The fear of communal gatherings and mobilization was a key factor in suppressing social association.
36
What was the role of demonization during the witch hunts?
To create a 'folk devil' worthy of extreme punishment
* Assigning diabolical characteristics to specific people through witch hunts created a "folk devil" that people found worthy of extreme punishment.
* Demonization was used to destroy past social cohesion.
## Footnote
This tactic was used to justify social control and punishment.
37
How did religion impact women being targets for witchhunt?
* Misogyny within the religious world contributed to the persecution of women, with women being portrayed as naturally inclined to evil and easily influenced by the devil.
* The publication of treatises that accused women of being devil worshippers spurred the persecution of women.
38
What does the term 'alienation' refer to in the context of capitalism and witch hunts?
The disconnection of individuals from their communities and natural world
* Capitalism required people to be alienated
* Women who once held power through their ability to give birth, heal, and perform magic needed to be repressed to create the endless rationalization required by capatilism.
## Footnote
This alienation was necessary for the exploitation of labor.
39
What critique do feminist scholars have regarding traditional theories of deviance?
They often ignore or minimize gender as a significant factor
## Footnote
Feminist perspectives emphasize the need for gender-informed analyses.
40
What is the primary focus of the lectures regarding social orders?
Establishing new social orders by demonizing problematic relations
## Footnote
This creates social boundaries and cohesion among people while eroding previous relationships and social orders
41
What do feminist scholars argue regarding traditional criminological theories?
They argue for a deeper engagement with the specific experiences of girls and women.
* They critiqie the tendency to apply male-centric models of deviance to women.
* "None of the theories I have reviewed with you so far all through the semester actually address gender as a simple important and significant factor in explaining deviant and crime."
## Footnote
Acknowledging their unique pathways into criminal activity
42
What percentage of criminal offenders do women account for in the US and Canada?
Around 25% of accused in criminal offenses
## Footnote
Their participation is significant despite being a smaller percentage compared to men
43
What types of offenses are most adult women offenders arrested for?
Relatively minor, non-violent offenses such as:
* Shoplifting
* Fraud
* Prostitution
* Disorderly conduct
* Drug abuse violations
44
What is the percentage of murders committed by women in the United States?
Women commit only 10% of all the murders
## Footnote
Violent crimes are overwhelmingly male-dominated
45
What does the 'liberation hypothesis' suggest about women's crime participation?
As women's economic and political power increases, their participation in crime will also increase
## Footnote
This hypothesis is largely questioned by scholars
46
What critiques are made against the 'liberation hypothesis'?
Critiques include:
* Crime rates for women fluctuate significantly
* Increased arrests may reflect changes in law enforcement practices
* Much of the increase is in traditional female crimes, not new types of offenses
47
How does economic disadvantage relate to women's involvement in crime?
* Economic disadvantage is a central argument in explaining women's involvement in crime.
* Women are over-represented in low-paying and low-status jobs, increasing motivation for property crimes and drug-related offenses.
* "So women are overly represented in low paying and low status jobs and this increases you know this is if we think about it if we think about the structure of block opportunities for example think about an attempt to pursue goals that are blocked of maritan well the fact that women are always over represented in low paying and low status jobs creates uh uh more motivation for involvement in such crimes as property crimes and drug"
* Even in crimes like embezzlement, women in lower administrative positions tend to secure smaller amounts of funds compared to men in managerial roles. Women are also more likely to report family responsibilities as the reason for committing embezzlement whereas men report personal gain.
## Footnote
This creates more motivation for involvement in such crimes
48
What is a significant factor linking childhood victimization to adult offending for women?
A strong link exists between childhood victimization (abuse, neglect) and adult offending.
* Studies of incarcerated women reveal high rates of childhood sexual and physical abuse, often leading to running away and involvement in survival crimes like prostitution and shoplifting.
* These women often end up in relationships with abusive men who act as pimps and drug dealers.
## Footnote
Abused girls are nearly twice as likely to be arrested as juveniles and adults
49
What role does drug use play in women's criminal activity?
Drug use is seen as a coping mechanism for dealing with abuse, violence, and mental health issues
## Footnote
Women often use drugs as self-medication, particularly during prostitution
50
What perspective does Federici provide regarding the European witch hunts?
Analyzes through a feminist Marxist lens, challenging purely functionalist explanations
## Footnote
Connects witch hunts to market economy and agrarian capitalism
51
What was the purpose of the witch hunts according to Federici?
Quell rebellion, establish a new moral order justifying the capitalist system, and control female sexuality and reproduction
52
What does the concept of 'alienation' mean in the context of Federici's analysis?
People needed to be alienated from their communities and their own bodies to sell their labor under capitalism
53
What is a significant quote regarding women's engagement in criminal activity?
The social standing of women will determine both whether they will engage in criminal activity and how they will engage in criminal activity
54
What are key implications for criminological theories?
They need to incorporate gender as a fundamental factor
## Footnote
Addressing women's economic disadvantages and experiences of victimization is crucial for crime prevention
55
What should be explored to understand women's experiences with crime?
The intersectionality of gender with race, class, and other social categories
56
Fill in the blank: 'Every 15 seconds a woman is ______ in her own home.'
beaten
57
Drug Use, Poverty & the "War on Women":
* Drug-related crimes contribute significantly to the growing imprisonment rates of women.
* Some scholars argue that the "war on drugs" is effectively a "war on women" due to the disproportionate targeting and incarceration of women for drug offenses.
* There is disproportionate representation of women of color (particularly African American women), uneducated, unskilled, and poor mothers among those arrested for drug offenses.
* Women's involvement in the drug trade often occurs at the lowest levels, with small transactions and limited profit, making them more vulnerable to arrest.
* Drug use is also seen as a coping mechanism for dealing with abuse, violence, and mental health issues.
* Women use of drugs as physical and emotional survival is one of the pathways into this type of uh activity. Using drugs as self-medication and as means for dealing with depression and stress particularly during the course of prostitution is very common according to interviews with incarcerated women.
58
The Witch Hunts & Feminist Marxist Perspective:
* The lectures analyze the European witch hunts through a feminist Marxist lens, challenging purely functionalist explanations.
* While Erikson focuses on community dynamics and boundary maintenance during times of crisis, Federici asks why these societal shifts resulted in the persecution of mainly women.
* Federici connects the witch hunts to the transition to market economy and agrarian capitalism in the 14th-15th centuries. The enclosure of common lands led to impoverishment and social unrest.
* The witch hunts served to quell rebellion, establish a new moral order justifying the emerging capitalist system, and control female sexuality and reproduction.
* Old, poor women and young women of fertile age were particularly targeted.
* Old women were seen as remnants of the old tradition and a burden on the new economic system. Their "cursing," "spitting," and "glaring looks" were seen as signs of witchcraft.
* Young women's sexuality needed to be controlled and directed towards procreation to ensure a productive workforce
