Topic 5- Crime And Deviance Flashcards
What is the general trend of gender in crime?
Men commit more crime than women
Heidenson- 4/5 convicts in the uk are male
More women are convicted of property offences
More men are convicted of violent/sexual crimes
Men are more likely to be repeat offenders
What is the chivalry thesis?
Attempts to explain why women appear less in crime stats.
Argues more men are criminal justice agents and are socialised to be chivalrous towards women
Otto pollak- argues men have protected attitudes towards women, men are less likely to arrest or convict them
Flood- women are more likely to be cautioned than men
What are criticisms of chivalry thesis?
Farringdon and morris- found in 408 cases of theft women weren’t sentenced more leniently than men
Farringdon and buckle- men were more likely to shoplift but it was shown as equal in statistics
What are feminist views on chivalry?
Heidenson- women are punished for the crime and deviating from gender norms
Argue there is a double standard on promiscuity
Judges make victim blaming remarks towards women in rape cases
What are the 3 explanations of female crime?
Sex role theory
Control theory
Liberation thesis
What is sex role theory?
Functionalists
Parsons- men take an instrumental role and women take a expressive role in the home. Men dont have role models so seek a masculinity through aggression and become delinquent
Cohen- reinforces this by saying a lack of male role model leads to turning to all male gangs as a source of masculine identity
What is control theory?
Heidensohn- the patriarchal society controls women and therefore they do less crime
Control in the home: domestic roles confines women to their house and therefore have less opportunity to offend. Those who reject their role suffer from domestic violence.
Control in public: controlled through the fear of male crime, the islington survey found 54% of women avoid going out after dark due to fear
Control at work: women are generally subordinate to men at work, this is through control and sexual harassment.
What is the liberation thesis?
Adler- argues that as society gets less patriarchal, opportunities become more equal and the female crime rate increases, the new female offender.
Through women obtaining more power, allows women to commit more male crimes such as violence as they are controlled less.
What are class and gender deals?
Carlen found women conform due to rewards
The class deal- women who work are offered material rewards, avoiding criminality
The gender deal- patriarchy promises women material and emotional rewards for conforming to domestic roles
How has the criminalisation of females changed?
Steffensmeier and schwartz- the increase in statistics reflects the justice systems attempt to ‘widen the net,’ arresting and prosecuting females for less serious forms of violence.
Young- explains this by saying the justice system is defining deviance up, making welfare issues criminal.
What is the link between victimisation and gender?
Homicide victims- 70% are male, women are more likely to know the killer
Victims of violence- 2% of women compared to 4% of men are victims of violence
Lea and young- found in victim surveys that women are at a greater risk, but do not always report all violence.
What is hegemonic masculinity?
Messerschmidt- The idea of what a man should be, the most dominant form that most men wish to accomplish- the subordination of women, paid labour, heterosexism ( explaining desire for women)
What is subordinated masculinity?
Normally lower class, ethnic minorities. When normal masculinity cant be achieved they find a way to be masculine.
White m/c - subordinate themselves to teachers to gain success, so gain masculinity outside of school, pubs.
White w/c - find masculinity in and out of school due to less chance of achieving success.
Black w/c - use gang membership and violence to express their masculinity
What does winlow say about postmodernity, masculinity and crime?
Globalisation has led to deindustrialised society and the loss of traditional mens jobs. Due to this winlow found bouncers in sunderland, used the job as means to be masculine through violence.
What is bodily capital?
The maintain reputation men work on their bodily capital, to look the part. This shows how masculinity has changed in post modernity.
