Topic 8b: Gender and patterns of crime Flashcards
Feminist explantions of the low female crime rate among women - Differential controls - Heidensohn
Heidensohn argues that females are generally more conformist because patriarchal society imposes greater control over their behaviour. This can be illustrated in a number of ways:
• Control of women at home - The time spent on housework and in caring for children means women have little time for crime. Daughters are given less freedom than sons to come and go as they please.
• Control of women in public - Women often choose not to go out into public places because of fear of becoming a victim of crime or harassment.
• Control of women at work Women are usually controlled by male superiors at work and may be intimidated by various forms of harassment.
Feminist explantions of the low female crime rate among women - Differential controls - 2
• Smart notes that girls are more strictly supervised by their parents especially in terms of activities outside the home. McRobbie and Garber concluded that teenage girls’ lives revolved around a ‘bedroom culture’ and consequently they are more likely than boys to socialise with their friends in the home rather than in the street or other public places.
Feminist explantions of the low female crime rate among women - Differential controls - eval
- Campbell’s self-report study found that the ratio of male crime to female crime is 1.5 to 1 rather than 7.1. However, the findings of such surveys are often undermined by over-reporting, under-reporting, ethical problems and the difficulty of finding a representative sample.
- Women may simply be more skilled than men at committing crime or may commit crimes that are less likely to be reported e.g. shoplifting. Also there may be a ‘chivalry factor’ in the actions of the police and courts which may lead to women being treated more leniently
Explanations of the rising crime rate among young women Liberation theory - adler
It is argued by Adler that as society becomes less patriarchal so women’s crime rates will rise. In other words, women’s liberation from patriarchy will lead to a new type of female criminal because they will have greater opportunity and confidence to commit crime.
• Between 1981 and 1997, the number of girls under-18 convicted of violent offences in England and Wales doubled (from 65 per 100,000 to 135 per 100,000).
• A Demos survey of 2000 UK women aged between 18-24 found that one in eight respondents thought it was acceptable to use physical violence to get something they really wanted.
Explanations of the rising crime rate among young women Liberation theory - Denscombe
Denscombe argues that changing female roles in recent decades mean that females are increasingly as likely as males to engage in risk-taking behaviour. He undertook research into the self-images of 15 and 16 year olds in the East Midlands and found that were rapidly adopting what had traditionally been male attitudes and this included things such as “looking hard” of “being in control” and of someone who can cope with risk taking.
Explanations of the rising crime rate among young women Liberation theory - eval
Adler’s views have proved to be very controversial. Box and Hale’s (1983) review of the debate concludes that if female crime has increased this is more likely to be due to unemployment and inadequate welfare benefits. Most female criminals are from lower-class backgrounds and are the least likely to have been touched by women’s liberation.
Explaining the high crime rate among men - Messerschmidt
argued that boys in the UK are socialised into a hegemonic masculine value system that stresses differences from women and particular masculine goals that need to be achieved in order to become a ‘real man’. These goals include:
respect from other men in order to maintain reputation.
Having power and control over others.
The objectification of women and the celebration of masculine virility through promiscuity.
Toughness expressed through aggression
Territorial loyalty expressed through being part of a larger group.
Being emotionally hard and not expressing weakness by showing feelings.
Explaining the high crime rate among men - Messerschmidt 2
He argues that anti-social subcultures are organised around the achievement of hegemonic masculine values which operate in and out of school, committing crimes. Messerschmidt notes that this need to live out masculine values is not confined to working-class youth and men. He notes that middle-class men may be motivated by this masculine value system to commit white collar and corporate crime.
Explaining the high crime rate among men - eval
Jefferson argues that it fails to explain why particular individuals commit crimes rather than others. He also stated that Messerschmidt seems to advance rather stereotypical and negative views of men in general, and of working-class and non-white men in particular. There is no room in his book for men who might commit politically motivated crimes in a fight against an oppressive government, and little for men who reject the idea that being a real man involves asserting control over women.
Intro
In 2006, 1.42 million offenders were sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. The majority of these offenders were male (80%). Also males were more likely than females to be found guilty of, or cautioned for, crimes in all major crime categories. Sociologists look to explain the different patterns of crimes between genders
Conclusion
A postmodern twist on the idea of masculinity is the work of Katz, who argues that what most criminology has failed to do is to understand the role of pleasure in committing crime. This search for pleasure has to be placed within the context of masculinity, which stresses the importance of status, control over others and success. Doing evil, he argues is motivated by the quest of a ‘moral self-transcendence’ in the face of boredom. Different crimes provide different thrills, which can vary from the ‘sneaky thrills’ of shoplifting, to the ‘righteous slaughter’ of murder.
