Topic 7 - Gender Issues and Offending

Topic 7 - Gender Issues and Offending

1. Official statistics of crime and deviance shows an overwhelmingly predominance of males compared with females committing crime

   • 80% of all known offenders where male
   • 3 main approaches to explaining relationship between women and offending
     • Biological Explanations
     • Sex Role Theory: socialization, social control and marginalization
     • Liberation Thesis
   • Female offences such as shoplifting or prostitution is unlikely to be recorded so wont appear in statistics unlike male violence or drug taking
     • Even if female crimes are reported they are less likely to be prosecuted and if prosecuted likely to be let off lightly

2. Invisible Female Offenders (4 reasons to Malestream society)

   • There are many critics of this male dominance of of crime and deviance
     • The term Malestream has been used to describe the male dominance of criminology
       • There are several reasons why this male dominance of criminology occurs
   • Due to majority of offenders being male, many sociologists find it appropriate to study them than the minority females
   • Due to male domination of sociology, most topics reflect interests of male views and male interests despite majority of sociology students are fmemale
   • Male sociologists construct their theories without thinking about how it could be applied to women, most theories are 'gender blind'
   • Men study what interests them and in case of crime this is often the most exciting and marginal (often males)

3. Biological Explanations

   • This approach has been used to explain why the vast majority of women do not offend and why the minority do
   • It is said that women are innately different from men with a natural desire to be caring and nurturing
   • Some writers have claimed hat hormonal or menstrual factors can influence a minority of women to commit crime in certain circumstances
     • Quite sexist view

4. Sex Role Theory

   • View that women are less likely to commit crime than men due to core elements of female role that limit their ability and opportunity to do so
   • Socialization
     • Girls are socialized differently to boys, the values girls are brought up to hold simply do not lead to crime
     • Most child rearing is done by the mother so girls have a clear role model to follow that emphasizes caring and support
     • Studies have shown that female offenders were more likely to have had harsh or erratic parenting
       • ... and also little support or praise from parents for their achievements
   • Social Control
     • Females are less likely to commit crime because of their closer supervision that they are subjected to at home during childhood
       • This control carries on through life
     • Informal sanctions are also in place to discourage women from straying from 'proper' behaviour including gossip, a bad reputation and also comments from male partners
     • Studies have shown the informal control of daughters activities within the family is significantly different to that of sons
   • Marginalization
     • To get into crime a person needs the opportunity to do so, harder for women to get into crime and limited opportunity and ability
     • Women are more confined to their socialization and social control than men
       • This deflects females from offending and towards conformity

5. Liberation Thesis

   • If patriarchal society exercise control over women to prevent them from deviating, this means if society was less patriachal and more equal, womens crimes rates would be similar to mens
   • Changes in the structure of society has led to changes in women's offending, as patriachal controls have lessened, opportunities in education and work have become more equal
     • Women have begun to adopt traditionally 'male' roles in both legitimate (work) and illegitimate means (crime)
       • Women are no longer just committing tradionally 'female' offence such as shoplifting and prostitution but now commit traditionally 'male' offences such as violence, white collar crime, armed robbery and drugs
       • Studies have also shown females have been taking on 'male' attitudes as well, this including looking hard, being in control and coping with risk taking
         • Ladette behaviour
   • Criticisms of Liberation Thesis
     • Most female offenders are working class, the group least likely to be influenced by the women's liberation, it mainly benefited middle class women
     • There were evidence of women branching into typical 'male' offences such as drugs, however this is often due to the link with prostitution
     • Phscological tests of female offenders show that they score highly on tests of 'feminity' indicating they have not taken on male roles or attitudes

6. Chivalry Thesis

   • The idea that women are less likely to be arrested or prosecuted for their offences
     • This is because criminal justice agents such as police, judges and juries are male, and men are socialized to act in a 'chilvalriously' to women
   • Men are seen to have a protective attitude towards women, so are unwilling to arrest, charge, prosecute or convict them
     • Meaning female crime is less likely to appear in official statistics, giving an invalid picture that under represents female crime
     • Compared with men, self report studies have shown that women are more likely to be cautioned rather than prosecuted
   • Women are therefore in this case positively labelled rather than negatively

7. Male Crime

   • Some sociologists so back and see why most crime is male crime
   • Normative Masculinity
     • Socially approved idea of what a real male is
     • Connell argued that there were different forms of masculinity which change over time, in some cases this is a desire for women
       • Normative masculinity is highly valued by males, it is the socially approved idea of a 'real' male
     • Messerschmidt defines masculinity as a desire for women
       • Normative masculinity is so prized by men that they see it as an accomplishment and is something that is constantly worked at
       • The construction of this masculinity takes place in different contexts, depending on power and resources
         • E.g. a businessman can express their power over women through control in the workplace
         • E.g. those with no power at work may express masculinity through street violence or domestic violence
         • With the aim of achieving normative masculinity
           • In achieving this masculinity is where crime takes place
           • Those less powerful in an attempt to be successful at masculinity (involves material, social and sexual success)
   • Katz
     • Katz, use a postmodernist approach, arguing that most criminology fails to understand the role of pleasure in committing crime
     • This search for pleasure can be placed within context of masculinity, stresses importance of status, control and success
       • Crimes seems to be a masculine thing, could link back to sex role theory (socialization) e.g. violent films, media, toys action figures, guns
     • Different crimes produce different thrills
       • Katz argues that by studying emotional thrills we can understand why males commit crime
     • Katz arguement can easily be critiqued as not all crime is committed for thrills
       • Some crime may be committed for the sake of staying alive e.g. stealing food and drink for family to survive
   • Matza (Drift)
     • Matza uses the term drift to describe how most youths are in a state of drift, where they are unsure who they are and also what their place in society is
       • For most youths this is a period of crisis and boredom
     • Committing offences provides a break from boredom and gives them an identity and sense of being someone e.g. a member of a gang or a 'hard man'
   • Lyng (Edgework)
     • Lyng argues that young males search for pleasure through risk taking, this thrill gained from youths on the edge of security and danger is termed edgework
       • In some ways explains the attractiveness of car theft, joy riding' and also violent confrontations with other gangs
       • In engaging in this risk taking, young males are in Messerschmidts terms 'accomplishing masculinity' and have a status and control over their lives