Gender and Crime

Gender and Crime

1. Chivalry Thesis

   • States that women are treated more leniently by the justice system, receiving softer punishments
   • Pollack
     • Women commit more crime than statistics show because they are better at concealing their crimes, so are less likely to receive attention
   • Heidensohn
     • Argues that Pollack's view is stereotypical, and doesn't examine differences in biology
   • Hedderman and Hough
     • Women who committed similar crimes to men and were from similar backgrounds received more lenient sentences
   • Jones
     • Says there is no real evidence that women are better at concealing crime
   • Farrington and Morris
     • Courts distinguish between different types of women Those who deviate from both traditional femininity and the law are treated more harshly because they are 'doubly deviant'

2. Control Theory

   • Argues that women are less likely to commit crime because they are usually more controlled than men
   • Carlen
     • Suggests that humans are rational, and that women will only turn to crime when the advantages outweigh the disadvantages Rejection of Class Deal: Women who turned to crime because they lacked opportunity, trying to solve their economic position Rejection of Gender Deal: Women who turned to crime because patriarchal ideology did not grant them fulfilment from family life
   • Heidensohn
     • Women in male-dominated societies are less likely to commit crime due to control: At Home: Wives are expected to do housework, and daughters are not allowed to stay out too late In Public: Fear of being attacked keeps women at home At Work: Women are usually controlled by male superiors, and may also feel intimidated by sexual harassment
   • McRobbie
     • Because girls are more controlled and overprotected than boys, they develop a 'bedroom culture' whereby they socialise at home with friends

3. Liberation Theory

   • States that female crime has been rising due to women's roles becoming gradually similar to men's
   • Adler (1975)
     • Argues that as women take on more male roles, they are also taking on male criminality Between 1960 and 1972 USA, robberies by women increased by 277% compared to men's by 169%
   • Denscombe (2001)
     • Found that females are adopting more male attitudes, including risk-taking behaviour such as smoking
   • Carlen
     • Liberation Theory does not explain why women who have not benefited from liberation commit crime

4. Masculinity

   • Messerschmidt (1993)
     • Says that if a man's situation does not provide him with a legitimate means of living up to hegemonic masculinity, he may have to turn to illegitimate means
   • Jefferson
     • Says Messerschmidt fails to explain why some males do not commit crime to live up to hegemonic ideals of masculinity