20 Marks -gender

Question 1

What % of court disposals are given to women?
What % of arrests are given to women?
What % of criminal convictions are given to women?
What % of the prison population are women? (2013)
Where are these statistics from?

Answer 1

23% of court disposals are given to women
18% of arrests are given to women?
25% of criminal convictions are given to women?
5% of the prison population are women? (2013)
Ministry of justice statistics 2013

Question 2

Which court do most females go through?

Answer 2

The magistrates court for low level summary offences not serious enough for crown court?

Question 3

What is the main offence group of female convictions?

+ fact

Answer 3

Theft, nearly 1/4 of female indictable convictions in 2013

Question 4

What does dalton (1964) argue about female crime?

Answer 4

Claims it’s hormonal factors that led some women to crime (but most sociologists refute biological theory)

Question 5

What does Heindensohn argue about social control of women? (SC-1)

Answer 5

(1) States that patriarchal control is exercised over women which means they are not able to commit crimes.
(2) the home is a ‘form of detention’ for women as they are unable to leave it to commit crimes.

Question 6

What does Marsden and Duncombe argue about the social control of women? (SC-2)

Answer 6

Women work a triple shift within the home and thus are not able to commit crime.

Question 7

What does Hamner and Saunders find about the social control of women? (SC-3)

Answer 7

Found that women’s behaviour inside the home is constrained by the fear of men and hense can’t leave to commit crime

Question 8

What does Oakley find about the social control of women? (SC-4)

Answer 8

Women are oppressed by housework that has an exclusivity to womens non status work and economic dependence on males, and hense don’t have freedom/opportunity to commit crimes

Question 9

What does the Islington crime survey find? (SC-5)

Answer 9

68% of women over 55 were too scared to go out alone at nigh, highlighting extent of social control

Question 10

Sexual harassment in work statistic?

SC-6

Answer 10

54% if women suggested that they had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, showing men’s control over women is omnipresent

Question 11

Name a contemporary example highlighting social control of women.
(SC-7)

Answer 11

The #MeToo movement has provided a voice for female survivors of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
Example: Last January, Nassar (coach of American gymnast team) was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing more than 100 young athletes, in addition to an earlier 60-year sentence on child pornography charges.
During his sentencing hearing, 163 people gave moving and at times heartbreaking testimony about how his abuse had harmed them and their families.

Question 12

What do Stanko and Jefferson (1994, 1997) argue about female socialisation and crime?

Answer 12

Since the 1990s there have been studies into masculinity which suggest that males and females are socialised differently, explaining why the Male culture of aggression and toughness lead men to commit more crimes. (S-1)

Question 13

What does Edwin Surtherland (1949) argue about socialisation and crime?

Answer 13

States that there are clear gender differences when it comes to socialisation.
1) girls are more supervised and strictly controlled
2) boys are encouraged to take risks and be tough
:: boys have a greater inclination to commit crime
(S-2)

Question 14

What does functionalist Talcott Parsons (1995) believe about socialisation and crime?

Answer 14

States that sex role differentiation exists where there’s obvious gender roles within the nuclear family.
Father= leader and provider
Mother= expressive emotional support
Roles are rooted from birth as mothers nurse children
(S-3)

Question 15

What does Connell and Messcherschmits find about socialisation?

Answer 15

Males commit crime due to their normative masculinity to demonstrate their role as a hegemonic Male.
Women are socialised to nurture and hence don’t commit crimes.
(S-4)

Question 16

What does Oakley state about socialisation?

Answer 16

Discovered that boys are canalised into aggression:

1) verbal appellations for boys such as ‘little trooper’ whereas girls are called ‘little princess’ and hense boys are more inclined to commit crimes.
2) toys and hobbies: boys= trucks, nerf guns and physical activity such as rugby or boxing. Girls= dolls, easy bake ovens and ballet (graceful)

Boys are socialised into aggression :: crime (S-5)

Question 17

What should I bring up about education and crime?

Answer 17

Girls= bedroom culture :: improved grades and education dedication and less crime

Makes= ‘having a laff study’ Paul Willis (makes more likely to form an anti-school subculture as shown through the “cool” behaviour of the lads, and hense inclined towards crime by being praised for bad behaviour e.g truancy leading towards crime. (S-6)

Question 18

What does subculturalist miller find about socialisation and crime?

Answer 18

Suggested deviancy is linked to the culture of working class males as they have different focal concerns to overconform to toughness and hence commit more crime than women 
(S-7)

Question 19

What does subculturalist Albert Cohen find about subculture and crime?

Answer 19

Boys who could not achieve society’s goals became status frustrated leading to the development of subcultures of which delinquency is a part.
Not all Male crime was economically motivated as crimes e.g vandalism has the purpose to give a Male status amoung his peers whereas girls respected the bedroom culture in their groups
(S-8)

Question 20

What does Otto Pollak (1950) argue about chivalry theory and crime?

Answer 20

1) Women’s crime is not reported or recorded to the same extent as men’s, as they are less severe (e.g shop lifting/abuse)
- crime at home (most female crime) goes unreported
- police have lenient attitude to other crimes.
- women are better at hiding their criminal activity.

Question 21

Why is Pollak negatively evaluated?

Answer 21

Subjected to lots of criticism e.g men also shoplift/majority of abuse is perpetrated by men
(CT-1)

Question 22

What does Anne Campbell (1981) argue about chivalry Thesis and crime?

Answer 22

Females were more likely to be cautioned than prosecuted shown through 1990 statistics:
29% men cautioned -71% of men convicted
49% women cautioned -51% of women convicted

Campbell believes this proves that police and courts are more lenient towards women
(CT-2)

Question 23

What does Hilary Allen (1987) find about chivalry thesis and crime?

Answer 23

She found:
74% of women found guilty of motoring offences were fined compared to 54% of men who received more custodial sentences.
(CT-3)

Question 24

How does Dobash and Dobash negatively evaluate chivalry thesis?

Answer 24

In some areas of crime e.g rape and domestic violence, women were viewed as doubly deviant and treated more harshly by agents of social control, dissuading women from committing serious crimes and hence decreasing their representation in crime statistics.

Question 25

What % of murderers are Male?

What % of victims of domestic homicide are female?

Answer 25

76. 5% of murderers are Male

63. 7% of victims of domestic homicide are female

Question 26

What did Bob Connell (1995) and Messerschmidt (1993) argue about normative masculinity?

Answer 26

Masculinity leads to crime as men struggle to live up to what hegemonic masculinity is.
Middle class= masculinity achieved at work where they are generally successful
Working class= masculinity expressed through violence at home and on the street

:: to be masculine men are pressured to commit crimes (women don’t have same pressure :: not pushed to deviant behaviour)

Question 27

What does Katz (1988) argue about normative masculinity and crime?

Answer 27

All criminology fails to understand ‘pleasure’ in committing crime as crime is part of masculinity which gives males status and control over others as well as pressure.

-males go through a period of boredom (as seen in Matzas delinquency drift) committing the offences breaks this boredom and give them a sence if identity e.g joyriding.

Women don’t have the same experiences :: don’t commit as much crime

Question 28

What does Denscombe (2001) argue about normative masculinity and crime?

Answer 28

Women are less aggressive however female roles are changing and that young females (ladette) engage in behaviour that is associated with masculinity and hense are more inclined to commit crime

Question 29

Describe denscombes study on normative masculinity

Answer 29

15/16 year old girls in midlands found that they were adopting Male attitudes such as ‘looking hard’ or ‘being in control’ which may be why female cry is rising.

Question 30

What does Westwood argue about normative masculinity and crime?

Answer 30

Westwood (1999) argues that female identity is changing and that women are becoming more confident and forceful hence a growth in female crime.

Question 31

What does radical feminists Heimer and De Coster (1999) argue about normative masculinity and crime?

Answer 31

Youth cohort studies found that girls are significantly less likely to engage in violence than boys because they are indirectly controlled through emotions whereas boys receive direct control from families.

Question 32

What does lyng (1990) find about edgework and crime?

Answer 32

Young males search for pleasure through risk taking; ‘edgework’ where thrill is gained from acting in ways that are on the edge between security and danger.
This explains the attractiveness of car theft, joy riding and violent confrontations between Male subcultures.

Question 33

What does Messerschmidt state to support lyngs idea if edgework?

Answer 33

In risk taking, young men are ‘accomplishing masculinity’ proving they have control over their own lives.

Question 34

Why may Wilkinson argue males are more likely to commit crime?

Answer 34

There has been a destabilisation of relations between males and females known as a gender quake, which has led to a crisis of masculinity meaning men overcompensate to prove ‘hegemonic masculinity’ by committing crime.

Question 35

What does Paul Wiles argue about wrong statistics and crime?

Answer 35

Emphasises the ‘hidden figure of crime’ in that not all crime is reported, and only a portion of reported crime is convicted and hence reported so women’s crime may be underrepresented and the ocs are not valid.

Question 36

What does lockhurst argue about the inaccuracy of the ocs?

Answer 36

Claimed we should accept the facts that violent behaviour can be perpetrated by any individual, and that female violence against males is not underreported due to hegemonic masculinity

Question 37

Statistic on offending rates being reported?

Answer 37

Only 40% of crimes which are reported are recorded :: the OCS lack validity

Question 38

What does Pillivian and Briar argue about gender and crime rates?

Answer 38

The police label and therefore men are more likely to be stopped and searched than women, increasing their chance of being caught/convicted of criminal activity

Question 39

What does McRobbie state about the link between gender and crime?

Answer 39

The media still use gendered language in her content analysis of different texts, reinforcing the traditional stereotypes such as females domestic role tied to the heath and males dominate masculinity reinforcing Male crime through persistent hegemonic masculinity.

Question 40

What does social action theorist Weber argue about labelling and crime and deviance?

Answer 40

The role of the police and courts is to label some groups as more criminal than others (Male more deviant than female) and hense target to arrest them increasing their convictions.

Question 41

What does Cooley argue about labelling and crime rates?

Answer 41

We as social Scots reflect back to others their thoughts of us, and hence if others label males as deviant in subcultures as seen in blue water shopping centre, we gradually begin to act out and become a self fulfilling prophesy increasing Male crime.