CHAPTER 6 Flashcards
(39 cards)
Describe the idea of the invisibility of women in criminology - what does that mean and why is it the case
- criminology has traditionally been male-centred - concerned about what men do and women have been invisible
- this is due in part to the relative minor role women play as criminal offenders
- violence against women has also not been seen as a crime concern
- criminologists haven’t considered the “maleness” of their subjects - haven’t taken it into account
What is the goal of feminist criminology?
What two paths did initial feminist contributions to criminology take?
Goal is to move women and an analysis of gender to the centre of criminological inquiry
Initial contributions were a critique of existing theories - took two paths:
1. a focus on the sexism of theories used to explain women’s crime
2. an explanation of the invisibility of women in the mainstream theories of criminology
Overall, what is the Conservative Approach to women’s crime about?
Characterized by biological determinism
Focuses on the biological differences between men and women that account for female criminal offending and the differences in male and female offending
Women viewed as naturally inferior, which explains women’s criminality
Describe the Lombroso and Ferrero Conservative approach to women’s crime
(The Female Offender)
Women were thought to be less intelligent than men
Adaptation of atavism theory - women not as evolved as men, and therefore atavistically degenerate (born criminal) women don’t stand out as much
Female criminals were vile and cruel, seen as more male than female and lacked maternal instincts
Describe W.I. Thomas’ Conservative approach to women’s crime
(The Unadjusted Girl)
Human behaviour is an expression of biological instincts of anger, fear, love, etc.
Women have more varieties of love in their nervous system - their need to feel loved lead women to engage in crime (esp. prostitution)
Explain the Glueck and Glueck Conservative Approach to women’s crime
(Five hundred delinquent women)
Viewed criminal women as “other”
Considered imprisoned women a “sorry lot”
Such women were characterized by feeblemindedness, psychopathic personalities, and marked emotional instability - they were hard to reform into law-abiding citizens
Explain Pollak’s Conservative Approach to women’s crime
(the criminality of women)
Women’s crimes were equal in severity and scope to those of men, but women’s crime is hidden and thus undetected and undercounted
Women are inherently deceptive and vengeful - deceit rooted in biological ability to fake orgasm
Also menstruation drives women to commit acts of revenge and crime
Explain some of the critiques of conservative theories
- relate to myths and folk tales about women and their behaviour
- reflect assumptions about the dual nature of women –> ex. good girl/bad girl duality and sexual promiscuity being normal for men but not women
- fails to consider the gendered roles of men vs women
- ignores broader structural factors that impinge on women’s lives and influence their criminal offending
Broadly explain the Liberal Approach to women’s crime (when was it developed)
Developed in the 1970s
Used a more sociological analysis and shifted focus from biology to culture
Sex (biological) is distinct from gender (cultural):
Differences between genders were seen as due to gender roles and socialization patterns
- culture proscribes certain roles and behaviours as “male appropriate” and “female appropriate”
Describe Hoffman-Bustamante’s take on the Liberal Approach of women’s crime in ROLE theory
- the lower rate of delinquency of girls is the result of differential socialization and childrearing practices
–> males are socialized to be aggressive, outgoing, and are allowed greater freedom vs. girls, who are socialized to be passive, domesticated, and closely supervised - this explains that women’s lesser involvement in violence and greater involvement in shoplifting (women are given that consumer role in society)
Explain Hagan et al’s power-control theory in ROLE theory (liberal approach)
There are two types of families:
Patriarchal: (employed husband and housewife)
- mothers especially will control the daughters more than sons
= large gender differences in delinquent behaviours
Egalitarian family: (both parents employed)
- parenting is more egalitarian, so daughters are less controlled
= smaller gender differences in delinquency
Describe Smart’s take on the ROLE theory (liberal approach)
- says that role theory can only partly explain women’s crime
- too little attention is paid to why socialization patterns differ by sex (that is, the broader structural origins of gender roles)
- says that while Hagan’s theory brings in the labour force participation of the parents, it doesn’t go far enough in examining gender-based power and control in broader social structures
Explain the criticism of Merton’s strain theory
It reflected a sensitivity to class inequalities, but not gender inequalities
- concluded that low-class males engage in crime due to lack of access to legitimate means of monetary success
- but it doesn’t explain why women under similar strain are less involved in crime
Explain the criticism of Sutherland’s differential association theory
- this theory posited cultural heterogenity for men : some learn definitions favourable to crime while others do not
- women were seen as culturally homogeneous - more altruistic and compliant than men
*Sutherland failed to examine the apparent cultural homogeneity among women
Explain the criticism of Hirschi’s social control theory
- this theory focused on conformity of law-abiding people
- since women appear to be more conformist than men, it would make sense to treat women as central to his analysis BUT he mostly ignored women in his theorizing
What is the overall criticism of mainstream theories of crime
Mainstream theories of crime, such as strain theories, differential association, labelling and conflict theories, relied on stereotypical constructions of masculinity and femininity
men = aggressive, independent, daring
women = submissive, dependent, and compliant
mainstream = malestream
Explain the generalizability problem in modifying mainstream theories to fit women (ex. of how Merton’s strain theory was modified)
The problem: Can theories generated to explain male offending—which have largely been developed with men in mind—be made to “fit” women?
Ex.
Leonard modified Merton’s strain theory:
- females are socialized to aspire to different culture goals than males (like marriage and children)
- thus, women’s low rate of crime is explained by the relatively easy manner in which females can realize their goals
Critique of this: it is insensitive to the strains and frustrations associated with women’s familial role and economic concerns
*Modified mainstream versions treat women as afterthoughts and try to adapt male-centric theories to women
Describe the gender-ratio problem in women’s crime - what questions does it try to answer
Why are women less likely than men to be criminals? What explain the sex difference in rates of arrest and the types of criminal activity between men and women?
Conservative criminologists like Thomas and Pollack developed the CHIVALRY thesis to argue that women were treated more leniently then men
FINDINGS: chivalry in the CJS only affects white middle and upper class women and those behaving in stereotypical fashion (ex. crying)
- chivalrous behaviour in CJS is a means of preserving women’s subordinate position in society?
What is the women’s liberation thesis? Is there credit to this theory?
Female criminality will more closely resemble men’s as gender differences are diminished by women’s greater participation in the workforce
Simon: increased employment opportunities for women will increase crime opportunities
Adler: linked influence of women’s movement to increasing female criminality
This theory was premised on inaccurate readings of crime statistics and eventually discredited
*women are more likely to commit crime as a result of poverty, not economic opportunity
Describe the feminist approach to the idea of the grouping of “criminalized women”
Laberge (1991) proposed the concept of “criminalized women” rather than “criminal woman”
Feminist approach starts from outside of mainstream criminology -
Says that understanding women’s involvement in crime should not take typical crime categories as the starting point –> crime categories reinforce a division between criminals and the law-abiding, making female criminals the “other”
*This ignores the collective experiences of all women in a sexist society that help create “criminalized women”
Views the lives of criminalized women in a broader social context characterized by inequalities of class, race, and gender
What is the social profile of criminalized women
Young, poor, undereducated, and unskilled women are most likely to be involved in property crimes - consistent with their traditional role as consumers, and increasingly with their role as low-income, semi-skilled, sole support providers for their families
Feminist criminologists suggest that increases in the number of women involved in crime is a result of the “feminization of poverty” not women’s emancipation
Explain the racial inequality of criminalized women
In Canada, the focus is on inequalities affecting Indigenous women
- they are overrepresented in crime statistics, incarceration, and offences involving alcohol
- colonization, marginalization, and dependence on the state are causal factors in violence, alcoholism, and drug use
What is the patriarchy? How does it relate to women’s use of violence
A system of male domination that includes both a structure and an ideology that privileges men over women
- women’s use of violence must be understood as a manifestation of patriarchy
Explain the Cultural Construction of Rape
Where did Smart say these myths emerge from?
What is the likelihood that someone will be convicted of a sexual violence offence
Refers to an understanding of rape that is riddled with myths and misconceptions about the nature of the act, as well as stereotypical images of “true” rape victims and offenders.
Smart: said these myths are “phallocentric” - emerging from male meanings of sexuality
– Stereotypes can result in victim blaming and a lower chance that perpetrators will be caught, as well as higher acquittal rates and lighter sentences for offenders
The likelihood that someone will be convicted of a sexual violence offence is less than 1 percent.
