Francis Heidensonn & Social Control (2003)

Question 1

Francis Heidensohn

Answer 1

The feminist sociologist argues that far fewer women commit crimes due to the ways that they are excessively controlled by men in society

Question 2

Heidensohn’s 3 main ways that women are controlled:

Answer 2

1. at home
2. at work
3. in public

Question 3

How does Heidensohn argue that women are controlled at home?

Answer 3

• ‘take on the main responsibility for housework and childcare in family life’
• ‘remain chained to the kitchen sink’
• ‘domesticity is a form of detention’
• women are ‘trapped’ in gender roles that prevent them from committing crimes

Question 4

How are women socially controlled at work?

Answer 4

• up to 60% of women have faced fear/intimidation from male bosses or colleagues
• women face sexual harassment, discrimination and exploitation at work

Question 5

How are women socially controlled in public?

Answer 5

• they fear being out after dark alone (ref. Sarah Everard case; killed by a police officer while walking home at 9pm alone)
• fear of sexual assault or rape
• fear of soiling reputation (labelled sluts/slags by men)

Question 6

evaluation points in general for her argument

Answer 6

• fails to explain why women commit crimes
• the idea of women being controlled at home is dated (2002) and is less accurate today
• does not take men into account
• infantilizing women; portraying them as weak

Question 7

eval/counter arguments for woman being controlled at home (1)

Answer 7

• in the last 15 years, house-husbands have tripled in the uk

Question 8

eval/counter argument women controlled at work

Answer 8

• argument neglects clear march of progress in the introduction of laws which help to ensure that women are protected at work
• sex discrimination law, for example, provides protection for women & suggests much less chance of problems like this existing in modern workplaces

Question 9

contemporary example supporting women controlled at work

Answer 9

• source: BBC News, March 2020
• film director Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of rape and sexual assualt against women
• sentenced to 23 years in jail
• highlights victimisation of women at work

Question 10

contemporary example supporting women controlled in public

Answer 10

• Sarah Everard ,March 2021
• her body discovered in woodland in Kent
• police officer, Wayne Couzens admitted to kidnap and rape but not murder - serving life in prison
• example supports Heidensohn’s point that patriarchal control of women prevents them from committing crimes

Question 11

eval/counter argument for women controlled in public

Answer 11

• rise of nocturnal economy = growth in club and pub sector
• both men AND women enjoy nights out, no evidence of women at home in 21st century whilst men go out
• ladette culture = women who drink, take drugs and are violent
  
  • challenge Heidensohn’s views as she fails to recognise how women are re-defining their roles and re-shaping their identities