Patterns in Crime: Gender Flashcards
(18 cards)
Why do women appear to commit less crime than men?
The Chivalry Thesis: Pollack
Women are less likely to be prosecuted for offences as the CJS is lenient towards them
Evidence FOR the chivalry thesis…
Graham and Bowling’s research show men were more likely to offend, but the difference was smaller than shown in official statistics. Women were cautioned instead of prosecuted.
Evidence AGAINST the chivalry thesis…
Women are not sentenced more leniently in comparable offences, Buckle and Farrington’s study of shoplifting in a department store, found twice as many males shoplifting as females. Women’s crimes are less serious, and they are also more likely to show remorse.
Why do women commit less crime than men?
Functionalist sex role theory (Parsons)
Patriarchal control (Heidensohn)
Class and Gender Deals (Carlen)
The Liberation Thesis (Adler)
What is the Functionalist sex role theory?
Parsons says that boys reject feminine role models of behaviour, the only behaviour they are presented with due to the male instrumental role being performed outside the home. They therefore engage in compensatory compulsory masculinity
How can the functionalist sex role theory be criticized?
Feminists say that this ignores the patriarchy
What is patriarchal control?
Heidensohn says that women are controlled, reducing their opportunities to commit crime, such as at home, in public and at work
How can Patriarchal control be evaluated?
Liberal feminists say that women are free from this subordinate position in society.
What are class and gender deals?
Carlen studied 39 working class women and found that women conform through the promise of two deals, class and gender. The women in this study had no opportunity for the class deal, e.g., not finding a job, or the gender deal as most of them had abusive fathers or partners.
How can class and gender deals be evaluated?
Carlen’s study is small and unrepresentative
What is the Liberation Thesis?
Adler says that women have become liberated from the patriarchy, adopting traditional male roles and leading to them committing more crimes, such as being leaders of criminal gangs
How can the liberation thesis be criticized?
The female crime rate began rising in the 1950s, long before women’s liberation
Why do men commit crime?
Masculinity (Messerschmidt)
Globalisation (Winlow)
Bodily Capital
What is Masculinity?
Messerschmidt uses the concept of masculinity to explain men’s higher rate of offending, saying some men have hegemonic masculinity, achieved through work and the subordination of women. Others have subordinated masculinity, such as the WC or an EM. The working class may use crime to gain masculinity, such as in Willis’s study.
How can masculinity be evaluated?
Not all men use crime to accomplish masculinity
What is globalisation?
There has been a decline in traditional male jobs, increase in night-time leisure such as clubs and bars, opening up opportunities for illegal work. Furthermore, Winlow says that bouncers in Sunderland reinforce masculinity through violence.
What is bodily capital?
Bouncers may use their bodily capital to develop their physical assets, doing things like bodybuilding, to show off to others, fighting and committing crimes.
How can bodily capital be evaluated?
This is too focused on gender, it could be due to class, e.g., GAP crime
