Social explanation 2 - Gender Socialisation Flashcards
(17 cards)
What is the A01 Content?
- Patterns of socialisation
- Role models
- Differences in social control
What did Sutherland suggest about gender difference in socialisation? What is this theory known as?
He proposed that during socialisation boys are encouraged to be risk takers and to be tough whereas girls are not. They are encouraged to be more controlled and are more closely monitored. Society expects girls to be more conforming than boys. This is known as the sex role theory.
How may this difference in socialisation lead to criminal behaviour in men?
Men are more likely to have the inclination to commit a crime, they may also have more opportunity.
What did Miller and Mullins suggest about sex role theory and crime?
When younger boys are more encouraged into risk taking behaviours which could pattern itself into adulthood as criminal behaviour.
What is the social learning theory?
This is the idea that we learn gender theories through observation and imitation of roles models. E..g, girls = mother and boys = father.
How did Bandurra use his research to explain the social learning theory?
He conducted the Bodo doll experiment and displayed how children reflect the behaviours of the role models they are exposed to.
What did Cohen suggest?
He suggested that it was more difficult for boys to have access to their role models through their fathers as they were less available. He suggested that they would reject socialisation from their mothers and therefore rebel against any feminine attitudes.
How may boys enhance their masculinity?
Boys pursue any opportunities that allow them to enhance their masculinity, they seek out other male peer groups which rewards demonstrations of behaviours such as aggression.
What did Anne Oakley say regarding boys and crime?
She argued that there was a very fine line between masculinity and criminality behaviours.
How does a patriarchal society lead to male dominated crime?
Men tend to impose great control over women, this reduces the opportunity that women have to commit crime. Daughters tend to be more controlled by fathers, have to do more housework and can’t stay out as late and therefore have less opportunity to commit crime.
Why may women have less opportunity to commit crime?
They may have less opportunity due to their domestic roles. They spend greater time at home caring for the children etc.
What is meant by the ‘glass ceiling’ in the workplace and why does this reduce feminine crime rates?
This theory describes how there’s an inviisble barrier that stops women from reaching higher authoritative positions in the work place. This means they are less able to commit white collar crimes such as fraud.
How could representation in the media lead to decreased female crime?
The media tends to report crime in a way that controls women by fear. They increase the fear that women should not be out in public alone, tis causes them to stay at home and have less opportunity to commit crime.
Evaluation - Chivalry hypothesis
This explains that women do commit more crime than the official statistics suggest. Most of police and magistrates are men, they have been socialised to be chivalrous to women. They tend to be protective of women and are less likely to prosecute or convict them. It is not just gender differences in the individual committing the crime but also the ones convicting them.
Evaluation - Men are less likely to be punished
Carlen opposed that women who are seen as ‘good mothers’ were less likely to be prosecuted than those who have children within the justice system. This proposes the idea that women get assessed on their crime against their gender roles and the crime itself. It is not just the severity of the crime that influences the severity. As men don’t have these lighter boundaries and is seen as more normal to be violent they are not breaking their expected gender role.
Evaluation - Hormones in males
Gender difference can be described biologically rather than socially. They differ due to the difference in hormones. In males testosterone is much higher, this has been linked to aggression in many studies. The differences in gender socialisation and gender control may not be the only explanations.
