Explanation for Male Crime

• Feminists argue that ‘malestream’ analysis of crime has assumes they were explaining all crime 
• Cain 1989: ‘mena as males have not been the subject of the criminological gaze. Yet the most consistent and dramatic dinding [of criminology] is not that most criminals are working class - a fact which has received continuous theoretical attention- but that most criminals are, and always have been men’ 
• Sociologists have never questioned why men being men has resulted in their offending 
• Messerschmidt 1993: Masculinity is a social construct that is deemed an ‘accomplishment’ and men have to constantly work at constructing and presenting themselves as masculine. 
• Messerschmidt 1993: different masculinities exist within society, one being hegemonic masculinity 
• Hegemonic masculinity: ‘work in the paid-labour market, the subordination of women, heterosexism and the driven and uncontrollable sexuality of men’ 
• Heterosexism: discrimination against homosexuals based upon the underlying belief in heterosexuality being the normal sexuality. 
• Some men have subordinated masculinity: 

  1. Gay men 
  2. Low class men 
  3. Minority ethnic group men 

  Each who lack the resources to have hegemonic
• Messerschmidt: crime and deviance as a resource to achieve masculinity 
• White Middle Class Youths: have to subordinate themselves to teachers to achieve middle-class status leading to an accommodating masculinity in school. Outside school, masculinity takes an oppositional form
• White Working Class Youths: less chance of academic success so their masculinity is oppositional both in and out of school. Willis 1977: Lads counter culture perfect example #
• Black Lower Working Class Youths: few expectations of reasonable job so turn to gang membership and violence to express masculinity. 
• White Middle Class use white-collar crime and corporate crime to accomplish hegemonic masculinity