Gender

• Sex role theory-

  Parsons- due to socialisation and access to role models boys end up turning to male gangs for masculine identity.

  Evaluation- Walkate- makes a biological assumption about the roles of men and women
• Differential socialisation-

  Women are socialised into being 'guardians of domestic morality' and risk far more social exclusion if charged -> double deviancy
• Paternalistic police culture-

  -Official crime statistics are incorrect

  -Women commit more crime than whats represented in statistics -> don't fit criminal stereotype so less likely to be arrested and charged
• Chivalry factor-

  -Pollock- women are treated more leniently by police

  -Evidence- Steffensmeier- judges are reluctant to seperate women from their children. Hood- even when women and men are found gulity of the same crimes, women are 1/3 less likely to get a prison sentence.
• Feminisation of poverty-

  Women are more likely to live under the poverty line which can force them to turn to crime.

  Evaluation- not all women under the poverty line turn to crime and doesn't explain non-utilitarian crime
• Liberation Thesis-

  -Alder- as women have become liberated from patriarchal control it has led to increased levels of crime, due to greater self confidence and opportunities.

  -Evaluation- Crime rates started growing in women before the liberation movement.
• Control theory-

  -Heidensohn- Women commit less crime that men due to the amount of patriarchal control their under.

  -Evaluation- Patriarchal control can push people into crime rather than preventing it.
• Hegemonic Masculinity-

  -Messerschmidt-men are socialised into hegemonic value system that stresses the difference between men and women and focuses and masculine goals.
• Masculinity-

  -Not confined to W/C men -> M/C men are motivated by the same values to commit white collar crime.

  -Evaluation- Criticised for not explaining why women don't use ctime to achieve hegemonic masculinity.
• Changing nature of masculinity (Winlow)-

  Most W/C men traditionally express masculinity through bread winner role etc. Opportunities for crime were low -> mass unemployment in 1980s -> increased value of violence.