Feminist Theories, Heidensohn

• Francis Heidensen adopted a control theory approach to understand the differences in offending between males and females
• Heidensen suggested that patriarchal control in different spheres of social life led to lower levels of female criminality compared to male criminality
• Women are controlled in public through domestic responsibilities and hierarchical structures of employment
• This control limits opportunities for women to commit crime, resulting in lower levels of female criminality
• Heidensen focused on the dominant ideologies in separate spheres of social life for males and females
• Women are dominant in the domestic sphere, limiting their opportunities for criminality
• Males are dominant in the public and work spheres, which provides more opportunities for criminal behavior
• Women's opportunities for crime are restricted by responsibilities in the home, social expectations, and the pressure to be the perfect wife or mother
• In the public sphere, women's behavior is controlled by social expectations of being submissive to males
• Women were often seen as male property in the public sphere, limiting their autonomy and opportunities for criminal behavior
• Women are controlled through fear of violent behavior by males to reinforce male dominance
• In the workplace, women are controlled through legitimate authority, with males holding higher positions and having power over female employees
• Patriarchal controls in society explain the lower levels of female criminality according to Heidensen
• Heidensen's research is somewhat outdated due to changes in family life, gender roles, and social attitudes since the mid-1980s
• Some sociologists argue that patriarchal control is enforced not only by males but also by female expectations of their peers, limiting women's opportunities to commit crime
• Socialization into informal mechanisms of control, such as gossip, acts as an additional form of control over women, limiting their desire to commit crime