Gender and crime

• Sex Role Theory


  Socialisation reinforces characteristics such as toughness, aggressiveness and sexual conquest for men. But for women caring, passivity and domestically.
• Mcrobbie


  females are less likely to commit crime as they are endorsed in 'bedroom culture'.
• Heidensohn


  Females are more likely to be controlled

  More likely to conform to house/husbands rules and therefore aren't on the streets committing crime

  Tighter controls on woman in the family

  If women commit criminal acts they are treated more harshly by the court system.
• Smart


  Most crimes committed by women are trivial- Minor Crimes. Argues that rape trials celebrate male sexual need.
• Judge Wild


  'If the woman doesn't want to have sex, she just needs to keep her legs shut' (1992)
• Dobash & Dobash:


  Domestic violence is a sign of patriarchy
• Stanko:


  Act of domestic abuse happens every 6 seconds
• Adler:


  now women are liberated, they are more likely to commit crime
• Denscombe


  There have been more opportunities in the last 10 years for women to commit crime
• Lind


  The crimes that women commit are still controlled as they tend to be crimes such as prostitution
• Pollack:


  States that women are deceitful and natural liars
• Walklate


  Rape victims are put on trial
• Jackson


  Ladette culture
• Doubly Deviant


  Women are treated twice as bad in the eyes of the media and the law as they are going against their stereotypical nurturing roles.
• Parsons


  Boys are raised to be active/aggressive/risk taking

  Boys reject feminine gender roles in nuclear family

  Boys role model is breadwinner - outside home
• Cohen


  Lack of male role model - so boys turn to street gangs for masculine identity (toughness etc)
• New Right (Dennis/Murray)


  Absence of father figure - boys turn to gangs for status
• Connell


  normative masculinity. Men seek to be masculine, if they can do it through legal means they will turn to crime to do e.g. street violence.
• mac An Ghaille


  crisis of masculinity
• Messerschmidt


  Hegemonic masculinity - dominant - alpha male. Crime and deviance are resources that men use for accomplishing masculinity
• Katz


  crime is seductive for males
• Lyng


  Young males seek pleasure - like risk taking

  
  

  Their thrill is gained from acting in ways that are on the edge between security and danger (edgework)
• Wilson


  males have formed an urban underclass who enjoy violent and anti-social behaviours.
• Winlow


  Growth of night-time leisure economy. many men can gain legal employment that has criminal opportunities & express masculinity. Bouncers
• Campbell


  young men seek compensation for lack of breadwinner status through 'aggressive masculinity'.
• AA survey


  women do speed, speed cameras show this.
• Brock Turner Case


  received 6 month sentence due to male privilege.