10.1.5

Other Approaches

Test yourself

Feminism and Postmodernism

It is possible to understand crime from many different perspectives. Feminist and postmodernist theory result in different interpretations of crime and deviance.

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Feminism 

  • Feminists such as Heidensohn, believe that the study of criminology is ‘malestream’ as male theorists dominate the discipline and are obsessed with male crime due to its violent and exciting nature.
  • According to official statistics, around 80% of all reported and recorded crime is committed by men.
  • Furthermore, men make up around 95% of the prison population.  
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Postmodernism 

  • Katz suggests that in most cases crimes are committed out of boredom and that criminals are seeking ‘thrills’ at any opportunity.
  • He claims that different types of crimes bring different levels of thrill depending on their severity.
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Examples

  • Shoplifting is a low-level crime and therefore only provides ‘sneaky thrills’.
  • Murder on the other hand is more severe and therefore the ‘righteous slaughter’ brings the biggest thrill. 
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Katz

  • Katz believes this is the main reason why men commit crime in the postmodern world.
  • Because traditional means of achieving masculinity are no longer available, many young men suffer from a lack of status and clarity with regards to their identity.

Jump to other topics

1Theory & Methods

2Education with Methods in Context

3Option 1: Culture & Identity

4Option 1: Families & Households

5Option 1: Health

6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare

7Option 2: Beliefs in Society

8Option 2: Global Development

9Option 2: The Media

10Crime & Deviance

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