10.2.2
Gender
Gender and Crime
Gender and Crime
Pollack discusses the ‘chivalry thesis’; an idea that suggests the criminal justice system treats men and women differently.
The ‘chivalry thesis’
The ‘chivalry thesis’
- Pollack discusses the ‘chivalry thesis’; an idea that suggests the criminal justice system treats men and women differently.
- He claims that this stems from gender role socialisation.
Gender role socialisation
Gender role socialisation
- The criminal justice system is traditionally dominated by men who are raised to be ‘chivalrous’ towards women.
- This means that when faced with a female offender, male police officers are more likely to treat them leniently.
Heidensohn
Heidensohn
- In many domestic abuse cases, women choose not to report the majority of incidents to the police.
- Radical feminist Heidensohn claims that the criminal justice system treats women very poorly when investigating claims of sexual assault or domestic violence.
Gender norms
Gender norms
- This is because women are viewed to have deviated from stereotypical gender norms.
- E.g. if they act in a sexually promiscuous way they are not performing their expressive role.
Gender and Crime
Gender and Crime
Parsons suggests that women are less likely to be criminals due to their genetic characteristics, this is called sex role theory.
Sex role theory
Sex role theory
- Parsons suggests that women are less likely to be criminals due to their genetic characteristics, this is called sex role theory.
- He argues the importance of the ‘expressive leader’ in the primary socialisation of children and suggests women have more to lose if they turn to criminal activity.
‘Patriarchal control’
‘Patriarchal control’
- Heidensohn claims that women are generally more likely to conform to society’s norms and values than men and therefore tend to be restricted when it comes to criminal or deviant activity.
- She claims that because of ‘patriarchal control’, women are used to being controlled by men throughout their lives and consequently do not have the same opportunities to commit crime.
The ‘liberation thesis’
The ‘liberation thesis’
- Adler suggests that as female progression evolves, so will the opportunity for women to commit crime.
- She refers to this as the ‘liberation thesis’.
- As women become more prevalent in traditionally male spaces such as employment women will have more opportunity to commit crime, such as white collar crime.
Masculinity and Crime
Masculinity and Crime
Messerschmidt suggests that men constantly work at developing their masculinity, which is deemed to be an achievement in the eyes of other men.
Messerschmidt
Messerschmidt
- Messerschmidt suggests that men constantly work at developing their masculinity, which is deemed to be an achievement in the eyes of other men.
Masculinity
Masculinity
- Messerschmidt claims that masculinity is characterised by:
- Being paid for employment.
- The subordination of women.
- Heterosexuality.
- Being sexually active.
Katz
Katz
- Katz suggests that men commit crime in order to feel a thrill.
- In most cases, Katz claims that many crimes are committed out of boredom and that male criminals are seeking ‘thrills’ at any opportunity.
Crime and thrill
Crime and thrill
- He claims that different types of crimes, bring different levels of thrill depending on their severity.
- For example, shoplifting is a low-level crime and therefore only provides ‘sneaky thrills’.
1Theory & Methods
1.1Sociological Theories
1.2Sociological Methods
2Education with Methods in Context
2.1Role & Function of the Education System
2.2Educational Achievement
2.3Relationships & Processes Within Schools
3Option 1: Culture & Identity
3.1Conceptions of Culture
3.2Identity & Socialisation
3.3Social Identity
3.4Production, Consumption & Globalisation
4Option 1: Families & Households
4.1Families & Households
4.2Changing Patterns
4.3The Symmetrical Family
4.4Children & Childhood
5Option 1: Health
5.1Social Constructions
5.2Social Distribution of Healthcare
5.3Provision & Access to Healthcare
5.4Mental Health
6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare
6.1Poverty & Wealth
7Option 2: Beliefs in Society
7.1Ideology, Science & Religion
7.2Religious Movements
7.3Society & Religion
8Option 2: Global Development
8.1Development, Underdevelopment & Global Inequality
8.2Globalisation & Global Organisations
8.3Aid, Trade, Industrialisation, Urbanisation
9Option 2: The Media
9.1Contemporary Media
9.2Media Representations
10Crime & Deviance
10.1Crime & Society
10.2Social Distribution of Crime
Jump to other topics
1Theory & Methods
1.1Sociological Theories
1.2Sociological Methods
2Education with Methods in Context
2.1Role & Function of the Education System
2.2Educational Achievement
2.3Relationships & Processes Within Schools
3Option 1: Culture & Identity
3.1Conceptions of Culture
3.2Identity & Socialisation
3.3Social Identity
3.4Production, Consumption & Globalisation
4Option 1: Families & Households
4.1Families & Households
4.2Changing Patterns
4.3The Symmetrical Family
4.4Children & Childhood
5Option 1: Health
5.1Social Constructions
5.2Social Distribution of Healthcare
5.3Provision & Access to Healthcare
5.4Mental Health
6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare
6.1Poverty & Wealth
7Option 2: Beliefs in Society
7.1Ideology, Science & Religion
7.2Religious Movements
7.3Society & Religion
8Option 2: Global Development
8.1Development, Underdevelopment & Global Inequality
8.2Globalisation & Global Organisations
8.3Aid, Trade, Industrialisation, Urbanisation
9Option 2: The Media
9.1Contemporary Media
9.2Media Representations
10Crime & Deviance
10.1Crime & Society
10.2Social Distribution of Crime
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