1. Feminist Perspectives
Week 13
Feminist Perspectives

2. Feminist Perspectives
Relevance for criminology?
Overwhelming ‘maleness’ of the prison population
Criminologists are nearly all men
Female criminality is a departure from ‘natural female behavior’
How are female criminals dealt with?

3. Feminist Perspectives
Even within feminism there is a diversity of thinking…
Liberal*
Critical*
Marxist
Radical
linked to patriarchy

4. Simon and Adler Every social area is separated by sex-role differences
Aggressive boys/dependent girls
Liberation Hypothesis:
As women’s opportunities broaden, so will their involvement in crime
Major byproduct of the women’s movement
Did this happen?

5. Generalizability Problem Gender Ratio Problem
Daly and Chesney-Lind
Problematize gender and consider the implications of findings for empowering women
Generalizability Problem
Gender Ratio Problem

6. Daly and Chesney-Lind
How is the law used to institutionalize this gender difference?
Law
Runaways
Prostitution
Big contribution? Request for research

7. Messerschmidt What is masculinity? Challenges the feminist critique
Feminist theories have not taken seriously the study of masculinity
Masculinity and ‘doing gender’
(both men and women can do this, but it’s easier for men, why?)

8. Messerschmidt Criminality and masculinity are intertwined
Masculinity involves the dominance of women, heterosexuality, the pursuit of sexual gratification, independence etc.
Middle class white boys
Lower class minority boys

9. Policy Implications What should we do?
Treat men and women differently? equally? The same?
What happens to them in real life? In the criminal justice system?
“Women in Prison” video
85% mothers, mostly single mothers etc.
Boggo Rd example

10. Critique
Lack of research