Gender, Crime, and Justice Exam 1

Societal viewpoint of female sexuality?

fascination, near obsession with female sexuality, desirable but also dangerous

Stag effect in Criminology

men input/behavior has been applied to females

How is the stag effect represented in Criminological theories?

criminology was based on male delinquency and crime; these theories gave little awareness to the important of gender

How has Feminist Criminology challenged Criminology’s traditional masculine focus?

Feminist criminology demonstrates how gender matters, not only in terms of one’s trajectory into crime but also in terms of how the criminal justice system responds to the offenders under it authority

Hebrew and Christian Traditions: Representation of women?

Lilith, Eve, Rebekah, Rachel, Leah

Greek Mythology: Representation of women?

Penelope (Wife of Odysseus), Persephone, Artemis, Athena, Aphrodite, Hera

Why was there such fear of witchcraft?

Did not want to disrupt of orderly natural hierarchy established by godly men, interfered with men’s productivity and control of environment

Why were women more likely to be accused of witchcraft?

Those who were accused were often older, unmarried, childless, or widowed women. They were accused because society was dissatisfied with their place in the world/society

Scolding

loud, prolonged, arguing, creating a public, nuisance, using bad language, publicly disagreeing with males in positions of power.

Scolding: Common and Extreme Punishment

Fines or ducking stool and branks

What happened to women accused of adultery?

divorced, banished, family pays fine, lost support system (family), children could be disowned, seen as a charity case

Sexual Offenses: Brothels and Prostitution?

Women’s crime, considered evil

What could women sue for?

Defamation: if one woman accused another of spreading rumors of sexually inappropriate behavior

Courtesans?

Kind of like prostitutes but different, only had wealthy or upper class clients, many of their clients were long term clients, women were not only paid for sex but were paid for her company

How did courtesans take advantage of society’s double standards?

They could accumulate wealth, properties, possession. They were not controlled. They were independent and did not have to be faithful. They had more social freedom than any other women in society

What made female slaves doubly vulnerable?

They were considered property, and property had no rights against the wills of their masters. They had no freedom

Re Davis (1630)

Hugh Davis was charged with sleeping with his female slaves, considered a racial purity problem. They thought he dishonored god

Missouri vs Celia (1855)

Celia was a slave and was often raped by her owner, Newsom. She killed her master for self defense but the court charged her with murder and was sentenced to death

What happened to mixed race children?

Eventually became slaves. Sometimes mothers would abort their children to prevent them from becoming slaves

Feme Covert

women who were married could not own property, sign legal documents, enter into contracts, obtain an education or a job without the approval of her husband. If she had a job, she could not keep wages

Fem Sole

unmarried women were allowed to control property, engaged in contracts, write wills, work for money. Had more rights than married women but they had to still follow the edict of their fathers until they reached a certain age. Once they have reached a certain age, they were considered less marriageable. So they could be more independent but came at a price

What paradigm is feminist criminology categorized under?

Conflict: criticize status quo/society

What is feminism?

A group seeking equality across different areas of society

Issues regarding Generalizability?

Results generated from male samples are not representative of female population. Your sample must resemble a population of interest

What did early theories fail to do?

failed to not look at women and only tested on men

Early theories that attempted to explain female crime: Lombroso

Stated there are two types of women: good and bad. The good women followed social expectations such as being wives and mothers. The bad women were spiteful, masculine, aggressive, had more body hair, and those who committed sex crimes. He also stated women fell behind men. He considered prostitutes the worse of the worse, they were spiteful for trying yo weaken men with sex

Early theories that attempted to explain female crime: Pollak

Stated that women suffer form sexual immaturity and had deceitful personalities; hormonal phases also influenced women’s crime. Also stated that women committed as much crime as men because women’s crime would go undetected/not reported. Stated that women victimized men and women were “frustrated” the fact they were less than men

Early theories that attempted to explain female crime: Freud

Stated that all women suffer from penis envy and must overcome it. Those who can’t adjust would attempt to become a man and seek revenge on men due to jealously

Liberal Feminist Theories

focused on existing social structure and women’s increased opportunity within

Liberal Feminist Theories: Opportunity Hypothesis

women’s removal form traditional housebound roles results in opportunity. Women previously did not commit as much crime as men because they often lacked the opportunity to do so

Liberal Feminist Theories: Masculinity Hypothesis

Women changing social role resulted in them becoming more aggressive and masculine because they were fighting and competing for a place in society

Radical Feminist Theories

Society is based on patriarchy, males dominate virtually every aspect of society including politics, family structure, and the economy. Reproduction was the cause of gender identities and they were created and enforced. In order to change this, we need to need to destroy gender identities, sex roles, and classifications to no longer focus on reproduction.

Marxist Feminist Theories

Root of male dominance lies in men’s ownership and control of the means of economic production. Men control economic success and flows from capitalism

Marxist Feminist Theories: Economic Marginalization Hypothesis

sought to explain female crime and identify patterns of female offenders. The majority of female offenders are poor, under-employed/unemployed, lack of alternative means (less education, less social support), and often have a dependent (single mothers, economic survival crimes)

Socialist Feminist Theories

Considered a combination of radical and Marxist viewpoints, emphasized control of reproductive systems, sexual division of labor (public vs private), reproductive differences made females dependent on men for survival

Female offenders and victimization?

Research indicates that a high level of female offenders has experienced victimization such as sexual and physical abuse

Relationship between early puberty and delinquency?

Higher rate of delinquency and risky behaviors and higher likelihood or victimization

What are the various outcomes associated with early puberty?

more conflict with parents, more inconsistent discipline, early dating, more teen/adolescents, engaged in more risky behavior, victimized

Origins of IPV (Intimate Partner Violence)

Historically women were property, women were controlled by husbands or closest male relative

Changing perceptions of using force against female spouse?

Mid 1600s by Puritans in Massachusetts

Late 1800s: laws restricting family violence

1960s: second wave of feminism (more changed actually happened)

Cycle of Violence

Tension, Battering, Reconciliation (honeymoon phase)

Characteristics of stalking?

making unwanted phone calls, sending unsolicited or unwanted letters/emails, following or spying on victims, showing up at places without a legitimate reason, waiting at places for victim, leaving unwanted items, presents, or flowers, posting information or spreading rumors about the victim

Types of domestic violence?

Physical, Sexual, Economic, Psychological, and Emotional Abuse

Traditional definition of rape?

forceful penetration of a female by a male, not her husband

Updated definition of rape?

any penetration that is nonconsensual

Legality of stalking?

Must prove threatening behavior, criminal intent, and repetition

Percentage of sexual assaults reported to police?

23%