ch. 13 part 1

Definition of Feminism

• Feminism: A belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.
• Key Quote: "The radical notion that women are people."
• Cultural Statement: The future is female.

Feminist Theory Overview

• Presented in Chapter 13, Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology, Loyola University Chicago.

Contributions of Meda Chesney-Lind

• Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Hawai‘i.
• Fellow (1996) at the American Society of Criminology (ASC).
• Received the Distinguished Scholar Award (1994) from the Division on Women & Crime, ASC.
• Author of significant works like Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice (1992) and recipient of the Hindelang Award (1992).

Waves of Feminism

1st Wave Feminism (mid-19th century to 1960s)

• Key Demands: Voting rights, education access, and representation.
• Important Event: Suffrage movement leading to the 19th Amendment (1920).

2nd Wave Feminism (1960s to 1970s)

• Key Demands:
  • Social equality.
  • Legislative changes:
  • Equal Pay Act (1963).
  • Title IX (1972).
  • Women's Education Equity Act (1974).
  • Equal Credit Opportunity Act (1974).
  • Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978).
  • Women's/reproductive rights advocacy:
  • Griswold v. Connecticut (1965): Struck down contraception bans for married couples.
  • Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972): Legalized contraception for all.
  • Roe v. Wade (1973): Legalized first-trimester abortion.
  • Protection against domestic violence through the Violence Against Women Act (1994).

3rd Wave Feminism (1990s)

• Characteristics:
  • Emphasis on diversity; no single definition of femininity.
  • Focus on social construction of gender and intersectionality.
  • Acknowledgment of class, race/ethnicity, and sexuality's effects.
  • Critique of the criminal justice response to violence against women.
  • Less focus on women’s empowerment in justice systems.

Feminist Criminology

• Critique of Traditional Criminology: Identified as male-centric, failing to account for gender in criminological theory and policy.
• Patriarchy:
  • Defined as a fundamental principle of societal organization.
  • Males hold superior rights and privileges, while women's rights are subordinated.
  • Criminal justice (CJ) policies reflect male dominance and support patriarchal structures.

Contemporary Feminist Criminology Features

• Commitment to understanding intersectionality in criminal justice.
• Analysis of women’s unique positions in male-dominated fields: policing, corrections.
• Examination of masculinity and the gender gap in serious crime.
• Critique of negative media portrayal of minority women and girls.
• Recognition of women’s studies as essential to developing global feminist criminology.

Gender Disparities in Justice Systems

Chivalry Hypothesis

• Overview: The justice system is male-dominated, with chivalrous attitudes leading to leniency for women offenders.
• Key Points:
  • Male officials view women as objects deserving admiration, impacting their treatment in the system.
  • Results in increased leniency for girls/women in the juvenile justice system (JJS) compared to boys.

Paternalism and Selectivity Hypothesis

• Chivalry as Paternalism:
  • Women viewed as too weak to handle traditional punishments.
• Impacts:
  • Increased leniency towards certain women in the name of protection but harsher treatment towards those violating traditional femininity.
• Selectivity Hypothesis:
  • More leniency given to middle-class and white women, while harsher punishments are imposed on poor and minority women.

Evidence and Empirical Support

• Mixed Evidence: Some studies show increased punitive treatment of female offenders, especially among minorities and the poor.
• Arrest patterns indicate:
  • Increased arrests for minor status offenses among girls.
  • The system 'sexualizes' girls' offenses threatening traditional gender roles.
  • Efforts to decriminalize status offenses in the 1970s led to a paradox of rising assaults rather than a decrease in girls' arrests.

Transinstitutionalization

• Focus on the shift of non-criminal referrals for girls to residential psychiatric facilities, indicating systemic issues within the juvenile justice system.