Feminist Theory and Crime Notes

Definition of Feminism

• Feminism:

  • A belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.

  • The radical notion that women are people.

  • Slogan: "The future is female".

Feminist Theory in Criminology

• Important to consider how gender affects crime and justice.

Key Questions in Feminist Criminology

• Generalizability (Daly & Chesney-Lind, 1988):

  • Do male-oriented criminological theories apply to women?

  • Some theories are gender-neutral.

  • Others inadequately account for female crime.

• Gender Ratio Problem:

  • Can existing theories explain the gender difference in crime?

  • Esbensen & Winfree (1998) findings:

  • All boys to girls: ~1.5:1 ratio.

  • General males (GM) to girls: 1.51:1.

  • Non-general males (Non-GM) to girls: 1.49:1.

  • GM girls to Non-GM boys: 3.06:1.

Women’s Liberation and Female Crime

• Historical Context:

  • Women’s liberation movement (late 1960s - 1970s).

  • Increase in media coverage of female offending in the 1970s.

  • Counteracts traditional stereotypes of feminine roles.

Masculinity Hypothesis

• Proposed by Adler (1975):

  • Women’s movement leading to demands for equal opportunity caused:

  • Changes in traditional sex roles.

  • Increased equality and labor force participation.

  • As women become more equal in society, female crime rates increase.

Economic Marginalization Hypothesis

• Female offenders are commonly:

  • Poor, under/unemployed, and often heads of households with children.

  • They lack alternatives and suffer from an inadequate welfare system.

  • This creates economic pressure, leading to increased reliance on economic crimes.

Gendered Pathways Approach (Daly, 1998)

• Focuses on life experiences and developmental trajectories of girls/women in crime.

• A descriptive approach that:

  • Gives voice to female offenders.

  • Acknowledges abuse as a common factor:

  • 55% of females in jail report prior physical and/or sexual abuse (Daly, 2002) vs. 13% of males.

Gendered Context Approach (Steffensmeier & Allan, 1996)

• Examines differences in experiences between males and females:

  • Encounters with different normative expectations and opportunities for offending.

  • Attributes different meanings and responses to similar situations.

• Organization of Gender:

  • Restructuring of norms, morals, values, and social control applications contributes to gendered differences in:

  • Criminal motivations (e.g., guilt/shame, risk/reward perceptions, self-control).

  • Criminal opportunities (peers, encounters, routine circumstances).

Future Readings

• For April 15th, read:

  • Chapter 14 – Developmental & Life-Course Theories.