Transcript Why Study Education?

Women and Crime
Explanations Of Women’s Criminality
• Lombroso - In the 19th Century he suggested that women
deviants were ‘evolutionary throwbacks.
• Pollak 1950’s – Women are more adept at hiding crimes. They
are biologically predisposed to deceiving men – faking orgasms
etc..
Women and Crime
Remember this scene in When Harry met Sally??
Women and Crime
Biological Approaches
Essential differences between men and women
Female hormones PMS has been used in a number of court cases
This has been seen as both a positive and negative step
Women and Crime
Evaluating Biological Approaches
If we accept that women can be affected by PMS in crime then it
can be used to justify denying women areas of responsibility at
work
Parlee (1982) says PMS can be a social creation and a self-fulfilling
prophecy
Women and Crime
Psychological Explanations Of Female Deviance
Unmarried mothers are more likely to be deviant than married mothers –
Eysenck 1970
Such ‘extroverts’ were more likely to be promiscuous and
deviant
This links to the New Right attitude to single parents and
breakdown of family
However ‘ introverts’ are more associated with serial
killers
Sociologists tend to treat such approaches with a pinch of
salt
Women and Crime
• Gender Socialisation
• Family
Arguably we have moved away from ‘slugs snails, sugar and
spice’ attitudes
But ’pink’ and ‘blue’ still are important in parents attitudes,
toys etc
Girls and boys are still treated differently within the family
context
and at schools where the hidden curriculum attitude of
‘appropriate female’ behaviour is seen as an extension of
this
Women and Crime
• Peers
Particularly strong in adolescence
Sex and Labelling of girl
‘Tart’ ‘slag’ etc
Boys’ labels are different
New phenomena of the ‘ladette’
and emergence of more girl gangs
Women and Crime
• Social Control - Heidenshon 1985
1. The Home
Demands of childcare and housework limit opportunities
for women
Women and Crime
• Social Control
2. In public
Women are more fearful of travelling alone etc.
Women find it harder to walk in to a pub alone etc.
fearful of messages given out
Women and Crime
• Social Control
3. At Work
Many workplaces still dominated by men
Women who are assertive are seen as ‘pushy’
Many women prefer to work for a male
Women and Crime
Opportunity
• Women’s opportunities to commit crime are severely
limited by their socialisation and social control factors
Women’s Liberation
• The advances for women in many areas have been seen as
positive. Unfortunately women are gaining ground on men in
the criminal area.
• Adler 1975 argues that changes in women’s positions have
led to more females committing robberies and being
involved in juvenile delinquency. (See the article by Anne
Cambell p 511)