Transcript Lecture 6
Part II
Chapter 10
Construction of explanations of female
behavior that are sensitive to its patriarchal
context
Examines ways in which agencies of social
control (the police, the courts, and the
persons) act in ways to reinforce a woman’s
place in male society
It would first and foremost be sensitive to
the situations of girls.
Negative example: women’s movement
causing increase in women’s crime
Part 2: Ch. 10
Data show that girls are more likely to be
referred to court by non-law enforcement
agencies (including parents and family)
This holds true for status charges (in which
girls are overrepresented) as well
Part 2: Ch. 10
Girls may be trying to escape parents and
families for several reasons:
Parent’s double standard of behavior at home
may become a source of tension
Girls are more likely to be victims of child
sexual abuse, which may occur at home
Studies of girls on the streets, or in legal
custody, show high rates of physical/sexual
abuse
Studies of adult women in prison who show
high rates of childhood physical/sexual abuse
including rape
Part 2: Ch. 10
A feminist theory of female delinquency
would recognize these facts:
Girls may have more reason to run away from
home than boys
Patriarchy means the abusers (family) can call
authorities to apprehend and/or punish those
daughters/victims
Girls are more likely to be defined as sexually
desirable
Once on the streets, their lives are shaped by
patriarchal institutions that devalue women, such
as prostitution
Girls and women get caught in a vicious cycle
of victimization, delinquency and crime
Part 2: Ch. 10
Why is a feminist theory of deviance
necessary?
How do agents of social control reinforce a
female’s place in a male-dominated society?
Part 2: Ch. 10
Part II
Chapter 11
Part 3: Ch. 12
Show how social life shapes everything
people know
Introduce term “social constructionism” to
wide audience, which implies that problems
are assigned particular meanings via social
interaction
Part 2: Ch. 11
Conflict theorists charged it ignored how
elites shape deviance definitions
Feminists charged it ignored women’s
victimization by men
Gay rights activists and others argued they
were political minorities, not deviants
Part 2: Ch. 11
Part 2: Ch. 11
Some labeling-oriented sociologists began to
move away from the study of deviance
Kitsuse led several in study of how and why
specific social problems emerged as topics of
public concern
Redefined social problems as claims by
certain interest groups or claims-makers
that a particular set of social conditions
were a problem
Part 2: Ch. 11
Part 2: Ch. 11
The Return to Deviance
Constructionists’ study of social problems
still reflected themes of deviance:
Construction of rape, child abduction, illicit
drugs, family violence
Many studies traced rise of social problems
on national level such as War on Drugs
Others looked at how problems were
translated into action by police officers,
social workers, and others
Example:
The way police and the courts construct and
label perpetrators and victims of family
violence
Part 2: Ch. 11
Part 2: Ch. 11
Constructionism’s Domain
Today this approach is an influential stance
for the study of deviance at macro and micro
levels, and for how and why particular forms
of deviance emerge as a concern
It emphasizes the interpretive work whereby
various persons assign meaning and make
sense of behavior as deviant
Part 2: Ch. 11
What are the advantages of studying social
problems?
What does the constructionist perspective
emphasize and how does it differ from other
perspectives of deviance?
Part 2: Ch. 11