Feminist Theory and Its Application in White Collar Crime - Research Paper Example

 Feminist Theory Abstract The paper looks into the feminist theory and its application in white collar crime. This is done by looking into the feminist theory and its key components. The next section discusses the issue of white collar crime and how the feminist theory comes in handy in addressing women issues in workplaces. The final section highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the feminist theory and offers evidence that suggests that justice applies equally in both genders. Feminist Theory Introduction Feminist criminology has come a long way and has managed to endure immense pain throughout its course of development in the 1970s to become a wholly theoretical orientation. All these efforts are credited to the pioneering generation of feminist criminologists who pushed tirelessly for the recognition of women deviance in academics (Burgess, 2006). The other group is that of the contemporary generation of feminist criminologists who have played a critical role in people’s understanding of women as offenders, practitioners, and victims in the criminal justice system. Today, feminist criminology has a routine recognition as a legitimate theoretical standpoint within the broader discipline of criminal justice. In addition, feminist studies have become a common practice in many learning institutions offering legal studies (Shimakawa, 2007). The development of feminist theory and its components It is necessary to note that feminism does not exclusively refer to a unitary theory, but there are numerous viewpoints that fall under the outline of feminism. In this outline, each viewpoint focuses on different assumptions regarding the origin of gender inequality and women oppression. Traditionally, the feminist theory has five key standpoints (Parboteeah et al, 2003). The first perspective is the liberal feminism, which considers gender role socialization as the source of women oppression. This implies that men’s social responsibilities are given more social status and power than women responsibilities. In addition, liberal feminist pays much focus on political, economic, social, and legal equality between men and women. In the context of criminology, liberal feminists consider women offending as a factor of gender role socialization. In other words, women are more likely to offend at a decreased rate than men because their socialization offers them with reduced opportunities to involve in deviance (Burgess, 2006). The second perspective is the radical feminism, which considers male dominance or patriarchy as the main cause of women oppression. The argument that supports this perspective is that women suffer discrimination because male power and privilege plays a critical role in shaping social interactions and social relations. In the context of criminology, radical feminists are concerned with manifestation of male dominance crimes against women, which includes sexual harassment, rape, violence, and pornography. It further recognizes that women offending are usually preceded by victimization, mainly on men’s hands (Burgess, 2006). The third perspective is the Marxist feminism, which associates women oppression to their lesser class in a capitalist society. In support of this perspective, a capitalist way of production influences class and gender relations that finally disadvantage women since they occupy the working class rather than the ruling class. In criminology context, Marxist feminists are of the opinion that women’s secondary class status may push them to commit a crime as a way of supporting themselves economically (Burgess, 2006). The fourth approach is the socialist feminism, which is a combination of radical and Marxist perspectives to justify that women oppression arises from class based inequalities and concomitant sex. Therefore, gender and class operate in tandem to shape the society, socialist feminists advocate for an audit on the approaches in which gender relations are developed by class and vice versa. In the concept of criminology, socialist feminists look into causes of crime in relation to gender interaction, as well as class based systems of power (Burgess, 2006). The final perspective is the postmodern feminism, which deviates from the four feminist perspectives by raising a concern on the existence of any truth such as existence of women oppression. Postmodern feminists disagree on fixed categories and universal concepts in support of multiple truths. By doing so, the postmodern feminists examine audit the effects of discourse and symbolic demonstration on claims about knowledge. In the concept of criminology, postmodern feminists examine the social development of concepts such as deviance, crime, and justice and pose a challenge on the accepted criminological truths. The five feminist perspectives are the most common, but there are other perspectives that are of equal importance such as the critical race feminism and the black feminism. These two perspectives are based on the experiences of black women and colored women, and hence regard women oppression as a subject of gender and race based disadvantages (Burgess, 2006). White collar crime Having looked into the feminist theory and its components, this section will focus on the application the feminist theory on white collar crime. To begin with, the term white collar crime was first popularized by Ediwn Sutherland in 1939 (Friedrichs, 2002). According to Walters & Geyer (2004), Sutherland defines white collar crime as a crime committed by a respectable person who has a high social status in his occupation. The assumption is that criminology had mainly focused on economic and social determinants of crime. These factors included amount of wealth and family background. Sutherland was of the opinion that crime is often committed by individuals working in large and powerful organizations. To him, white collar crime has a high impact that is largely underestimated. Going by the fact that white collar crimes are committed in work places that have both men and women on board, feminist theory comes in handy in order to ensure that women in workplaces get fair justice. Therefore, the five perspectives of the feminism theory apply in cases related to white collar crimes (Friedrichs, 2002). Strengths and weaknesses of feminism theory The feminist theory pays attention to gender inequalities, more so in places where male rights and privileges are more superior to those of women (Burgess, 2006). The feminist theory further stresses that male-female variations in power are essential just like power variations by age, class, and race. One shortcoming of the feminist theory is that much of its arguments are based on predictions. This is supported by available evidence, which suggests that there is equal treatment by gender, and in other circumstances, males receive harsher treatments (Shalleck, 1999). Further evidence suggests that when issues such as family roles and offense circumstances are taken into consideration, gender offers an insignificant impact on the court decision. Finally, the other concern over the feminist theory is the fact that the variables that relate to male offending are similar to those of female offences (Cernkovich et al, 2000). References Burgess, A. (2006). Intersections of race, class, gender, & crime: Future directions for feminist criminology. London: Sage Publications. Cernkovich, S. A., Giordano, P. C. & Rudolph, J. L. (2000). "Race, Crime, and the American Dream.” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 37 (2), 131-170. Friedrichs, D. O. (2002). "Occupational crime, occupational deviance, and workplace crime: Sorting out the difference. "Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2 (3), 243-256. Kramer, R.C, Michalowski,R. J. & Kauzlarich,D. (2002). "The Origins and Development of the Concept and Theory of State-Corporate Crime." Crime Delinquency, 48 (2), 263-282. Parboteeah, K. P., Hoegl, M. & Cullen, J.B (2003). "Social Institutions and Sanctioned Behaviors: A Cross-National Study." International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 44 (3), 239-265. Shimakawa, K. (2007) 'Young Jean Lee's Ugly Feelings About Race And Gender', Women & Performance. A journal of feminist theory, 17 (1), 89-102 Shalleck, A. (1999). Feminist theory and feminist method: Transforming the experience of the classroom. The American University Journal of Gender, Social policy & the Law, 7 (2), 223-233. Walters, G. D. & Geyer, M. (2004). "Criminal Thinking and Identity in Male White-Collar Offenders."Criminal Justice and Behavior, 31 (3), 263 – 281. Read More