Feminist Criminology - Essay Example

Feminist Criminology Introduction Feminist criminology s back to the 1970, owing to second wave whereby feminism camein the spotlight. Feminist criminology came to scrutiny under various perspectives that were necessary in understanding feminist criminology. These included such perspectives as Marxist school whereby feminism came to scrutiny under class. The others included radical feminism that considered feminism in a paternalistic view as well as social feminism whereby feminism constituted a combination of both the Marxist and radical considerations. Features Of Feminist Criminology Feminist Criminology emerged as a deliberation into the way sex as well as gender shaped crime. Feminist criminology depicts various characteristics or beliefs that distinguish it from traditional criminology or other fronts of criminology. It operates upon the belief that gender is not just a biological facet, rather it is one defined by other factors such as political and historical (Cullen, Wright & Blevins, 2006, p. 218). It is ingrained on the belief that gender as well as sex command social domains in significant ways Proponents in this domain argue that the orientations of masculinity and feminism are in no way symmetrical but are rather influenced by the male dominance in almost all spheres be it social economic or any other. That woman should be a center of study as opposed to passive handling or as men appendages (Cullen, Wright & Blevins, 2006, p. 218). Schools Or Works That Deliberate On Feminist Criminology Lombroso and ferrero – These two constitute of traditional proponents who contented that a person’s criminal mannerisms were a form of atavism or rather primitivism. Atavism meant that persons with criminal tendencies were less evolved compared to non- criminals (Tierney, 2009: 85). They insisted that though criminal characteristics are easily noticeable in males, this is not the case for the females, which could be because women are less developed compared to men. However, they explained that though women born criminals showed no evidential traits, they were easily identifiable from the normal woman who is said to have such characteristics as passiveness and generally reserved (Carrier & Walby, 2014, p. 45). The theory of biology with respect to criminality as laid down by these two criminologists laid the basis for the subsequent studies of feminism criminology. Pollack – Pollack came up with the contention that women commit as much crime as their male counterparts but that their criminality was rarely detectable because of their biological considerations. It is for this reason that he raises two natural characteristics of women that make them thrive in criminal activities; deceitfulness coupled with secretiveness. To Pollack the idea that women would fake an organism amounted to deceitfulness whereas concealing their menstruation was typically secretful (Tierney, 2009: 85). Additionally, they accentuate that the woman criminal is very dangerous and wicked owing to her deviation from a woman’s general passiveness. Pollack also highlighted that women continue to indulge in gross crimes because they face leniency. Morris – Pollack’s insight faced overwhelming rebuttal from Morris who insisted that it is actually the men that face leniency for instance from the police when they commit such activities as rape. Lucia Zedner –This proponent explains that gender inequality was the fundamental contributor in feminist criminology. Thomas – He also had the same contention as his earlier proponents that women were deviant. Thomas further explained that the woman criminal appeared to have such characteristics as coldness. Generally, he was of the view that women subordination was the cause for their ill activities such as prostitution, which were a way of deviating from roles traditionally subscribed unto them. Heidensohn – His work came mainly as a rebuttable to the contention of Thomas where he dictated that women became deviant owing to subordination or emancipation directed upon them. He argued that it was sad to view women criminality in terms of patriarchy because there consists of many structural factors that shape a woman. Gelsthorpe – She strongly felt that increased criminality amongst the woman was owing to harsh economic times and social exclusion facing her. For instance, women to date get relatively lower pay compared to their opposite sex. Additionally, these women have the greatest task of catering for their families at whatever costs and circumstances. Farrington – His contribution is by his introduction of causation regarding to crime (Welsh & Loeber, 2013, p.79). He believes in providing basic information that causation is the mandatory aspect in studying all sorts of crime. Contribution to understanding crime According to Siegel (2009), the rate of underrepresentation of women as criminal offenders used to be high not until the 1970s when it came to the limelight that they too can participate in criminal activities. This is because in most crimes that occur, respective law enforcers normally targeted males compared to females. Studies show that cases such as drug trafficking, assault and homicide, males are the most targeted compared to females. It is because of this case that the number of males arrested is higher. The only exceptions where women arrested surpass men are in cases such as prostitution (Smart, 1975, p. 11). Studies show that lack of interest in feminine related crimes is the reason why the rates of women crimes are ever on the rise, a contention highlighted by proponent Pollack. According to him, just like men, women also involve themselves in criminal activities. Although there have been regular arguments that the main reason why women related crimes have been on the rise is due to women’s liberation movements. According to Barlow and Decker (218), it was through these movements that offered not only vocabularies but also concepts to criticize that challenged the mainstream in terms of academic discourse. It is usually an assumption by many criminologists that crimes and categories of offences are usually equal in both cultural and social groups. However, it is of great importance for criminalists to deter from relying on assumptions that female crimes are the same. According to Jones, the pattern of feminine criminology tends to be similar almost globally. This is because in 2010, American statistics revealed that 25 per cent of all arrests made for crime related offences were women. Another analysis revealed that in Europe and North America, 14 per cent of people categorized as criminal suspects were women. In the past, female crimes never attracted the curiosity of criminologists; this was because they used to have a traditional perspective whereby crime was a reserve for men and as Pollack contends women appear passive and are not easily detectable. According to Jones (248), women crimes could be higher than those already documented with police department. This is because most of their crimes not only are they under- reported but also harder to detect in addition to the fact that both police departments and prosecution authorities rarely proceed against women, hence again echoing Pollacks most controversial view that women get lots of leniency after committing crime. One reason why most of women crimes normally go undetected is due their deceitful ability. According to Jones (249), women can easily fake an orgasm whereas men cannot fake an erection is enough proof to the fact that women can commit a crime and go undetected. It is due to this that criminologists now recognize the fact that women also do commit serious crimes and the pathways towards crime are clearly gendered (Heimer, 2005, p. 1). According to Heimer, there has been massive advancement in the manner in which crime used to be gendered. This is due to the numerous empirical findings in addition to the recent theoretical insights. Although studies show that women are less likely to be victims of crime, they are more likely to become victims of violence related to intimate partners, which in most cases are usually lethal. According to Kosloski (2008), female criminality tends to be more dependent on victimization than male criminality. It is crucial to note that, apart from unemployment prospects, other reasons that prompted women to involve themselves in criminal activities were due to their marginalization and impoverishment as indicated by Gelsthorpe. Routinely, the categories of criminal activities have always been either masculine or feminine. Crimes are normally associated as male or female, this due to the socially constructed gender dynamics. For instance, a crime such as larceny is normally associated with the female gender; this is because studies show that many people arrested for committing the crime are normally women. Research also indicates that there are gender differences in the manner in which both male and females engage themselves in shoplifting. According to Kosloski (12), women tend to steal more items, which are usually of less value compared to men that steal small items, which are normally of high value. Apart from larceny, another crime associated with the female gender is that related to drugs. Studies show that drug abuse in women dates back in the 20th century, which reported the largest number of female drug arrests. For instance, in 1998, there were more than 250,000 women arrested in relation to drug abuse (Kosloski, 2008, p.12). It is due to this that the number of women serving sentences in persons due to crimes related to drugs surpasses that of men. In conclusion, one reason why most of women crimes normally go undetected is due their biological attributions; they strike people as being passive. According to Pollack, women can easily fake an orgasm whereas it is impossible for men to fake an erection, this is enough proof to the fact that women can commit a crime and go scot-free. Thomas accentuates that women’s criminology is because they face heightened subordination in the various patriarchal societies. The various proponents are of much influence when it comes to feminist criminology and their varied views raise heated debates in feminist fronts as well as direct researches. References Barlow, H. D., & Decker, S. H. (2010). Criminology and public policy: putting theory to work. Philadelphia, Temple University Press. Carrier, N. & Walby, K. 2014, "Ptolemizing Lombroso The Pseudo-Revolution Of Biosocial Criminology", Journal of Theoretical & Philosophical Criminology, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1-45. Cohen, J. W. (2009). Whats sex gotta do with it?: The study of gender in criminology and the social sciences. (Order No. 3352454, Indiana University of Pennsylvania). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 381-n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/305057667?accountid=8289. (305057667). Cullen, F. T., Wright, J. P., & Blevins, K. R. (2006). Taking stock the status of criminological theory. New Brunswick, NJ, Transaction Publishers. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10363106. Heimer, K. (2005). Gender and crime: patterns of victimization and offending. New York, New York Univ. Jones, S. (2013). Criminology. Oxford , Oxford University Press Kosloski, A. E. (2008). The Effect of Prisonization on Female Criminality. Michigan, ProQuest Siegel, L. J. (2009). Criminology. Belmont, CA, Thomson/Wadsworth. Smart, C. (1975). Women, Crime and Criminology. London, Routledge Tierney, J. J. (2009). Key perspectives in criminology. Maidenhead, Open University Press. Welsh, B, & Loeber, R (2013). Taking stock of criminology and a criminologist for the ages: reflections on milestones and the future of criminology and on one of its scholars--David Farrington, Criminal Behaviour And Mental Health: CBMH, 23, 2, pp. 77-85, MEDLINE Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 15 May 2014. Read More

Lucia Zedner –This proponent explains that gender inequality was the fundamental contributor in feminist criminology. Thomas – He also had the same contention as his earlier proponents that women were deviant. Thomas further explained that the woman criminal appeared to have such characteristics as coldness. Generally, he was of the view that women subordination was the cause for their ill activities such as prostitution, which were a way of deviating from roles traditionally subscribed unto them.

Heidensohn – His work came mainly as a rebuttable to the contention of Thomas where he dictated that women became deviant owing to subordination or emancipation directed upon them. He argued that it was sad to view women criminality in terms of patriarchy because there consists of many structural factors that shape a woman. Gelsthorpe – She strongly felt that increased criminality amongst the woman was owing to harsh economic times and social exclusion facing her. For instance, women to date get relatively lower pay compared to their opposite sex.

Additionally, these women have the greatest task of catering for their families at whatever costs and circumstances. Farrington – His contribution is by his introduction of causation regarding to crime (Welsh & Loeber, 2013, p.79). He believes in providing basic information that causation is the mandatory aspect in studying all sorts of crime. Contribution to understanding crime According to Siegel (2009), the rate of underrepresentation of women as criminal offenders used to be high not until the 1970s when it came to the limelight that they too can participate in criminal activities.

This is because in most crimes that occur, respective law enforcers normally targeted males compared to females. Studies show that cases such as drug trafficking, assault and homicide, males are the most targeted compared to females. It is because of this case that the number of males arrested is higher. The only exceptions where women arrested surpass men are in cases such as prostitution (Smart, 1975, p. 11). Studies show that lack of interest in feminine related crimes is the reason why the rates of women crimes are ever on the rise, a contention highlighted by proponent Pollack.

According to him, just like men, women also involve themselves in criminal activities. Although there have been regular arguments that the main reason why women related crimes have been on the rise is due to women’s liberation movements. According to Barlow and Decker (218), it was through these movements that offered not only vocabularies but also concepts to criticize that challenged the mainstream in terms of academic discourse. It is usually an assumption by many criminologists that crimes and categories of offences are usually equal in both cultural and social groups.

However, it is of great importance for criminalists to deter from relying on assumptions that female crimes are the same. According to Jones, the pattern of feminine criminology tends to be similar almost globally. This is because in 2010, American statistics revealed that 25 per cent of all arrests made for crime related offences were women. Another analysis revealed that in Europe and North America, 14 per cent of people categorized as criminal suspects were women. In the past, female crimes never attracted the curiosity of criminologists; this was because they used to have a traditional perspective whereby crime was a reserve for men and as Pollack contends women appear passive and are not easily detectable.

According to Jones (248), women crimes could be higher than those already documented with police department. This is because most of their crimes not only are they under- reported but also harder to detect in addition to the fact that both police departments and prosecution authorities rarely proceed against women, hence again echoing Pollacks most controversial view that women get lots of leniency after committing crime. One reason why most of women crimes normally go undetected is due their deceitful ability.

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