Feminist theories Why you think women commit crime - Personal Statement Example

Why Women Commit Crime Why Women Commit Crime Feminist criminology was introduced in the 1960s and 1970s. Since then, there have been various related theories such as liberal, radical, socialist, and Marxist theories, which seek to explain why women are less likely to commit crimes as compared to their male counterparts. Most of the mainstream feminists allege that if females were treated and socialized in the same manner as males and were to conduct similar roles, their rates of criminal offences would be the same.

In that case, it is imperative to understand the reason why women commit crimes in the society (Burgess-Proctor, 2006).According to Einstadter (2006), the rise in the rate of female crimes in the early 1960s and 1970s was due to the fact that most women were adopting male roles thus, masculinising their behaviour and attitudes. On the same note, other scholars argue that immense participation of women in the workforce exposes them to crimes. Consequently, most women in prison are accused of abusing drugs, robbery, shoplifting, motoring, burglary, and fraud.

What is clear is that women commit particular crimes at a different level from that of their male counterparts. Therefore, there is a large gap between men and women who commit a crime as it is unlikely to hear women being incarcerated for serious crimes such as murder. Freda Adler who was a theorist related the rise in female crimes to the success of the women’s liberation movement. According to him, the social movements increased women’s prospects and the need to commit crime to meet their societal needs.

On the same note, Sigmund Freud argued that although women commit fewer crimes as compared to men, women who are involved in antisocial behaviour do it in revenge due to the fact that they do not have a penis; hence, they assume masculine traits (Cote, 2002). Based on this, it is sound to argue that most women commit crimes because they show masculine biological and psychological orientations. Consequently, they have a desire to be recognized in the society; hence, resort in illegal activities.

ReferencesBurgess-Proctor, A. (2006). Intersections of race, class, gender, and crime: future directions for feminist criminology. Retrieved from http://www.uk.sagepub.com/tibbettsess/study/articles/10/Burgess-Proctor.pdf.Cote, S. (2002). Criminological Theories: Bridging the past to the future. London: SageEinstadter, W. (2006). Criminological theory: An analysis of its underlying assumptions. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.