NCJ Number
84711
Date Published
1981
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Criminological research focusing on women's involvement in crime is examined and found to contain a number of myths and questionable assumptions which may both limit discussion and determine its future direction.
Abstract
Much of the recent literature on women's crime may be characterized as feminist criminology in that it focuses on overcoming female sex-role stereotypes. Much of this work has been influenced by new deviancy theory and radical criminology. Its focus on the issue of gender has resulted in unquestioning acceptance of conventional criminological frameworks. Thus, conventional explanations of women's crime influence the study of feminist criminology. The main assumptions in the study of women's crime are that women commit few crimes and that women's crimes require neither theoretical nor empirical attention. Unless these assumptions are challenged, they will provide the framework and context for future debates. Historical, economic, and social factors require an analytically separate explanation of men's and women's criminality. Feminist criminology must also avoid stereotyping the male offender by implicitly accepting theories offered about the male criminal. Analysis of correctional statistics from the past century demonstrates the importance of studying the role of the state in imposing and maintaining existing social relations. In addition, recent correctional statistics indicate the class and race need to be analyzed as mediating factors within the issue of gender itself. Tables, 2 footnotes, and 30 references are provided.