NCJ Number
100793
Date Published
1985
Length
225 pages
Annotation
Using criminological, historical, literary, and autobiographical sources, the book examines key issues in female criminality as seen by the criminal justice system, society, and the women themselves.
Abstract
The first four chapters examine the female contribution to criminality and women's personal experiences with crime and their reactions to these experiences. This is followed by analyses of social pressures favoring female conformity, both through the images of deviant women and through the structuring of their social position. Emphasis is placed on how women become officially labeled as delinquent; their reactions to this stigmatization; and their treatment by police, courts, and corrections. Additional chapters analyze conventional male-dominated and feminist theories of female criminality, with a focus on how sex-role stereotypes have biased even contemporary sociological research into deviance. Next, social control as it is exerted by and upon women in the home, in public, at work, and in social policy is examined. It is suggested that an explanation of female conformity may be as or more important than an explanation of female deviance in understanding female criminality. It is concluded that an understanding of female criminality will require an assessment of how gender issues and stereotypes influence both women's involvement in crime and social and institutional reactions to it. Approximately 350 references.