"Greater freedom has increased female participation in the public sphere," which would expose greater numbers of women to criminal behaviors and the opportunities to commit crimes (Steffensmeier & Allan1996, p. 469). Combined with social control theory, opportunity theory offers a plausible explanation for the gender gap in criminal behavior. Social control theory and opportunity theory share in common the basic assumption that deviance is a natural human instinct; that left to their own devices both men and women are predisposed to crime. Criminal behavior is always an option, according to social control theory and opportunity theory. The two sociological theories suggest that deterrents to committing crime, such as a lack of opportunity or strong social bonds, determine patterns of criminal behavior. Moreover, social control theory and opportunity theory emphasize sociological variables at the expense of psychological or personality-based ones.
The opportunity theories such as theories of routine activities present deviance as a function of exposure. If an individual is exposed to opportunities to commit crime, he or she is more likely to do so. Daily routines and the behaviors associated with them either create or eliminate the opportunity to commit crime. Because male and female daily routines frequently differ, routine activities theory can account for the gender gap in criminal behavior. For example, a stay-at-home mother has a daily routine that consists of household duties and childcare chores. Those daily routines rarely put the woman in contact with an opportunity to rob a bank or steal a car.
However, ancillary variables like social class and relationship with the domestic partner may affect a woman's predisposition to commit a crime. Smith & Paternoster (1987) suggest that female deviance is frequently attributed to the "home and family factors" whereas male deviance is more often described as a result of external factors like the "pressure to succeed in achieving culturally defined success goals," (p. 141). Being poor might motivate a mother to steal, but...
A truly gendered theory would therefore provide a more unified theoretical framework. The gendered theory that the authors suggest has four key elements. These are the following. Male as well as female criminal behavior should be able to be explained by the theory. This is achieved through the understanding of the he organization of gender. For example, the organization "... deters or shapes delinquency by females but encourages it by
In fact, the violent girls claim their behavior based off recent statistics as well as economic interest. This makes their conduct justified by the correctness of their particular actions. Not only that, but also those that are stakeholders, they use their performance as a means in which to continue the wrong choices needed. A large number of concerns have arisen for the people who want this to stop, yet
African-American Incarceration African-American Race and the Criminal Justice System: The Effect on Black Communities Racial Disparities and Incarceration Recent studies have shown that race is a factor in the criminal justice system. For example, a study analyzing statewide sentencing outcomes in Pennsylvania for 1989-1992, found that, net of controls: (1) young black males are sentenced more harshly than any other group, (2) race is most influential in the sentencing of younger rather than
Female Criminality Yes, I do agree with the criminological theories about female criminality in Dr. Seabrook's dissertation chapter 2. Seabrook's theories require a theoretical, social, and historical context before understanding them or evaluating their efficacy. Seabrook does a solid job of providing a theoretical history of female criminality. Significantly, Seabrook notes the overwhelming presence of male-based theories and the lack of female consideration across many relevant disciplines. Seabrook eventually argues that
More recently, Miedzian (1991) has studied peer pressure, the socialization process, and military impact that has resulted in violence becoming standard behavior in males, and Thompson (1991) has demonstrated that violent acts are more often performed by males with greater masculine gender orientations. Another slant on this topic was placed by West and Zimmerman (1987) in "Doing Gender," that looked at gender not in terms of a set of traits
The authors also argue that the lack of black political representations is not helping the cause and that the "three strikes you're out" rule is designed to punish repeat offenders and reward police officers and citizens who feel that blacks are inherently more criminal (Healey and O'Brien, 2007, pp. 207). When one segment of a society is labeled as "criminal," and even blacks begin to hate other blacks and
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