Feminist Theory
In order to capture the purpose and importance of the feminist theory, one must examine leading theorists and their drive behind the conception of the examination of how women are treated in the criminal justice system. However, the list of contributing and leading theorists expands beyond scope. Therefore, in an attempt to capture the importance of leading theorist biographies, an analysis of Freda Adler, Rita Simon, Meda Chesney-Lind, James Messerschmidt, and Julia Schwendinger will be briefly discussed. Again, it is important to note that this list does not offer all leading theorists, however it captures the reoccurring theme of the feminist theory.
During the rise of the feminism within the criminal justice system
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For example, Lilly Cullen, and Ball (2015) point out that critical moments in time brought the feminist theory to life over the past century (p. 254). From 1920 to present day, feminist theory is continuing to be reshaped and resized as it undergoes revision and advancement. However, it is important to note that during the 1960s and 1970s the movement began to take radical shape as the women’s rights, or women’s liberation movement, surfaced and contemporary theorists began examining and questioning the roles of women throughout society and their treatment. The women’s rights movement of would have not taken place if the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which allowed women to vote in 1920, did not happen either (Lilly, Cullen, & Ball, 2015, p. 255). The emergence and importance of the feminist theory also began to take shape during the late 1900s due to the increasing number of women entering into the job market in large leadership and powerful positions; no longer maintain role expectations. Modern day contexts to the ever-changing theory are seen through the addition of females to line units in the United States Army. Allowing some women to attend Ranger school. Furthermore, a major influence to the emergence of the feminist theory is the inequality women face within the criminal justice system and the stigmas that are attached to female …show more content…
3). During Adler’s research, she “hypothesized that as women became liberated, they would gain access not only to new legitimate opportunities but also to new illegitimate opportunities” (p. 3). Simply put, men and women committed crimes for the same reason. Adler focused primarily on criminal opportunities and those offered to each gender, however, not solely focusing on gender as the primary reasoning behind difference among gender crimes. According to Hartman and Sundt (2010), Adler tested her hypothesis using a cross-sectional official data to provide evidence that a decrease in social and economic difference was correlated with female criminality (p. 6). Her insights ignited the discussion of female criminality across the spectrum. She believed in that these sub-theories needed to be tested scientifically and empirically (p. 6). It is concluded that Alder looked beyond gender as the sole purpose for criminal activities; rather it was based on the means of opportunity and that men and women were motivated by the same
Filetti, Jean S.”From lizzie borden to lorena bobbitt: violent women and gendered justice.” Journal of American Studies 35.3(2001):471-484. .
... order to further understand female criminal policy in the years that followed and will follow. Zedner’s final claim of the book is, perhaps, the most valid: “It is only through historical research that we can recognize just how far these beliefs about women continue to inform penal policy today (p. 300).”
Whether it is the Ancient Greece, Han China, the Enlightened Europe, or today, women have unceasingly been oppressed and regarded as the second sex. Provided that they have interminably been denied the power that men have had, very few prominent female figures like Cleopatra, the Egyptian Queen, or Jeanne d'Arc, the French heroine, have made it to history books. Veritably, it was not until 1792 when Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women addressed the issues of gender equality, that some started hearkening the seemingly endless mistreatment of women. New Zealand was the first country to grant women the right to vote in 1892. The United States did not endorse this until 1920 when the 19th Amendment was ratified, which states “The right of citizens of the United States votes shall not be denied or abridged… on account of sex.” This, however, was not the end to women’s plight. For the majority of the 20th century, America’s idea of a good woman was a good mother and a good wife. In the 1960s and 1970s, a movement that would later bring fundamental changes to the American society was spreading rapidly throughout the country: The Women’s Liberation Movement. With the increasing number of educated women, gender inequality received more attention than ever before. Hundreds of women came together to fight domestic violence, lack of political and economic development, and reproductive restrictions. One of these women was an ordinary girl from Ohio named Gloria Steinem who would later become a feminist icon in the United States. Steinem contributed to the Women’s Liberation Movement by writing about feminism and issues concerning women, co-founding Ms. magazine, giving influential speeches— leading he movement along with...
Have you ever wondered why women get charged with convicted crimes and men get off the hook with a slap on the wrist? Well, you can stop wondering because there are actually statistics on this subject. This research paper will not only be answering this question, but also giving the statistics and reason behind men versus women getting charged of violent and convicted crimes.
He claimed that the statistics seriously under-estimated the extent of female criminality. From an examination of official figures in a number of different countries he claimed to have identified certain crimes that are usually committed by women but are particularly likely to be unreported. Pollak went on to give reasons as to why there should be an under-recording of female crime. 1. He argues that the police, magistrates and other law enforcement officials tend to be men.
Throughout history, certain crimes have been separated into different categories base on their prevalence. For every crime, the offense and charge is different. In addition, not every crime is committed by the same gender. Crimes such as larceny, fraud, forgery, and prostitution (Chesney-Lind, 1986) tend to be committed more often by women; whereas, assault, murder, trafficking, etc tend to be committed by men. When it comes to the stereotyping of women in the criminal justice system one could say that women present themselves as victims to reach a lesser sentence or that by presenting themselves as victims they will have a longer sentence that will protect them.
Feminist criminology is the study of crime in terms of gender for example why men commit more crime than women, why women do more petty crimes, like shop lifting, than violent crime, sexism in the court system, and female victimization. Feminist criminology contains many branches. Liberal, radical, Marxist, and socialist feminism are widely recognized, although other "strands" exist such as postmodernism and ecofeminism. Most feminist criminology involves critiques about how women offenders have been ignored, distorted, or stereotyped within traditional criminology, but there is no shortage of separate theories and modifications of existing theories.
When the criminal justice system was established, one of the goals was to create neutrality and fairness between the sexes. However, during those times, women were not known for behaving in such manners. If a woman did in fact take part in any criminal activities, those crimes would have been blames on an individual that could of not fought for themselves. Even though people might believe that there is no such thing as ‘stereotyping’ in the criminal justice system, it is quite obvious that women are constantly being looked down upon because of their sex. In general, women tend to be treated like fragile objects that could break at any moment; the truth is that women can behave like men. Society stereotypes women; and, the criminal justice system is no different. When it comes to the stereotyping of women in the criminal justice system, society presents women who are indeed capable of committing such crimes as victims because by doing do they can achieve a lesser sentence or if necessary a longer sentence that will protect them from any harm.
Owings, Chloe (1969) Women Police: A study of the Development and Status of the Women’s Police Movement. New Jersey: Patterson Smith.
Feminist theory looks beyond the common male based perspectives and focuses on women’s perspectives and their roles within society. The feminist theory is still relevant in today’s society. In fact, feminism and the feminist theory will be relevant for as long as there is inequality in this world. For example, according to the United States Department of Labor, women still make 78 cents for every dollar men make, on average, in every career field. Additionally, violence against women is still a prevalent problem today. For instance, one in three women are victims of physical and sexual violence often committed by intimate partners. These statistics are higher in countries where women are treated and seen as property of their husbands. Lastly, reproductive rights are an important step to creating equality. Laws need to protect the rights of women to have freedom over their bodies in the way that men have control over
Even with this predisposition to women as being sinister, those who knowingly commit the act that separates them from the rest of human society- the taking of another life- woman, “the tender murder”, is the most unusual and most fascinating. Despite the fact that we who may have a hard time crushing cockroaches know that murder is the ultimate transgression were mesmerized by those rare women, real and fictional, who step where we would never dare, and never wish”(Robbins 3). Murder appears to be gendered and their is a fascination towards women that
Although it has been shown that women have negative attributes within themselves, the questions remain unanswered on why the numbers of women crimes have been increasing at alarming rates? What is causi...
Throughout history, women have remained subordinate to men. Subjected to the patriarchal system that favored male perspectives, women struggled against having considerably less freedom, rights, and having the burdens society placed on them that had so ingrained the culture. This is the standpoint the feminists took, and for almost 160 years they have been challenging the “unjust distribution of power in all human relations” starting with the struggle for equality between men and women, and linking that to “struggles for social, racial, political, environmental, and economic justice”(Besel 530 and 531). Feminism, as a complex movement with many different branches, has and will continue to be incredibly influential in changing lives. Feminist political ideology focuses on understanding and changing political philosophies for the betterment of women.
At the end of the 19th and start of the 20th centuries, a series of events occurred that would be known as the feminist movement. During this time, many women were starting to change the way they thought of themselves and wanted to change their social roles. In his views on feminist analysis Donald Hall says, “Feminist methodologies focus on gender.and explore the complex ways in which women have been denied social power and the right to various forms of self-expression. In this context the many perspectives that fall under the heading ‘feminism’ vary wildly”(Hall 199). Since women were denied social power and self-expression, they went against what society saw as acceptable, a patriarchal world.
Throughout the 19th century, feminism played a huge role in society and women’s everyday lifestyle. Women had been living in a very restrictive society, and soon became tired of being told how they could and couldn’t live their lives. Soon, they all realized that they didn’t have to take it anymore, and as a whole they had enough power to make a change. That is when feminism started to change women’s roles in society. Before, women had little to no rights, while men, on the other hand, had all the rights. The feminist movement helped earn women the right to vote, but even then it wasn’t enough to get accepted into the workforce. They were given the strength to fight by the journey for equality and social justice. There has been known to be