Patriarchy And Delinquency: Critical Feminist Analysis

The first important term to know in reference to the topic of patriarchy and delinquency is critical feminist. Critical feminist hold that gender inequality stems from the unequal power of men and women and the subsequent exploitation of women by men; the cause of female delinquency originates with the onset of male supremacy and the efforts of males to control females’ sexuality. The next term that is important to know is patriarchy. Patriarchal is a social system in which men are dominant in family, government, and business matters. The final term that is important to know is juvenile delinquency. Juvenile delinquency is the participation in illegal behavior by a minor who falls under a statutory age (Siegel, 2012).

In Capitalism, Patriarchy, and Crime, James Messerschmidt argues that capitalist society is marked by both

Capitalist control the labor of workers, and men control women both economically and biologically. This “double marginality” explains why females in a capitalist society commit fewer crimes than males. Because they are isolated in the family, they have fewer opportunities to engage in elite deviance. Although powerful females as well as males will commit white-collar crimes, the female crime rate is restricted because of the patriarchal nature of the capitalist system. Women are also denied access to male-dominant street crimes. Because male domination renders lower-class women powerless, they are forced to commit less serious, nonviolent, self-destructive crimes, such as abusing drugs. This powerlessness also increases the likelihood that women will become targets of violent acts. When lower-class males are shut out of the economic opportunity structure, they try to rebuild their self-image through acts of machismo; such acts