Feminist Criminology: Theories and Perspectives

Reminders and Announcements

• Quiz #1 released Wednesday after class and is due January 20th by 4:00 pm.
• The quiz is multiple choice and true or false questions. There is a total of 10-12 questions.
• The opt-out deadline for textbook is January 20th.
• Sign up with the ALC for accommodations.
• Office hours are Mondays 2-3:30 in RCE251.

CJS Introduction

• A structure of policing and courts are addressed
• The Prison for Women (P4W) was closed in 2000
• Five correctional facilities for women are being implementing
• Criminalized women mostly committed theft and fraud.
• A mother-child program for incarcerated women is being implemented.
• The April 22nd Prison Riot occurred.

Feminism Explained

• Feminism is the belief that women and men are different and should be treated differently, with a desire to change this unequal situation.
• Daly & Chesney-Lind defined feminism in 1988 as a set of theories about women's oppression, alongside strategies for change.
• Feminism is not a singular concept, encompassing various forms such as liberal, Marxist, and radical feminism.

Aspects of Feminism

• The world is gendered and built on patriarchy
• Sex refers to biological, reproductive organs, and chromosomes.
• Gender is socially constructed and learned, for example: blue associated with boys and pink with girls.
• Feminism seeks to challenge gender stereotypes and advocate for women's rights.
• Constructs of masculinity and femininity used to maintain the dominance of men over women and non-binary individuals.
• Women should be at the center of intellectual inquiry and knowledge.

Feminist Criminology

• Women's experiences and victimization was largely ignored before the 1960s.
• Freda Adler's 1975 publication, Sisters in Crime: The Rise of the New Female Criminal, was published
• Carol Smart's 1976 publication, Women, Crime and Criminology., was published
• Feminist criminology focuses on the inclusiveness of male and female criminality as well as gender as a variable influencing criminal behavior, victimization, and treatment in the CJS.
• Systems of knowledge, including laws and policies, reflect men's views and have become gendered.
• Feminism challenges "male-centered" ways of understanding crime through an intersectional approach.

Waves of Feminism

• There are four waves of Feminism

Feminism: First Wave (1890-1930)

• Focused on women's suffrage and rights
• Led by white, middle/upper class feminists
• It was referred to as women's suffrage
• Its goal was for women to be considered “persons”, give women right to vote, and place within politics
• Property rights, rights within the family, and child custody were focused on

Feminism: Second Wave (1960-1980)

• The movement fought for reproductive rights and access to birth control.
• Addressed increased inequality in the workplace, advocating for equal pay.
• "The personal is political" was a popularized slogan.
• Excluded racialized women and queer women dominated primarily by white women.
• Many BIPOC, queer, gender-nonconforming, formed their own organizations.

Feminism: Third Wave (1990-2010)

• Emerged as a response to the criticisms of the second wave.
• The movement acknowledged that previous feminist movements primarily focused on white women.
• Embraced diversity and individualism.
• Concentrated on violence against women, sexual liberation, etc.
• Intersectionality, critical race theory and Black feminism emerged.

Feminism: Fourth Wave (2012-present)

• Focuses on female empowerment and intersectionality.
• Seeks greater gender equality through social justice.
• Focuses on systems of power & their contributions to inequality among marginalized groups.
• Uses social media to collaborate and mobilize (i.e., #metoo movement)

Theory

• Theory is important to use to understand why and how women commit crime, even though women commit less crimes.
• Theory is interconnected statements and ideas, through empirical study, to explain behavior.
• Women’s behavior has been largely ignored in academic settings, or has been connected with gendered stereotypes of a "good" or "bad" woman

Early Theories on Female Criminality

• It was not until the late 1800's that female deviance was considered
• Lombroso and Ferrero were positivists criminologists who believed that people were born criminal, and published the book “The Female Offender" in 1898.
• Lombroso and Ferrero believed women are 'doubly' exceptional.
• Female criminals are not normal, as they embody negative qualities such as 'bad', 'primitive', and 'masculine'.
• Women commit crime due to rebellion against natural female roles, with a question posed about what these roles entail.

Early Theories Continued

• Early positivist theories were classist, racist, and sexist.
• Wealthy, white, straight, married women were considered the "standard" form of femininity.
• Individuals "born criminal" had specific inherent characteristics (e.g. height, weight, hair color, skin color, tattoos).
• Lombroso and Ferrero's work had enormous effects on women
• The work said women were inherently biologically inferior, and unworthy of equality.
• The theories continue to influence perceptions of who is 'criminal'

Merton and Strain Theories

• The 20th century saw an increase in theory and scholarship around female criminality
• Merton believed social structures lead to people committing crime
• Crime was a result of conflict between goals and access to legitimate means to achieve goals
• Barriers put "strain" on people who respond in a prosocial or antisocial way in order to achieve their goals
• Most strain theories neglect gender, and do not incorporate conditions of women and lack of power.
• Many women (BIPOC women) face issues such as poverty, cultural expectations, and education.

Pollack and 'Masked' Criminality

• Argued by Otto Pollack, who influenced positivism and the work by Lombroso and Ferrero.
• The idea argues that crime statistics show that female crime is "masked" by leniency and chivalry.
• There are no real gender differences in offending, as women excel at "hiding it" or "masking it".
• Biological factors cause females to commit crime as frequently as men. Female crimes involve sex and deceit, and they are less visible/less likely to be reported.
• Women can fake/hide organisms

Chivalry Hypothesis

• Women receive more lenient sentencing due to their gender.
• Female is unable to control emotions or severe punishment.
• Women need protection, not punishment
• If women commit a crime, it must be because the event is so rare, therefore perceived as anomalies.
• Criticisms ignore the dark side of chivalry.

Women's Liberation Theories

• Freda Alder and Rita Simon argued that during the women’s liberation movement in the 1960s and 70s there was an increase in women in the workforce and “outside the home”.
• This led to increase in women's criminality, and began to deviate from traditional gendered expectations.
• Little evidence has supported the idea that women's liberation increased their crime
• Women's 'crime wave' never really happened

Contemporary Theories

• Contemporary theories critique social and structural institutions that impact women differently than men.
• Contemporary theories looks at power relations, gender, and race while embracing intersectionality.

Power and Control Theory

• Developed by: John Hagan, A.R Gillis, and John Simpson (1987).
• This argues that gender differences in offending adolescents are due to the level of social and parental control in the home.
• Compared gender and parental controls in two households: Patriarchal and Egalitarian
• Lower rates of female delinquency results because of a controlling father in the home
• Rates of offender are due to more equal power between the father and mother
• Critiques of this theory states that it relies on a heteronormative construction of the family and does not consider race or class.
• Children do not need to leave home to commit criminal behavior such as cybercrime.

Feminist Social Theory

• Blends Marxism and radical feminist theories.
• Marxist feminists view capitalism as the primary cause of both crime and dominance over women.
• Radical feminists see male power and privilege as a root cause of all oppression, inequality, and subsequent crime.
• Social feminist see class and gender relations as equally important - neither class nor patriarchy is presumed dominant.
• Feminist social theory develops ideas, concepts, and programs to address inequality.

Messerschmidt and Structured Action Theory

• There is a gendered division of labor with "old-boy networks" prevail.
• Corporations maintain existing gender divisions by recruiting members who share norms, attitudes, and values.
• Gender division in work force allow men to committing corporate crime.
• Women are excluded from power positions within corporations, therefore less capable when it comes to the same corporate crime.

Intersectionality

• Coined by Kimberle Crenshaw.
• Race and Gender interact to shape black women's experiences.
• Many feminist analyses of patriarchy focus on white women's experiences.
• This is constrictive because it is unable to understand experiences of Black women
• Black women not only face issues of racism, but also other oppressing factors, therefore is different than white women.
• Race, sex, class are all interlocking systems of oppression

Critical Race Theory

• Developed in 1989.
• Examines the intersection of race within criminal justice systems, policies, and law.
• Race is socially constructed and used to exploit and oppress people of color
• Originally used to explain the US and treatment of African Americans.
• It can be applied to Canada
• Example: Indigenous peoples and racial discrimination
• CRT explains the marginalization of BIPOC leads to strain, which leads to crime.

Standpoint Feminism

• Standpoint Feminism is major movement in feminist thought.
• It argues that women's experiences are shaped by patriarchy
• Women's own experiences and perspectives should be at forefront.
• It helps to understand female victimization
• It helps us to see women's experiences being framed or narrated by others (i.e., cases of sexual assault, incarcerated women).
• Doe v. Metropolitan Toronto (Municipality) Commissioners of Police, was in 1989

Karla Homolka Case Study

• This case involved Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka and occurred in the Toronto Area.
• Bernardo was 23 when and Homolka was 17 when they met in 1987 in a hotel bar.
• They committed 3 murders between 1990-1992.
• Bernardo became known as the Scarborough Rapist because he raped at least 19 women.

Victims of Bernardo and Homolka

• Tammy Homolka who died from chocking on vomit, but was ruled as an "accident"
• Leslie Mahaffy (14 years old) who disappeared outside her home in Burlington - where she as raped, murdered and body dismembered
• Kristen French (15 years old) who was abducted as she walks home from school in St. Catherines

Case study: Karla Homolka

• Part of a plea bargain with prosecutors to testify against Bernardo.
• Sentenced in 1993
• Guilty to manslaughter in Mahaffy and French murders
• Served 12 years in prison
• Released in 2005 with conditions
• Conditions were soon lifted, as no evidence that they were warranted

Karla Homolka, Victim or Perpetrator?

• A documentary presents conflicting views of Homolka.
• Women in crime are cast as either victims or monsters.
• Possible views that address Homolka's victimhood include that she was:
  • Viewed as a battered woman - 'damsel in distress'
  • Viewed as "mad" - mentally unstable
  • Viewed as “bad" - pure evil

Karla Homolka Post-Incarceration

• Post-release, there was an uproar in where Homolka would settle down
• A Group was formed called "watching Karla Homolka" with over 34,000 followers on Facebook that dedicated 15 years to tracking Homolka's every move.
• It is discussed whether reaction is warranted.
• Possible assumptions about female offenders.

Next Week

• Black, Racialized and Indigenous women in the CJS will be addressed
• Chapters 3 and 4 will be covered.
• Quiz #1 is due by Jan 20 at 4:00 pm
• Office Hours are Mondays 2 – 3:30 in RCE 251

Explore feminist perspectives in criminology, including the evolution of feminist thought, early theories on female offenders, and the impact of gender on crime. Understand the differences between feminist waves and address inequality, biases, and theoretical oversights.