FEMINIST THEORY IN CRIMINOLOGY Feminist theory is a major branch within sociology, that shifts its assumptions, analytical lens and topical focus away from the male viewpoint and experience toward that of women. It emphasis on gender distinction i.e., inequality resulting and of the system of patriarchy (i.e., men being more privileged in comparison to women) FEMINIST THEORY IN CRIMINOLOGY This branch focuses on the dominance of men over women and the impact it has on crimes by (female criminality)and against women(female victimization). The development of different explanations of female criminality and conformity happened. General ‘gendering’ of crime ,which include gendered explanations of certain male criminality. Feminist theory in criminology attempt to explain the treatment of women by the criminal justice system. In that importance was given to how female victims of rape and other sexual assault was treated by police,prosecution and judges.

1. FEMINIST
THEORY

2. INTRODUCTION
• The French term ‘feminism’ was first used in late 19th century
referred in broadest sense to a ‘Women’s Movement’.
• Feminism is a range of political movements, ideologies and
social movements that share a common goal which is to
define and advance political, economic, personal and social
rights for women.
• This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for
women in education and employment.
• Feminist theory is a major branch within sociology, that shifts
its assumptions, analytical lens and topical focus away from
the male viewpoint and experience toward that of women.
• Feminist theory has always promotes the pursuit of equality
and justice.
• It emphasis on gender distinction i.e.,inequality resulting and
of the system of patriarchy (i.e.,men being more privileged in
comparison to women)

3. THE RISE OF
FEMINIST
SOCIOLOGY
1. Women’s movements in the 1960s and 1970s led to many
social changes aimed at tackling gender inequality.
2. Sociologist recognized the need for looking at society from
women’s standpoint also.
3. Disintegration of patriarchy was considered necessary to
include women in socially significant roles. Upholding this
concept women raised slogan ;’the personal is political ‘.
4. Women should no longer accept the idea that ‘biology is
destiny‘ and that there social position ‘naturally‘ results
from biological difference to men.
5. To achieve the feminist cause of gender inequality in
society then practical action required theoretical
underpinning. This task was taken up by feminist
sociologist in the 1970s and 1980s.

4. THREE
PHASES OF
FEMINIST
THEORY
FIRST PHASE
1. Analyzing the reason behind exclusion of women from
sociological studies : - Important social institutions like
economy and polity were monopolized by men.
- No Importance was given to institutions like
family in which women played central role.
- Women were defined as less fully social creatures
who are to a far extent the product of nature.
2. Realized the distinction between sex and gender.
Sex is a biological concept whereas gender is a
social concept.
3. Simone de Beauvoir was an early feminist classic who
said that womanhood & feminist were acquired
through socialization embedded in the institutions of
patriarchal society.
4. Mitchell(1975) gave an explanation of the
psychological construction of gender identities.

5. SECOND PHASE
1. Second wave feminism was a period of feminist activity and quickly spread
across the western world with an aim to increase equality for women.
2. Many of the most immediate and fundamental experience of social life
from childbirth to experience of sexual violence had simply been invisible
or regarded as unimportant politically or socially.
3. Essentially new areas of research have been opened up designed to make
previously invisible women visible.
4. Dorothy Smith’s development of standard theory was a key innovation in
sociology that ebabled these issues to be seen and addressed in a
systematic way by examining one’s position in life.

6. THIRD PHASE
1. This transgressive phase is also called Postmodern feminism.
Postmodern feminist argue that the concept ‘woman’s has no fixed
meaning as there are many definitions as there are different
discourses of gender relations.
2. According to Judith Butler- women designates an undesignatable field
of differences, one that cannot be totalised/summarized by a
descriptive identity category.
3. Definition of woman not determined by any underlying reality such as
biology; since biological definitions are also mutable and negotiable.
4. Butler rejects the sex-gender distinction as a theoretical resources
since it implies a pre-social ‘body’s upon which gender is immutably
inscribed by existing cultural forces.

7. DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVES
IN FEMINISM
Feminist theory is a term covering an increasing range of
positions with six different perspectives currently
identified, which are as follows:
1. Traditional/Conservative feminism : It is based on biological
imperatives(hormones, reproductive capacity,physical features
etc.) I.e based on natural differences between men and woman.
2. Liberal Feminism: has its roots in notions of individual rights
and freedoms. The subordination of women is examined as part
of an analysis of the wider social structures, inequalities in public
sphere and extend rights to woman to equal those enjoyed by
men through process of legal reform.
3. Marxist Feminism: Focuses on the dismantling of capitalism as a
way to liberate woman. Marxist feminism states that economic
inequality, dependence, political confusion and ultimately
unhealthy social relations between men and women are the root
of women’s oppreason in the current social context.

8. 4. Radical Feminism: The perspective within the feminism that calls for a
radical reordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all
social and economic contexts,which recognizing that women’s
experiences are also affected by other social divisions such as in
race,class and sexual orientation.
5. Socialist Feminism: Here patriarchy is overlapped and it sought to
synthesize feminist analyses of gender inequality, social reproduction
and economic reproduction.
6. Black Feminism: The philosophy that centers on the idea that black
women are inherently valuable, that (black women’s) liberation is a
necessity not as an adjunct to somebody else’s but because our need as
human persons for autonomy. Black feminism theory contends that
black women have acute understanding of the negative impacts of
sexism,racism and class discrimination.

9. FEMINIST
THEORY IN
CRIMINOLOGY
1. This branch focuses on the dominance of men over women and
the impact it has on crimes by (female criminality)and against
women(female victimization).
2. The development of different explanations of female criminality
and conformity happened.
3. General ‘gendering’ of crime ,which include gendered
explanations of certain male criminality.
4. Feminist theory in criminology attempt to explain the
treatment of women by the criminal justice system. In that
importance was given to how female victims of rape and other
sexual assault was treated by police,prosecution and judges.
5. Criminological studies was dominated by male researchers who
concentrated on male crime based on male sample population
only,feminist aimed to eliminate this bias.

10. MAJOR FINDINGS
IN FEMINIST
CRIMINOLOGY
1. Carol Smart's Women, Crime and Criminology (1977) is the
turning point as it discussed about the failure of traditional
criminology to recognize women.
2. According to Downes and Rock(1998), three areas of
feminist perspective in criminology are as follows:
a. The ‘female emancipation leads to crime‘ debate-
◾Adler and Simon explained influence of the women’s
liberation movement in cause of crime.
◾ Walklate concludes that men and women commit
similar types of crime .But women offend at a lower rate
and commit less serious crime.
◾Heidensohn observed that women mostly commit theft,
handling stolen goods and drug offences with little
involvement in act of violence.
◾Graham and Bowling found that female offending tends
to peak at the age of 13 to 14, a much earlier age than
males.

11. b. The invalidating of the ‘leniency hypothesis’-
◾Pollak proposed that women are treated leniently by the
criminal justice system.
◾Farrington and Morris found that court leniency towards women was an
outcome of their lesser criminal records.
◾Carlon found that Scottish sheriff’s justified imprisonment more readily
for female offenders whom they viewed as having failed as mothers.
◾Downes and Rock concluded that women were under protected and
over controlled in courts in comparison to men, this led invalidating of
leniency hypothesis.
c. Emergence of gender based theories-
◾Heidensohn states that women commit less crime due to the contrains
imposed on them by patriarchal society. He argues that women are the
main agents of transmitting male authority through their family roles.
◾ Women are confined to private sphere this result in sexual division of
labour as well as increases woman’s vulnerability to oppression.

12. THEORIES OF
FEMALE
CRIMINALITY
1. FREDA ADLER
▪️Theory : Masculinization Theory
▪️Major Work : Sister in Crime :The rise of the new female
Criminal (1975)
▪️Major Premise: Criminalities of women are mainly
depended on the masculinity behavior of female . The
empowered women are involved in more serious violent
crime than non-empowered women due to the
masculinity.
▪️Strength: Can explain the patterns and trends of female
crime in the first world nations.
Able to explain the involvement of women in property
crime.
▪️Weakness: This theory has male centerdness ideology.
Cannot explain the criminality of woman in third world
countries.

13. 2. RITA J
SIMON
▪️ Theory: Opportunity Theory
▪️ Major Work: Women & Society(1976)
▪️ Major Premise: The involvement of criminal activities is increased when
women have different opportunities.
Increasing opportunities of women reduced the rates of violent female
offending, but increased the rates of property crimes.
▪️Strength: Able to explain multiple nature of female criminality.
▪️Weakness: Data do not support the hypothesis of opportunities theories
in relation to region ,class & employment.
3. THOMAS
&
▪️ Theory: Chivalry or Paternalism Theory
▪️ Major Work: Sex & Society (Thomas,1907),The criminality and woman
(Pollack,1950)
▪️ Major Premise: Lower rates of female criminality exists because of the
more lenient treatment of female offenders by criminal justice personnel.
Men commit certain crime with the instigation of women.
Increasing opportunities of women reduced the rates of violent female
offending, but increased the rates of property crimes.
▪️Strength:Can explain the role of criminal justice system in explaining female
criminality.
▪️Weakness: Chivalry is myth & hidden discourse.
4. OTTO
POLLACK

14. ▪️ Theory: Marginalization theory and Female model for female
delinquency
▪️ Major Work: Women & Crime :The female offender(1986), Girls’ crime
and a woman’s place .
▪️ Major Premise: Marginality(low salary;inadequate job ; low class
position;family victimization) of a woman Pentwater criminality in
contemporary society.
Victimization of woman instigated themselves to committ crime as a
coping mechanism.
▪️Strength: It is more reliable and valid than other theories as it is based
on facts and huge data.
▪️Weakness: Could not explain the white collar and corporate criminality
by upper class women.
▪️ Kathleen Daly along with Lind published a work ‘Feminism
& Criminology which emphasized the importance of patriarchal
structure in understanding crime. They also mentioned about the
existence of male domination in criminal justice system.
5. MEDA
CHESNEY
LINDA

15. 6. KAREN
HEIMER &
STACY DE
COSTER
▪️Major Work: The gendering of Violent Delinquency (1999)
▪️Major Premise: According to their conclusion boys are more violent
than girls largely because they are taught more definition favoring
such behavior, whereas subtle,indirect mechanism control female
violence.
▪️Strength: Socialization is considered as a factor which influences
criminality

16. CRITICISM
1. According to Ronald L. Akers and Christine S Sellers
‘Feminist Theory is still in formation and the paucity of
direct tests of its hypothesis has not yet provided a
clear evaluation of its empirical validity or policy
usefulness’.
2. Feminist theory was considered as intellectually
prescriptive and politically restrictive.
3. It failed to make common purpose with other
oppressed groups in society and placed obstacles in
the way of cross-category action.
4. Feminist theory is excessively gender polarized and
failed to recognize sufficiently the links between the
causes of sexual freedom and gender freedom.
5. Finally, the ideals of gay and lesbian movement are
integral to their conception of feminism.

17. REFERENCES 1. An introduction to Criminological Theory –
Roger Hopkins Burke
2. Perspectives in Sociology- E.C. Cuff,
W.W. Shamrock and D.W.Francis
3. Theories of Female Criminality: A Criminological
Analysis –Mohammed J Islam, Subrata Banarjee,
Nurjahan Khatum
4. Crime and Criminology- Sue Titus Reid

18. THANK YOU Submitted by : J. Greeshma Reddy
Pooja C U
Anjana S Kumar
Course : 1st Semester, M.A/M.Sc.in
Criminology and Police Studies
Paper : Theories of crime
Submitted to : Dr. Sheetal Arora,
Assistant Professor , Department
of Criminology and Police Studies