Sample SY3 answers analysed
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Question 3 Assess the view that crime is a masculine activity.
Crime is committed by approximately 90% of the UK population at some point in their
lives; therefore this means that both sexes, all ethnicities, ages and classes of people
commit crime.
Statistics and other data show that males do commit more offences in all types
of society around the world. This may be for different reasons. Data shows that
although men are more often the perpetrators of crime, they are also the victims and
whilst women are more scared of violent crime, men between the ages of 16-24 are
twice as likely to be a victim of crime as women.
Studies have shown that there are some physiological reasons that could be
linked to why men offend more often. Lombroso, an Italian Army captain conducted
studies in which he concluded that men today are throwbacks to early man and have
some primitive physical characteristics which may indicate this: big jaws and hands,
extra fingers/nipples, insensitivity to pain and a love of orgies. Maters and Jeaves found
that 60% of prisoners had facial deformities compared with 20% of the normal
population. Sheldon investigated different types of body shape within men and found
that mesomorphs with a more athletic build and muscled shape were more likely to
commit and attract crime. Moir and Jessel found that low IQs inherited from fathers and
low levels of serotonin increased the likelihood of being a criminal and Price discovered
that chromosomal abnormality affecting only men could result in the makings of a
criminal.
All these studies were undertaken on men, which suggests that men either
commit more crime and are predisposed to it, or the researchers were preoccupied with
studying male crime. Heidensohn said, from a feminist perspective that academics and
researchers involved with studying crime and sociology as a wider subject were mostly
men and this therefore created a bias in research.
Home Office statistics indicate that there may be a leniency towards women
when sentencing and convicting them for crimes. They show that for first offences,
women are only half as likely to be convicted as men. The Chivalry Thesis indicates that
due to the overwhelming number of men working within the criminal justice system,
1|June 2010 SY 3
there is a paternal or sexist view of women which actually favours them and allows
them leniency. Women are punished more harshly for serious crimes as they have not
only broken the rules of society but brought shame on themselves as women too.
These factors will certainly have an impact on what we believe about the balance
of crime committed by both sexes. If we see more men convicted then we will believe
they are committing more crime today. The media also compounds this idea by
focussing on dramatic crime stores which are usually committed by men. We don’t see
the stories about women being imprisoned for prostitution or TV licence evasion as they
are simply too boring, hence we don’t think of women committing crime at all.
There are psychological reasons which may mean men are more predisposed to
crime than women. Linking in with the physiological idea that men with an extra Y
chromosome commit more crime, the behaviour that results from this condition is also
psychological and can cause neurotic behaviour with men tending to be more
extroverted, aggressive, risk taking and therefore ready to participate in crime.
Bowlby suggested that there is a link between maternal deprivation and crime.
This deprivation could lead to poor socialisation into learning the rules of society and
norms and values may not be learned. This could occur more in males than females as
females tend to be more cared for physically and emotionally at birth and in childhood.
Studies have shown that baby boys are left to cry whilst girls are picked up and cuddled
and boys are encouraged to step out on their own whereas girls are socialised into being
a little more cautious.
There are theories which suggest that women and men dominate different
spheres within society, giving them more or less access, routes and temptation to
offend.
Women dominate the private sphere which consists of the home where they
take care of the family, have a caring busy role with little time or opportunity to commit
crime, whereas men dominate the public sphere which includes the workplace, pubs
and clubs. There are more opportunities to commit offences in the public sphere thus
agreeing with the idea that men do commit crime.
Strain theory (Merton 1930s) suggests that in the lower classes among young
males, there is status frustration. This is when young men are frustrated with their
position in society and they feel that they need to commit deviant acts to improve their
image. Most males feel that their masculinity is contributed to by the role they play in
society and their occupation, but in many lower working class communities there is high
unemployment and they may turn to crime to combat this. As women hold more of a
caring, homeworking position and gain their rewards from looking after a house and
family, they may be less affected by unemployment and less likely to commit crime.
Along with a strain is anomie in which norms within society are broken down or absent
2|June 2010 SY 3
these reasons cement earlier theories. Leading on from strain theory, the subcultural
theory explain how males form subcultures with society with their own norms as a way
to improve their image and status. Often these subcultures become gangs as there is a
need to commit crime in front of an audience for approval to be given and these gangs
may turn to more violent crime. Although there are female gangs in the UK and USA, it is
much less common as females would be seen as doubly deviant.
The types of crimes or deviance commited by both sexes vary. Men are more
likely to be involved in violent crime, sex crimes, intimate crimes, child pornography and
terrorism. Women usually commit less serious offences and of the 4,000 in prison today,
most are in prison for minor crimes such as not paying bills.
We do know however that 92% of rape victims are made up by women and that
in domestic violence, 89% of violence takes place with a man attacking a woman. ¼ of
women will experience domestic violence in their lives and only 1/6 of men. 2/3 of
women do not even report the offence as they feel shame. This can give an inaccurate
result in crime statistics as there may be much higher levels that actually recorded.
Even though social control and socialisation plays a part in both the lives of
females and males, the way they react to it is clearly different. Males are socialised to
be aggressive, risk takers who can look after themselves and from past studies, this may
be compounded with physiological and psychological evidence. They frequent the public
sphere more often and there is more opportunity for crime . Often white collar crime is
committed by men because they are in positions of power. Crime is primarily a
masculine activity according to research studies and statistics. Even though gender roles
are changing, for example, Ladette culture, Denscombe (2001) there may be a
combination of forces that means it will always be this way.
AO1 - 13
AO2 - 32
Mark – 45/45
3|June 2010 SY 3
Question 3 Assess the view that crime is a masculine activity.
Gender has a large impact on the levels and types of criminal activity conducted by an
individual. Crime has generally been associated with males; an aggressive and angry
activity.
The questions that should be asked with thinking about crime being a masculine
activity are: ‘Why are males associated with such high levels of crime?’ and ‘Why are
females negatively labelled when associated with crime?’
In a post modernistic society, women are encouraged to be independent,
sexually available for whom they please and are now steadily moving up in the political,
wealth, status and power ladder. Ideology has not been developed as such to place
criminal behaviour and women in a box together. Crime has recently risen, with 97% of
Black men filling the prison population; it is still viewed as a negative aspect of social
life.
If a female is seen in a prison cell with a criminal record or seen leaving a police
station, society labels her as naturally deviant and this leading to the development of
deviant behaviour when creating notions without knowing the facts.
According to Sheldon, there is a link between the physical make up of a person
and the levels of crime. He identified three body types in his study and found that those
with a more muscular build (mesomorphs) were more likely to attract negative
aggressive behaviour.
Similarly, in the C19th, an Italian sociologist, Lambrose, claimed that it was those
that came from working class backgrounds and had poorer diets eventually had facial
and bodily deformities and they could be identified as individuals who would and will
commit crimes. He identified deformities such as a third nipple, large hands, large ears
and a large jaw.
Although society has developed from a conservative society to more tolerant,
people still regard those who behave deviantly, the people who break out current
society such as homosexuals. Homosexuals are often referred to by a more conservative
group of people as ‘f**’ and ‘q**s’. Taylor, Walton and Young, argued in the New
Criminology that it should be the deviant who should be tolerated and sympathised with
as they are fighting against capitalistic society.
On the basis of gender, male are often regarded as being more aggressive but
within sub-group other such as hippies, homosexuals, tramps and even youths are
considered to be deviant, through the formation of moral panics through the mass
media.
Crime and gang violence are associated with masculinity and being a ‘real man’
but the number of women in prisons has risen in the past few years.
4|June 2010 SY 3
Heidensohn argues that magistrates often take the fact that a female offender
has other, for example, young children who are dependent on her, into account and as a
result, not charge or give a custodial sentence to the female offender this resulting in an
innocent manipulation of the figures of female crime taking into account that though
the female offenders are ‘troublesome’ and ‘troubled’ the fact that she has children
may relieve her of a prison sentence.
Not only are different aspects of gender and crime manipulated innocently, but
when crime is linked to ethnicity, males who are Black are eight times more likely to be
stopped and searched in a public place by the police under the Police and Criminal
Evidence Act (1984)
Though according to assumptions and history, men are most likely to act off in
crime, why they act out in the form of criminal activity should be explored. Merton
argues on behalf of the strain theory that if an individual does not achieve the level of
access that is created by society by the institutionalised methods, a individual (usually a
male) will resort to deviant behaviour in order to deal with the frustration of not
reaching the vague level of good life. The strain of society which eventually leads to
criminal behaviour is viewed in different forms. The forms that results due to a low
number of grades in exams and a job that leads to no increase in status, wealth and
power is one that forces an individual to suffer because he is a double loser.
According to Marx, it is the exploitation and the use of power and ideology
which leads an individual into acting out in crime in order to rebel against capitalist
society. This exploitation is done by the ruling class through the change and adaptation
of ideology in the education system and the legal system in order to protect their
hegemonic position. This exploitation which can take place in the workplace by the
bourgeoisie (the ruling class) which results in exploitation in the home according to
Marx leads to the breakdown of the nuclear family and the increase of deviant
behaviour in and outside the household.
Criticising this theory is the functionalist theory, studies and developed by the
French sociologist, Emile Durkheim who argued that crime and deviance was good for
society and enabled society to create a moral about what is right and what is wrong.
This positivists approach is often criticised for being too idealistic but it creates a new
ideology as society develops. This is proven as capitalist punishment is not accepted in
Britain, but accepted in the United States of America and in the 1940s one would be
arrested for swearing in public.
As society has developed, ideology and morale has also developed. Though
society has become increasing tolerant over the last two decades, the stereotypical view
of crime being a male activity has not. Sociologists such as Sheldon, Marx, Miller and
Holdaway all have put forward valid arguments as to why and how crime is a deviant act
5|June 2010 SY 3
that is mostly conducted by males. All in all, it is society that informally places social
controls (Schools, religion, organisation) on that is preventing women from acting out
through criminal behaviour. This is to an extent. Once the criminal act has been
conducted by a female, different factors such as children and the state of health of the
female are considered before retribution takes place and the female is punished by
formal social control, for example, the police or criminal justice system. The current
capitalist society may exploit individuals but also protects them in order to maintain a
social equilibrium.
AO1 – 8
AO2 – 14
Total mark 22/45
Evaluating an essay
Markers will use the mark schemes and the specifications to guide their judgements, but
for purposes of self evaluation, students might be directed to the following questions.
1. Is there a brief introduction that provides an indication of the overall flow of
your essay?
2. Is there a logical progression of concepts and information as appropriate for the
main body?
3. Is there enough accurate detail, or specifics, language, theory and examples?
4. Have you managed to avoid describing studies and findings rather than using
them to support the points you want to make?
5. Did you write clearly, in paragraphs and in clear English?
6. Could any reader understand the points you are trying to make?
7. Is your handwriting acceptable and easy to read? (Neatness is not an issue,
clarity is)
8. Are your sentences short, with simple construction and clear punctuation?
9. Does your concluding paragraph or sentence sum up a response to the question?
10. Does the content of the essay refer constantly to the discussion under
consideration?
.
6|June 2010 SY 3