3. Theories of Female Offending

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this lecture, we think about the various theories that have emerged to explain female offending, since the later 19th century, focusing in particular on: (i) the extent to which criminological theory prior to 1970 was focused almost entirely on men and boys; (ii) the theories of Lombroso and Ferrero, and the supposed link between one's biology/physiognomy and one's tendency to commit crimes; (iii) the theory of W. I. Thomas and the idea of the 'catabolic' and 'anabolic' forces of men and women, respectively; (iv) the Freudian concept of 'penis envy' and its links to criminality among women; (v) the theory of Otto Pollak and the view that female crime is more 'hidden' than male crime and tend to be under-reported; (vi) the various sociological theories relating to female criminality, including differential association theory and the various functionalist theories that emerged in the 1960s and 70s; (vii) the work of Freda Adler and her view that women's equality has led to equality between men and women in not only 'legitimate' activities (e.g. in the workplace), but also 'illegitimate' activities (e.g. crime); and (viii) the lack of an evidentiary base for Adler's theory, and its persistence in modern criminological theory.

Course

In this course, Dr Karen Evans (University of Liverpool) explores several topics related to gender and crime. In the first lecture, we think about the differences between men and women as perpetrators of crime. To what extent, in other words, is there a difference between the kinds of crimes committed by men and the kinds of crimes committed by women? In the second lecture, we think about the differences between men and women as victims of crime. In the third lecture, we explore some theories of female offending. Next, we look at the topic of feminist criminology. In the fifth lecture, we consider how some of the more recent, feminist theories of criminology have enhanced our understanding of male criminality. In the sixth and final lecture, we think about the role played by gender in the criminal justice system in England and Wales, and consider whether the criminal justice system would be better served by pursuing substantive rather than formal equality.

Lecturer

Dr Karen Evans is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Liverpool. Her work has focused, although not exclusively, on communities in excluded neighbourhoods and their responses to marginalisation and deprivation. From the early 1990s this focus on the urban experience took Karen into research which was more criminological in nature as the fear of crime and victimisation increased in many neighbourhoods.