Crime Through Gender's Prism: Feminist Criminology in the United States (From International Feminist Perspectives in Criminology, P 216-240, 1995, Nicole H Rafter and Frances Heidensohn, eds. -- See NCJ-158792)

• NCJ Number: 158803
• Author(s): D Klein
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 25 pages
• Sale Source: Open University Press
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The status and future of feminist criminology in the United States are examined in terms of feminist thinking on crime and criminal justice that can make an intellectual and sociopolitical difference.

Abstract

Feminist perspectives have gained prominence in a few areas, most notably in theories and empirical studies of sexual and domestic violence. The pro-feminist position that has been most successful advocates criminalizing sexual assault and battering and punishing offenders. Although the field of criminology has always defined crime through the prism of gender, "gender blindness" still prevails. Gender and other identities are usually relational and experiential rather than essential or natural. On the other hand, criminology nearly always posits the gendered subject as essential or natural. The need to view gender as a less rigid construction is emphasized, and traditional and social science explanations of feminist issues, especially violence, are offered. Policy implications of criminology and social science research are examined within a feminist criminal justice framework. 87 references and 14 notes