NCJ Number
84624
Date Published
1981
Length
271 pages
Annotation
This study of the causes of female delinquency examines family, education, and socioeconomic background and finds that class, not sex role, is the predisposing factor to crime.
Abstract
Women are thought to be passive and cooperative; men are supposedly aggressive and competitive by nature. Therefore, it is considered 'normal' for a certain number of men to be criminal, while female criminality tends to be explained as personal maladjustment. For instance, Freud theorized that a girl who fails to achieve the 'normal' feminine state of passivity and dependency is destined to homosexuality and pseudo-male behavior such as crime. A review of British and American research and interviews with English Borstal girls indicate that these long-held assumptions about sex roles and female crime are not valid -- class plays a significant role. Part of the shock value of female crime in recent years arises from the stereotype of women as middle-class ladies. Violent girls must be seen in terms of their peers, who are not 'deviant' but have taken on certain values and norms. Working-class girls aspire to be attractive wives and mothers, must show loyalty and integrity, and are expected to be providers without losing their sense of fun. They defend their families' and friends' good names and challenge those who belittle them. To take these values one step further, being attractive on low salaries may require shoplifting, having fun may involve breaches of the peace, and loyalty may often end in a physical confrontation. Such behavior is not condemned by girls but taken as evidence of appropriate, if extreme, value systems. Unlike middle-class women, working-class women view fights and arguments as normal channels of release, even as laudable. Sex differences in crime are ultimately dictated by economic factors, since unemployment and inflation have their greatest impact on low-wage earners. An author and subject index, about 300 references, and tables are included.