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Sociology: Sociological Perspectives on Gender

This is the first quiz based on sociological perspectives on gender, as part of the AQA A-Level topic of the Social Distribution of Crime and Deviance topic in Sociology. Below are the words which need to be matched to their definitions: Sex-role Theory Frances Heidensohn (1985) Pat Carlen (1988) Otto Pollak (1950) Class and Gender Freda Adler (1975) James Messerschmidt (1993) Raewyn Connell (1982)
Quiz by billyn
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Last updated: January 23, 2024
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First submittedJanuary 18, 2024
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Pat Carlen (1988)
This Feminist sociologist, in 'Women, Crime & Poverty', says women are socialised to be the 'guardians of domestic morality':
-This study was based on interviews with 39 women, looking at why some women commit crimes.
-She also states that in patriarchal capitalist society, women are expected to conform to the rewards of capitalism and domestic labour - this is called the 'class deal' and the 'gender deal'.
-She concluded that working-class women made this class deal and gender deal that kept them under control.
-The class deal was that they would work hard in exchange for pay which they could then use to pay for consumer goods.
-The gender deal was that they should do domestic labour and give love and companionship to their husbands, in exchange for love and financial support.
-Both these deals keep working-class women respectable.
-It was, she suggested, when these deals broke down that working-class women were then more likely to commit crimes, as a rational choice.
-For her, both these 'deals' were really exploitative - as a Feminist she believed that women were exploited in families, and she also believed that the working-class was exploited by employers in the capitalist system.
-However, there was an illusion of fairness and respectability about these deals that, most of the time, kept women under control.
-In one respect, this sociologist agrees with functionalists, such as Durkheim or Hirschi, that social control prevents crime and a lack of control can lead to an increase in crime.
-However, she points out how that control is often maintained through exploitation.
James Messerschmidt (1993)
This sociologist argues that for working-class men with blocked opportunities, crime might be an alternative way of achieving status and feeling validated.
Sex-role Theory
The functionalist and New Right views of the male and female roles have led to this theory in crime:
-Women's traditional expressive or homemaker roles encourage women to take responsibility for the home and family.
-Women are also socialised to be nurtured, less aggressive and less likely to take risks than men.
-Therefore, women are less likely to commit crime but also have less opportunities to commit crime.
-While their roles limit them to the domestic sphere, men's allow them more freedom and opportunity.
Class and Gender
In reference to Carlen's 'class deal' and 'gender deal':
-Many working-class women will not be able to achieve those rewards as a result of poverty and other social issues.
-For example, many women who are convicted of crime have been in abuse relationships.
-They will turn to crime as it offers potential benefits like consumer goods that they are not getting otherwise.
Frances Heidensohn (1985)
This Feminist sociologist, in her work 'Women & Crime', argues that in patriarchal society, women face a stigma and not being a 'proper woman' if they commit crime:
-In reference to the chivalry thesis, this sociologist argues that women suffer from 'double jeopardy' - they are on trial for the crime they commit but also their deviance from the 'norm' of femininity so are more likely to receive a harsher punishment - referred to as the 'evil woman' theory.
-The patriarchal society ensures that there are social controls which prevent women from committing crime.
-Men dominate the public sphere where most crime is committed.
-Social controls in all areas of life prevent women from committing crime - there was more informal control of girls than boys in society more generally (to be 'respectable' girls had less freedom than boys).
-The domestic sphere: women are controlled by patriarchy to fulfil domestic role, teenage girls are more closely supervised than teenage boys.
-She specifically argues that girls are controlled by fathers and male siblings - they have to be home earlier than their brothers, and have less time when they are unsupervised.
-While boys were playing out together out of the home, girls had a 'bedroom culture' in the home.
-The public sphere: women are controlled by discrimination, sexual harassment, physical and sexual violence, the 'glass ceiling', all of which prevent them and restrict their opportunities.
-She goes on to argue that this control of girls, both by family members and social expectations, continues for women in adulthood.
-They go from being controlled by fathers to being controlled by husbands.
-While working men would socialise with their fellow workers at pubs or sport, working women would return home to carry out homework and childcare.
-Social norms: women who deviate from norms of acceptable behaviour are labelled and threatened with condemnation for going against their 'femininity'.

Evaluations:
-Adler suggests women today have much more freedom (and suggests that is why female crime is now increasing).
-Functionalists would suggest that men and women perform different gender roles in the family in order for society to function properly, rather than society being patriarchal and male-dominated.
Freda Adler (1975)
This sociologist argued that changing gender roles and attitudes to women were leading to an increase in women committing crime:
-In the 1990s and early 2000s, a 'ladette' culture developed with young women taking on more traditionally male behaviours, such as binge-drinking and risk-taking.
-Women are generally more confident in their status and have more workplace status, giving them more opportunity to commit financial crime.
-However, the patterns of the types of crime committed by women have remained similar and most convicted women are working-class.
Otto Pollak (1950)
This sociologist came up with 'The Chivalry Thesis':
-He stated, 'Men hate to accuse women and thus send them to their punishment'.
-Women do not appear in crime statistics in any way comparable to men.
-They have more mitigating factors in their favour.
Raewyn Connell (1982)
This sociologist defines 'hegemonic masculinity':
-The characteristics of being a 'man' according to social norms, can lead to competitiveness, aggression and risk-taking.
-Hegemonic masculinity can also explain why crime is not exclusive to men of just one social class background and why men of all backgrounds commit violence against women.
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