While most feminist theorists throughout history have been women, people of all genders can be found working in the discipline today. By shifting the focus of social theory away from the perspectives and experiences of men, feminist theorists have created social theories that are more inclusive and creative than those that assume the social actor to always be a man. Gender refers to the characteristics attributed to and accorded to males and females by their societies and cultures on the basis of sex. Curran and Renzetti's explanation of the three feminist perspectives by which female crime can be understood. Theories of Delinquency is a comprehensive survey of the theoretical approaches towards understanding delinquent behavior. Males are innately aggressive and prone to commit crimes, while females are innately passive and conformist. Theories of Delinquency is a comprehensive survey of the theoretical approaches towards understanding delinquent behavior. sampling differences in the two studies prohibit any systematic comparison. The author notes that a feminist theory of delinquency needs to include how the criminal justice system reinforces gender stereotypes, and a deeper emphasis should be placed on the personal lives of young girls and how … Sutherland proposed nine different propositions in which why people commit crimes. I also review explanations of female delinquency that are derived from social control, power-control, strain, and subcultural theories. Lomborso and Ferrero. Indeed, there is empirical evidence to support the argument that the major social-psychological processes and variables in these theories—social bonds, self-control, strain, and learning—influence male and female delinquency. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). The notion that the lower crime rates for females reflect men's deference and protective attitude toward women, whereby female offenses are generally overlooked or excused by males. Major Theories of Juvenile Delinquency. The Oxford Handbook of Criminological Theory, A. While females make up a little less than ten percent of the overall gang population, research suggests that girls may account for between one-fourth and one-half of the gang members in younger adolescent gangs. about present-day patterns. Rather than looking to spiritual explanations, these thinkers asserted that human beings are rational and make choices based on their own free will. © Oxford University Press, 2018. Donald Shoemaker aptly presents all major individualistic and sociological theories in a standard format with basic assumptions, important … How Can Feminist Theories be Applied to Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter without a subscription. PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). A steady rise in crime among women since the 1980s spurred the research, which found a firm link between abuse and criminal behavior. Juvenile Delinquency offers a timely and comprehensive look at the issues of criminal behavior and justice related to young persons. Much of the work in this area seeks to explain why officially recorded delinquency is concentrated in … What are the main explanations of female delinquency? Gender Patterns in Delinquency. In addition, most of the existing theories of delinquency fail to explicate gender stratification in a male-dominated society and how this impacts female delinquency. Although research in the past decade has yielded considerable information about these questions, issues that need further investigation are also presented. In other words, the theories are believed to be gender-neutral. The intent of this paper is to apply to females two delinquency theories which have been found empirically useful in explaining male delinquency: self and opportunity theories. This article looks at the major criminological paradigms—control, strain, and learning—and the extent to which they have addressed female delinquency as well as the gender gap in delinquency. Three major sociological traditions, including structural functionalism, symbolic interactionism, and conflict theory, contribute to the explanation of delinquency. Although research in the past decade has yielded considerable information about these questions, issues that need further investigation are also presented. Although research in the past Interest in female delinquency has risen because the female crime rate has been increasing, while the male rate is in decline. Samantha R. Cumley is a doctoral student in Sociology at the University of Iowa. Males and females commit roughly the same types of offenses, the only difference between the sexes is that males commit them more often. Theories of Delinquency 33 criminology, Cesare Beccaria (1738–1794) and Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) revolutionized the way society viewed the cause of criminal behavior. Now in its sixth THEORIES OF FEMALE DELINQUENCY Research has viewed females in the traditional gender stereotype of weak, dependent, fragile beings. GIRLS TO WOMEN: A DEVELOPMENTAL VIEW. 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