Gendering Criminology

Crime and Justice Today

Shelly Clevenger, Jordana N. Navarro

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9780520970472
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Ciencias sociales
• Subtopic: Criminología

Gendering Criminology provides a contemporary guide for understanding the role of gender in criminal engagement and experiences as well as reactions to these offenses among laypersons and agents of social control. The textbook provides evidence for the argument that gender socially situates people in their risks for criminal engagement, victimization, and what occurs in the aftermath of crime: arrest, the judicial process, and sentencing. Aside from investigating the role of men and women, the authors also explore the experiences of LGBTQIA+ communities involved in or working within the criminal-legal system. The volume provides a comprehensive account of various offenses—violent and nonviolent—and individual motivations, drives, and methods, to help students develop the skills they need to work as professionals in and around the criminal-legal system. Key features:

• Applies theoretical concepts to real-life applications, media bytes, and case studies
• Includes new and timely information regarding gender and online victimization
• Provides an overview of each topic within eleven chapters, delving into the literature in each area
• Promotes active learning activities in each chapter to fully immerse and engage students in the material

CHAPTER 1

The Story of Gender

Definitions, Origins, and Current Issues

KEY TERMS

► ally

► asexual

► cisgender

► cisgender privilege

► gender

► gender binary

► gender expression

► gender identity

► gender nonconforming

► intersex

► LGBTQIA+

► non-binary

► queer criminology

► school-to-prison pipeline

► sexual identity

► sexual orientation

► transgender

► zero-tolerance policies

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

► Understand terms related to gender, sexual orientation, and identity.

► Explain how gender, sexual orientation, and identity shape perceptions of the self and others.

► Apply chapter content to contemporary issues related to gender and sexual orientation.

This chapter will cover terms pertaining to gender and identity. These topics lay a foundational framework for the rest of this book. Understanding what each term means as well as its context is important for connecting the relationship between gender identity and crime and victimization. Throughout this chapter and the book, we use the term LGBTQIA+ in order to include all people. LGBTQIA+ stands for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual,” and the + represents anyone who does not identify as any of those, such as people who identify as gender fluid or pansexual (which will be discussed later in the chapter) (GLAAD, 2021). However, this is not a definitive list. The acronym is always evolving and changing as people and society evolve and change. As of the writing of this book, this is the abbreviation that we felt was most inclusive. This chapter will acquaint you with the meaning behind these different terms as well as introduce you to the current issues facing the LGBTQIA+ communities in terms of crime and victimization.

UNDERSTANDING GENDER

Although the terms gender and sex are sometimes used interchangeably, they are not equivalent. Gender is a human-created construct or idea, whereas the term sex is grounded in the biological differences between females and males. Unlike the term sex, gender and what constitutes “masculine” and “feminine” are culturally specific. In other words, societies differ in terms of the behaviors and roles they assign to each gender and whether they recognize genders outside of the binary. The process of socializing an individual toward these behaviors and roles begins before a child is even born, even though parents cannot know their child’s gender until that individual is born and able to express it. For example, in the United States, specific colors are associated with gender. This association is currently strongly seen in children’s clothing (pastel shades like pink for girls, stark primary shades like blue for boys) and toys (the overabundance of dolls for girls, “action figures” for boys).

The continued confusion between biological sex and gender is most clearly seen in the recent trend of “gender reveal” parties hosted by expectant parents. In these parties, expectant parents reveal the (assumed) gender of their unborn baby with the corresponding gendered colors (see Media Byte 1.1). However, illustrating that gender is culturally specific as well as time specific, color associations were the reverse in the pre–World War II era. In this period in the United States, blue was associated with femininity and girls, while pink was associated with masculinity and boys. This association began to shift during the baby boom generation (Maglaty, 2011). The fact that biological sex and gender are conflated from birth, despite their difference, reinforces the fact that gender is a sociocultural concept.

In recent years, conceptualizations of gender have begun to shift within the United States. More specifically, a sizable percentage of the population no longer views gender as just femininity or masculinity standards—instead, this concept is becoming more fluid. It includes individuals who express themselves in diverse ways. Yet, despite this shift, most people in the United States continue to perceive gender as aligning with the categories of sex (female and male). As a result, it is not surprising that dominant systems within society (like the criminal-legal system) are still structured according to that prevailing mindset. Because gender shapes an individual’s experiences even before birth, this book will provide a “gendered lens” to criminology. In this chapter, we present an overview and exploration of gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and overall identity to illustrate how these essential concepts shape an individual’s life experiences, including involvement in the criminal-legal system. Our use of criminal-legal system instead of criminal justice system emphasizes that the workings of this system do not always lead to “justice”—particularly for marginalized populations.

As mentioned, one of the methods to reinforce gender at a broad sociocultural level is through styles of dress. For example, it was not long ago when women were required to wear skirts in workplaces or barred from many kinds of employment altogether. These themes and trends stem from conceptualizations of what it means to be “feminine” and “masculine” within contemporary Western culture. To frame and understand these patterns, seminal work in gender studies introduced two key terms that named these trends: emphasized femininity (or ideal forms of “womanhood”), which is associated with attractiveness, chastity, nurturance, and passivity, and hegemonic masculinity, which is associated with attractiveness, independence, sexual prowess, and strength. For example, men are expected to dress in a masculine way, which typically means wearing pants and shirts, or a suit and tie for business and formal occasions, without many embellishments (Crane, 2001). It is not gender congruent, or aligning with dominant conceptions of Western masculinity, for men to wear lace, ruffles, or a skirt as everyday dress. However, again, because gender is culturally specific, the kilt is a traditional style of dress among men in Scotland, with significant historical and cultural meaning.

Like men, women are expected to dress in gender-congruent ways, which in Western culture means skirts or feminine styles of pants and shirts. In contrast to men, women do not typically wear ties. In addition to avoiding “masculine dress,” women also must style themselves so that they always remain within societal bounds of “decency” in their appearance (Crane, 2001). For example, the United States Congress continues to maintain rules forbidding women to bare their shoulders within the congressional chamber (Zillman, 2017). Gender permeates every aspect of our life, even in the language we use (e.g., he, she, they), which has implications for how we perceive ourselves, how others see us, and the experiences and opportunities that arise from those interactions.

An example of gender influencing life experiences is evidenced by the work of Schilt (2006). This research revealed that transgender men (individuals assigned female at birth but who identify, live, and work as males) benefitted professionally from their change in gender. They were treated better overall at work and made more money than women. Participants in the study also noted significant differences in how their coworkers and bosses treated them. More specifically, coworkers and bosses listened to the participants immediately when expressing an idea and opinion, and the participants were not questioned when they made a comment or suggestion. Participants also reported that they felt more respected and valued at work. They reported having instant credibility just by being in the room, in contrast to what they previously experienced when working as women.

In addition to gender, ethnicity, race, and residency status play overlapping roles in shaping life experiences. For instance, a participant in Schilt’s (2006) study, who identified as a Black man, reported that he was viewed as intimidating and frightening to people. Thus, he had to navigate social life as a Black man in the United States, where implicit and overt biases can lead individuals to act scared or wary of others different from themselves. Although others’ implicit and overt biases also impact Black women, the participant reported that he had not had to deal with them as much before starting to live as a man. This finding underscores the complex and overlapping stratification system within the United States. The participants in Schilt’s study gained social privilege associated with their gender, but these benefits were not universal across demographic backgrounds. “Performing gender” is a careful balance that includes many factors for individuals every day.

Gender also affects the risk of becoming a justice-involved individual. More specifically, Western culture socializes boys with more freedom, and deviant behavior, including crime, is more tolerated for boys than for girls (Hagan, 1989; Hagan, Gillis, and Simpson, 1985, 1991). Given that deviancy perpetrated by boys is more tolerated, there are more opportunities for offending and victimization. Not surprisingly, research continues to show that adolescent boys commit a sizable portion of “street crime” and many cybercrimes like hacking (Adam, 2005).

Societal gender constructs also shape the rearing of young girls. For instance, in patriarchal households, fathers (or male guardians) may emphasize controlling the movements of young girls (by establishing curfews, for instance). This parenting style often includes implicit or overt deference to the father as “the head of the household,” which may not be as pronounced for male children. In other words, there are two types of rules in many Western households corresponding to dominant gender ideals: one for boys and one for girls. Because of differences in oversight and societal concepti...