Female Offender

Have your attitudes and perceptions about female crime changed since reading statistics comparing gender differences in the frequency and nature of criminal behavior?  What myths and/or stereotypes about girls and women and crime did you hold prior to the readings and how have the readings thus far affected your understanding of the realities of female crime trends?  What role does the media play in shaping myths about the "new" female offender?  Please reflect on the readings and use/incorporate the assigned readings to inform your response to this discussion question. 

Please post a response of approximately 350-400 words, and remember to respond to the posts of three others. Others need to see and have an opportunity to respond to what you say.  You will not receive credit if you post only in the last few days of the discussion period.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t believe my attitudes or perceptions concerning the gender differences within criminal behavior has changed dramatically.  If I had to point to one particular thing that showed difference was the concern I felt over the statistics provided and a curiosity in how many of these girls/women are not just criminals but are victims of the CLS and society around them. 

Belknap states “The majority of crimes are male gender-related but rape, homicide, and other violent crimes are especially so.  The most common example of a female-gender-related crime is sex work (mostly measured as prostitution).”(Belknap, pg. 111) Society then condemns the female, but the outcome of finding her guilty fluctuates, depending upon multiple factors such as race, wealth, SMS, with race being at the forefront…

A perfect example of this took place with the story of Cyntoia.  The young 16 year old committed murder, what has been viewed as a male gender-related crime, but before this act transpired, she was already a victim of an older male who brought her into prostitution and drugs.  (Cyntoia, 2004) Unfortunately for Cyntoia, she was both victim and criminal, with the crime overshadowing the victim.  Would Chivalry had taken place and a different sentence for a final judgement if Cyntoia had been “white?”  “Regarding race and gender, historical analyses of the United States indicate White female offenders were largely viewed as amendable to rehabilitation, whereas stereotypes of African American female offenders as “aggressive” and “virile” were used to justify their harsher punishments.” (Belknap, pg. 176)

I believe the strongest myth lies upon the idea of the “new” female offender.  How much is it that they are “new” or perhaps it is that the mask has been shed and the court system is being less chivalrous towards the female gender?  The media over the years has helped with this hype, from a 1993 Newsweek article entitled “Girls Will Be Girls” of which it is “noted some girls now carry guns.   Others hide razor blades in their mouths.” (Chesney-Linde, pg. 34) to article published in 2010 in the Las Vegas Review Journal stating “ten members of an all-female gang were arrested on robbery and burglary charges.” (Chesney-Linde, pg. 35)

One of the sites that can help with information and news articles concerning the gang activity in the United States is the National Gang Related Website: https://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Gang-Related-News.  This site helps to keep current news and media articles up to date as far as gang related issues within the United States.

Refernces:

Birman, D. (2015, September 12). Cyntoia's Story (Documentary). Retrieved February 11, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ek6sIcDb1Q

Chesney-Lind, M., & Pasko, L. (2003). The female offender: Girls, women, and crime (Third ed.). London: SAGE. Chapter 3, pg. 34 – 35

Belknap, J. (1996). The invisible woman: Gender, crime, and justice (Four ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth Pub. Chapter 4 pg. 111, Chapter 5 pg. 176

Gang-Related News Articles. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2016, from https://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Gang-Related-News