Gender is a social phenomenon that divides the human race into females and males. In essence, gender is one of the most consistent and the strongest correlates of crime and delinquency. Numerous profound gender socializations are used to differentiate between females and males. For instance, the liberation theory, which argues that majority of women are involved in crimes are fighting for their rights. This paper shall focus on identifying the role of gender and gender socialization in delinquency.
Gender Roles Influence on Delinquency Behavior
According to Haynie et al., young women are persuaded to engage in crime related activities such as violence by their friends (699). In addition, males are more vulnerable to crimes when exposed to violent friends. In non-violent immoral behavior, friends influence all genders. Females have a greater tendency of selecting friends based on their behaviors more than boys. Thus, gender roles play an essential role when it comes to crimes.
According to Investigating Female Delinquency, females committed fewer crimes compared to their male counterparts. Statistics from the US Department of Justice show that there are about 1.3 million males in prison compared to 115, 000 females (Par 1). These are fairly a vast discrepancy between male and female crime rates. Although in the recent past, female arrests have been on the rise, females still account for less than 13% of all arrests.
Examples of Gender Socialization
Gender socialization is the societal expectation a community has towards one's gender. The first instance is that males are believed to be involved in violent crimes than women, since, females are passive and mostly victims. The belief is a stereotype merely based on masculinity theory. The second instance rests on the control theory, which states that females only engage in minor forms of delinquency such as underage drinking, and when involved in criminal activities they are at the junior levels. The inclusion of women in primary criminal offenses is believed to be harassment or coerce by males but not an act of self-volunteering. The third instance, which is, based the liberation theory states that women are involved in crimes when they are fighting for their liberation rights (Investigating Female Delinquency, Par 1).
Limitations of Using Gender Role Socialization
Gender role socializations has left female criminals with under punishment for the crimes they have committed. Chesney et al., asserts that women are not only gaining the legitimate posts in the social and economic structures, but also the illegitimate positions in the Criminology (70). The liberation theory has been the best tool for perpetuating crimes amongst females. Any woman, who commits a crime, can blame it on fighting for their rights. The masculine theory, on the other hand, fails to identify the feminist women who are more aggressive than men are. The feminist women are masculine and are mostly involved in delinquent behavior. The theory that men have control over women is another failure in the criminology field; women are highly competitive with men in the leadership roles. Females mostly lead the majority of gangs with female members. In essence, there is the increased number of women in the violence and gang membership over the past three decades. Female involvement is more delinquency behaviors are growing at a higher rate than the males' participation.
In conclusion, gender is one of the most powerful and sustained associates of criminal aberrant. In essence, it is considered as a potent risk factor for delinquency. Evidence also suggests that gender differences in offending rates because males and females are differently exposed to the same criminal conditions; and not from the perceived influence of diverse social factors.
Works Cited
Chesney-Lind and Morash, Feminist Theories of Crime (2011)
Haynie, Doogan, and Soller, "Gender, Friendship Networks, And Delinquency: A Dynamic Network Approach" 2014 (688-722)
"Investigating Female Delinquency: The Role of Gender Construction - Sociology Lens" 9 Mar. (2012)
