Although
early theories involving gender and crime are no longer what are used today in
criminology, ideas such as the masculinity and chivalry hypotheses lend to the
misconception that women do not commit crimes as often and are considered to be
victims more often. Simply because those theories were once around means that
there was an understanding once upon a time and people today still somewhat
hold that understanding. Although it has been proven that women commit some
crimes less than men, they tend to hold certain positions in criminal
happenings in a static manner. Women are thought of to many times be the aid or
helper in a crime where they are aiding another criminal, typically a male.
There are many news stories on this but minimal scholarly articles.
As
reported by Carol Cratty of CNN, two women aided in what is being called a
“hate crime” case in Kentucky. The women’s roles in the crime were to lure a
supposedly homosexual man into a van where two men were awaiting to kidnap and
later beat him. The women did not commit the crime that was largely being
prosecuted against but were instead helpers and assisted in the actions leading
up to the crime, which can allow them to be found guilty.
Another
case that brings to light women in the assistant’s role is one Tina Susman of
the Los Angeles Times reports held the woman in jail for $100,000 cash or
$200,000 bond bail. The woman accused, Joyce Mitchell, worked as a supervisor
in a prison’s tailor shop. A prison that two inmates managed to escape from and
“beat the odds” by being on the loose for over five days. Joyce was suspected
of “promoting prison contraband”, which is a felony as well as befriending the
inmates within her workplace. Mitchell pleaded not guilty but that doesn’t
change the fact that the state found her suspicious enough to apprehend and
arrest her in conjunction with this crime.
Both
of these stories showcase the different ways that women can aid in the carrying
out of crime by a male counterpart. I don’t think that women are any less
likely to commit crimes than men when on an equal scale but the facts are that
the likelihood of committing crimes can be based off of testosterone levels,
body types and more making it impossible to have men and women be on equal
playing fields. I’m excited to see how in this course I will learn more about
equality within criminology.
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ReplyDeleteWow! I was actually going to write my first blog on this exact article! I guess great minds really do think alike. This was a nice article to write about also. I really enjoyed reading what you thought. I agree with you when you said that in the past, as well as currently, women have been thought to commit less crimes then men, and instead have become victimized more than men. Like the saying, "old habits die hard", I believe that old thoughts and associations are hard to forget or change so that the entire society is aware. In this modern world, one might be able to change what society thinks through the social media since that is what influences people the most.
ReplyDeleteI know for a fact that women commit a lot of their crime by helping out a male with his dirty work, and unfortunately getting caught and reprimanded. However, they also commit their own crimes without the presence of a male. For example, burning a house down, completely totaling a car, or murdering someone.
I was shocked to hear in your blog that two women assisted in luring a homosexual man to get assaulted. I think that woman have more of a sense of sympathy for men or even a need to be bigger/the "hero", so they try to assist a man with whatever they need in attempts to show their strengths, power, and dominance. Just another possible theory as to why women assist men in criminal activities.
It would be completely unrealistic to assume that women don't commit crime. That was never a point I intended to bring up within my work on this post. Women have been proven to commit crimes as assistant's to a male, however. This is just a different way that women can commit crime and that isn't to say that men don't play the same roles sometimes as women lead the crime. Just some good points to defend my post and it's intentions! Thanks for reading and commenting!
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