Feminist criminology emerged in response to the exclusion of women from much traditional research on crime. This lesson traces that development, from early explanations of female criminality to feminist critiques and standpoint research.
Criminology is the scientific study of the causes, correction, and prevention of crime and of people who commit it. Although the field developed in the late nineteenth century, feminist criminology became a distinct school only in the late 1960s and 1970s.
All flashcards
What is feminist criminology?
A field examining how gender shapes crime, victimization, and experiences within the criminal justice system.
What is the Emancipation Theory?
Freda Adler’s argument that expanding opportunities outside the home may also expand opportunities for women to engage in deviant behavior.
What is standpoint epistemology?
The view that people’s perspectives are shaped by their experiences; it encouraged research grounded in women’s lives and histories.
What is carceral feminism?
An approach that relies on criminal law, policing, and punishment to address gendered harm and inequality.
What is Black Feminist Hauntology?
An approach explaining how historical systems of dehumanization and punishment continue to shape present-day criminalization.
Quiz questions
Which strategy is characteristic of carceral feminism?Answer: Using legislation, policing, and punishment to address gendered harm.
What is a central claim of abolitionist feminism?Answer: Criminal justice institutions may reproduce harm without addressing its social roots.
In Viviane Saleh-Hanna’s R.I.P. framework, what does R.I.P. refer to?Answer: Racist-Imperialist-Patriarchy.
What does hauntology emphasize in Black Feminist Hauntology?Answer: Historical structures can persist and shape present-day systems and policies.
What distinguishes penal abolitionism from broader abolitionist analysis?Answer: Penal abolitionism specifically calls for eliminating prisons.