Deck 10: Feminist Theory

Question 1

Chesney-Lind argues that theories developed to explain male delinquency

A) recognized female delinquency was different from that of males.
B) can adequately explain female delinquency.
C) cannot adequately explain female delinquency.
D) fully recognized the important role of patriarchy.

Answer 1

cannot adequately explain female delinquency.

Question 2

A feminist approach to delinquency means constructions of female behavior which

A) recognize the growing equality of gender roles.
B) are sensitive to the matriarchal context.
C) recognize that men and women engage in deviant acts.
D) are sensitive to the patriarchal context.

Answer 2

are sensitive to the patriarchal context.

Question 3

Feminist analysis of delinquency would examine ways in which agents of social control such as the police and courts

A) actively attack matriarchal institutions.
B) act in ways to reinforce woman's place in society.
C) conspire to limit women's rights.
D) act in the best interests of every child.

Answer 3

act in ways to reinforce woman's place in society.

Question 4

A feminist would respond to the claim that the women's liberation has caused an increase in female crime as follows

A) emphasize that the women's movement has produced positives.
B) agree that as women become liberated the likelihood of crime increases.
C) insist that equal attention be paid to increases in male crime in this period.
D) focus instead on girl's lives and problems especially poverty and racism.

Question 5

Chesney-Lind reports that nationally girls are more likely to be referred to juvenile courts by non-law enforcement sources. This suggests

A) parents and others employ a double standard of adolescent behavior.
B) people are more shocked by female crime.
C) boys tend to commit more crime away from home and conceal it from parents.
D) girls are more likely to confess crime to their parents.

Question 6

Studies of delinquent girls in custody and on the streets

A) a commitment to delinquent behavior.
B) a low rate of sexual abuse but a high rate of physical abuse.
C) a high rate of sexual and physical abuse.
D) a high rate of sexual abuse but a low rate of physical abuse.

Question 7

A feminist theory of delinquency recognizes the dilemmas facing abused girls at home

A) may lead them to embrace a commitment to a life of crime.
B) may lead them to embrace religion as an alternative survival strategy.
C) may lead them to seek help from the criminal justice system.
D) may lead them to become runaways and engage in further delinquent acts to survive.

Question 8

Identify and discuss the basic elements to a feminist theory of delinquency. Why is this approach a more reasonable and more adequate explanation of female delinquency?

Question 9

Explain how and why patriarchy creates a different situation for understanding male and female delinquency, for example, with respect to sexual and physical abuse at home.

Question 10

Why does Chesney-Lind discuss the double-standard in relation to male and female delinquency? Provide at least two examples of how the double-standard impacts the differential treatment of boys and girls in connection with the juvenile justice system.