Feminism and Criminology

Feminism and Criminology reveals criminology's ill-founded disparagement of feminism and its unwillingness to engage theories that would invigorate the discipline. Ngaire Naffine questions why criminologists are still reluctant to adopt a feminist perspective and continue to deny the contributions feminism has to make in this field. Criticizing a mind-set that sees women as deviant, even when they are more "normal" and law abiding than men, Naffine analyzes the treatment of female offenders by the criminal justice system and looks at women as victims of crime, particularly violent crime. The author points to such questions as "what makes women commit fewer crimes?" as a starting place for new thinking. She suggests a different kind of understanding of the impact of femininity and masculinity on both criminal behavior and criminology's world view. Provocative and challenging, Feminism and Criminology will be a valuable resource for students and researchers in women's studies, gender studies, criminology, sociology, and law.